"You are a worthless coward." It burned. The incinerating sensation of his flesh melting away, the ripping and tearing of skin as crimson flowed from a freshly slit open wound. He screamed, his voice coming out as nothing more than a breath, the ringing that started out as a simple whistle turning into a high-pitched screech. It pierced his eardrums with a such a force, as if a tooth-pick were forced straight through and wiggled around in his cranium, tickling his mind and severing his brain stem. "You are nothing. You sacrifice yourself for nothing because you are nothing you are nothing you are nothing you are nothing you are nothing you are nothing-" The voices screamed in hatred, acid dripping off their lips as the heat of his body faded into a chilling frosty coldness that left the boy feeling empty, shriveled up, and used.
He shivered, allowing his body to fold in two quietly, his eyes evaporating into liquid nitrogen and soon fogging upwards into the empty black space. Leaving a husk of what once was, he soon found himself a cracked shell, his emotions and self-love rolling up in worthless clouds of smoke out through the hole in his slit open flesh.
It was cold.
And it was dark.
You know, sometimes things tend to fall apart, and you realize, they were never together in the first place.
Markus gasped, feeling his body jolt upwards from the squishy furniture he had found himself settled in, heart rate rocketing into a racing tempo as the world blurred before him. "Wah-?" He let out loudly in a crackling scratchy tone, eyes blinking several times in confusion as he glanced around several times, flesh coated in a layer of sweat while a few strands of his hair were sticking to his forehead. Heavy, faltering breaths left his lungs, the male struggling to get up out of the chair in his frantic state as he awoke from the nightmare. "A-... A-Ah..." He reached up, placing a hand to his temple gently as he sat up straight, quivering muscles finding themselves remaining in this spot, the male now caressing over the throbbing portion of his head as he sat there awkwardly in the bean bag chair, blanket having been thrown off of his cold body the moment he awoke in such a startled state.
"... You doing better, Markus?" You murmured gently after hearing the yelps from Markus as he woke up. Markus snapped his neck in the direction of the noise, whipping around with wild eyes, and finding you standing in the connected kitchen alongside Ray, who held a small tray that had three cups - all of them being coffee mugs that had different artistic graphics over them - containing freshly made peppermint tea, steam swirling out of the tops nicely.
"H-Huh?" Markus questioned, almost as if he hadn't heard you correctly, his eyes studying both Ray and yourself for a long moment that dragged on for several seconds, heavy breaths leaving the freshly awoken male's lips. It almost looked as though he didn't recognize either of you, Markus blinking a couple times as he finally responded. "... Y-Yeah-... I'm fine..." He muttered slowly, shrugging it off and now allowing himself to face forwards in silence, letting out a breath of air and noticeably thinking.
You and Ray briefly shared a glance of worry for the obviously "not fine" Markus. Soon, the hippie now wandered off into the living room quietly, nearing the boy who appeared troubled as you followed shortly after. You were happy to have helped Ray make his prized peppermint tea, soon finding out the male had a serious knack for herbal remedies, spewing out all sorts of information you never believed you'd learn. "Hey, Marky~" Ray smiled, holding out a warm cup of tea with a happy smile on his lips, gesturing for Markus to take the cup. Markus, with his body sunk down in the bean bag chair, the bright blue and white tie-dye coloring standing out against the paleness of his skin skin, only glanced upwards a few moments later.
"Huh?" The tech geek questioned, seemingly annoyed with having to speak, wild thoughts rushing through his head from the nightmare still fresh in his mind. I am worthless...? He questioned himself mentally, now glancing from both the tea to Ray's damned smile. I could've died last night, and the only people to remember me would be some hippie, and (Y/N). And all Ray has to do about it is smile. He thought bitterly. ".. Oh..." He glanced away, now quietly gesturing away the tea as he sat there in silence. "... No thanks..." You gazed down to Markus in worry, the tech geek only continuing to gesture you both away, however, when Ray began slowly heading off in the direction of the couch in surrender of Markus' decision, even then you did take the last cup full of peppermint tea and place it down near the male as a sign that he could drink it when he felt it was necessary to do so. "... Why did you make me this, anyways?" Markus questioned with a mumble as he now found himself staring at the hardwood floor through broken glasses, his neck meanwhile feeling as though it were burning from the healing wound.
"... Well, I do love you, Markus." Ray spoke rather casually with a smile aimed in the direction of the tech geek as he gave a gentle hum, preparing to take a sip of his own fresh cup of tea. Markus however, only screwed his face up almost immediately as he had finally had it with that damned hippie. He couldn't take this anymore, his headache throbbing as his eyes were beginning to water from the nightmare's visions stinging him.
"Can you honestly just- Stop!?" He exploded suddenly, his loud voice sounding through the previously quiet room. You found yourself nearly dropping the cup of tea you had, eyes widening as you stared in the direction of the enraged male, Ray meanwhile having been also caught off-guard as he found himself unsure of what he had done this time. Neither of you had a chance to answer, or comment as Markus sucked in a quick breath, face turning red with anger as he continued his lashing out moment. "I don't understand why you say these things! I don't get it- Is it your job to make an ass out of me?! Are you an actual idiot or something because I don't understand how you can just- Have fun when I nearly got my throat slit last night, (Y/N) nearly got kidnapped, and you- You were just having a fun time, weren't you!?" He exploded, his eyes finding themselves trying to burn through Ray's features, however Ray only stared at him in response, seemingly awaiting for him to finish as he put down his peppermint tea onto the coffee table calmly.
"Markus, you-" You spoke up gently, as if to soothe the angered man, however Ray politely put a hand up to signal you to be quiet.
"No... Let him vent. I can tell he has a lot of opinions on my character." He spoke gently, "You know, they say the more hatred you hold in your heart the less room there is for love." He offered soothingly with a kind gaze towards Markus, who only snorted at the phrase, shaking his head with an annoyed action.
"Stop talking about love at a time like this, you are ridiculous!" Markus hissed, his fists tightening as he finally unleashed what he truly wanted to say, the emotions having been holed up for so long that the moment he had finally broken down was the moment that everything was set loose, his anger lit up as quickly as a forest fire in the middle of a drought. "You are one of the most idiotic and foolish people I have ever met! You don't have the common sense of a fucking gold fish, and you think everything will turn out fine as long as you love everything, and don't fucking kill anything! What the fuck is wrong with you!? You think everything is so god damn perfect, and you just laugh off everything! You can't fucking love a killer, a demon, you fucking idiot! If you are the only person that'd remember me after I'm dead, then I'd rather fucking kill myself now than have that shit with you ruining my name with your idiotically cultural self!" He exclaimed, eyebrows knitting themselves together as he felt as though he'd explode.
Ray stared at Markus with those sea green eyes, and for the first time in a long while, he was angry. Fed up with the way the other viewed him as some worthless joke that he could throw out in the street like discarded rubbish. As if the other was some formal business man while Ray was this hooligan with a sign that said, "Spare some change". He stared directly into Markus' eyes, his own orbs turning stern as he himself began speaking. You watched in silence, glancing between both boys as the argument unfolded. "... Let me tell you something, Markus." He warned in a newly solemn voice, his deep tone making him a much more threatening presence than Markus himself would ever be. Parting from his spot on the couch and standing up to his full height, he brushed his hoodie off as he continued keeping his gaze on the other in a stern manner, like a father scolding a small toddler. Markus meanwhile appeared to shift uncomfortably in the bean bag chair, figuring out he had pushed the other over the edge when he believed Ray Sunshine didn't even have an edge to start with, you only watching in awe, although you did know Ray would probably keep himself back from harming Markus. "If you think the definition of love is just romance and that I can't love everyone and everything," He began, standing directly in front of the other after his stride across the room, Markus shrinking down in his seat with wide eyes as he gazed up at the other, shocked and almost scared in this moment. "Then you are missing everything that that word stands for. I love you, because for some weird reason you've decided to stay in this house when I know perfectly well you could probably run off and be fine. You could stand up right now, and walk out if you so wished to do but yet you are sitting right here." He offered, gazing down at the other with those sea green orbs, like crashing forest waves against jagged rocks as he continued his stare. "And you can continue acting as though you're this smart, intelligent boy that just popped in and can do some cool party tricks on the computer, then I feel absolutely horrible for being the man to burst your bubble, but just because my path is different, and that I choose to be something other than a professional human being that you seem so fond of, that does not mean my soul is of any less value than yours." He offered as he stared down at the other, Markus visibly swallowing as he listened to the lecture, Ray's anger fading as quickly as it arrived.
Slowly, the male now crouched before the other, getting down to his eye-level as they both shared a gaze, Markus however glancing away from Ray's intense sea green eyes several times nervously. "... Normality is a paved road, Markus. It's already put there, all ready for you to walk on without an issue." He offered, staring at the other with a softer gaze, his eyes slowly melting into a loving, kind look. "But no flowers grow there." He offered with a sigh. "And after awhile, asphalt begins to wear you down until there's nothing left." His heart spoke, the man now standing back up to his complete height, walking off across the room without another word given to the tech boy, his lecture coming to a steady end.
For a long moment, no one said anything now. You gazed down at your lap in silence, rather surprised with the words delivered by Ray, Markus only glancing from you, and then to the hippie, his cheeks beginning to glow with guilt at the way he himself had exploded so easily. I made a hippie angry. You have to be a special kind of fuck-up to do that, don't you? He thought with a sigh, eyes flickering once again over to you for some kind of advice. Silently, you now tossed your eyes from Markus to Ray in a gesturing manner, mouthing a singular word to him in silence. Love. Markus bit his lip at the silent idea you were trying to give him, Ray meanwhile not noticing what you two were doing as he quietly drunk his peppermint tea, staring down at the floor in a quiet thought-filled moment.
"... I..." Markus swallowed as he finally spoke up, meanwhile Ray now glanced over to him in silence, patiently awaiting whatever response Markus had to give, whether it was good or bad. "... I love you too, then." Markus muttered finally, leaning back in silence as he sunk down into the warmth of the bean bag chair, his face dusting in a pink as he gazed away.
"Huh?" Ray questioned, eyes widening as he found himself receiving affection instead of annoyance from Markus like usual. His eyebrows found themselves raised, and the man was left seemingly speechless, as if he hadn't expected his words to get through. "... That's... That's a little gay don't you think?" Ray replied alongside a sideways smirk as he sipped some more peppermint tea.
"What!?" Markus exploded, his face turning into a deep crimson while Ray only let out a loud laugh now, throwing his head back in what appeared to be triumph.
"I'm kidding-!" He added between his wheezed out amusement. "Don't- Don't pass out!" He watched as Markus gave him a glare, however soon enough there was a smile on his face as he himself let out a small chuckle shortly after.
"... Whatever..." He muttered with a shake of his head and a partial grin as he finally allowed the slightest inch of relaxation into his life, you meanwhile giggling slightly at the scene itself. It was sort of like something from a movie. A movie you probably wouldn't mind seeing.
As the atmosphere suddenly felt lifted, feeling as though something for once was happening to go right, there was a sudden thundering noise from outside that made the entirety of laughter die down moments later to a dead silence. The thundering felt as if a miniature earthquake had struck through the ground in one quick, fatal hit. "Woah-" Ray let out, holding onto his cup of peppermint tea desperately as a few droplets splashed over the side. "... Look, not to ruin the current vibes," He began, glancing towards the front door, and then to you both as he took a silent moment. "But uh... We should probably not ignore that."
Lixue landed with a powerful thud, hooves thumping against the soft dirt, a huge contrast from the previously cold asphalt. "... This is where you tracked their scent to?" The rider questioned, his mount meanwhile giving a curious mewl as he caught wind of a strange "herb", the source probably in the back of his home. "... Interesting..." The spirit murmured, reaching forwards and rubbing Lixue's head soothingly, the mythical creature's ears rotating and listening closely to the gentle jingling of the area's surrounding wind chimes.
"I should definitely check ins-" The spirit began gently as he scanned his surroundings, however as he began sliding off of his mount, he soon heard a few loud rings, finding his antlers being tugged upwards rather abruptly as he himself slid off. "Wah-?!" He let out, neck yanked upwards, plenty of jingling heard as his reached towards the sky in a desperate attempt to get whatever was clinging onto his horns, off.
Lixue meanwhile side-stepped, confused for a brief moment until he released a mewl of amusement, giving a snort at the sight of his companion knotted up in one of the several wind-chimes around, now vainly attempting to untangle his antlers. "What in the world-" Ethan murmured, grasping ahold of the strings and chimes, tugging at it to free himself, standing on his tip-toes as well so he didn't end up breaking something in the process.
".... Did... Did I smoke something before going to sleep last night?" The spirit suddenly heard a voice coming from the nearby home, quickly whirling around to face whoever had spoken in an awkward movement, the wind chimes ringing as he tugged them in a circle. He was met with a few confused, shocked, and startled gazes from three individuals, a brawny male with dreadlocks, a young curious female with (H/C) locks of hair, and finally the scrawny guy with broken glasses standing behind both of them, although still peaking around.
"O-Oh," The spirit quickly introduced himself, giving a happy wave and a warm smile. "Hello-... I just so happened to get tangled up in your fascinating wind chimes, do you mind lending a helping hand?" He questioned politely with that cold breath, his mount meanwhile giving a sniff at the air. With a calm mewl, he could smell you as the source of the scent from the previous home, doing a small prancing circle around his caught friend with his tail held pridefully high at how good he himself was at tracking.
"... I uh..." You began, quickly shaking your head as you glanced from Markus, who was seemingly on the verge of a mental breakdown at the sight of a gigantic caribou, beast... Thing- in Ray's front yard prancing around like a show pony with it's tail raised all happily and six hooves dancing around across the grass. Meanwhile Ray was staring at you right back, definitely searching for some kind of answer. You however, had none to give, only shrugging.
The stranger in the front yard awaited patiently, however soon realized your small group was definitely unsure of what to even do in this situation. Do you help the weird guy with antlers? Possibly not. "Oh, I apologize-" He gave another smile, now trying to yank at his antlers gently, the branch in which the wind chimes were hung on now bending in a deep bow, however still refusing to snap. "I must inform you, I'm the Spirit of Christmas." He offered, trying to formally bow, however with his antlers strung up he couldn't go down far. There was suddenly a loud thud as Markus fell straight on his back, passing out with a single thought in his head,
Not another one...
"Markus!" You shouted briefly, Ray meanwhile only glancing back, arching a brow as he watched the boy drift off into a forced slumber, stress easily overwhelming the male, even when Markus tried remaining calm. Ray only chuckled now, glancing once again towards the two rather unique individuals in his front yard, pulling you away from the past out figure.
"Just let him have his nap... Kids are always fussy when they don't get their nap." He teased, throwing you a brief wink before the male now jumped off the porch, beginning to head over to the strangers out in his front yard carelessly, and definitely curious of possible friendship. You followed after shortly, finding yourself now standing before the male tangled up and the strange creature he possessed.
"Alright, I got this~ I'll have you know I'm an elite at untangling my dreadlocks in the morning-" Ray offered with a wiggle of his eyebrows, now carefully beginning to help the antlered male with his caught situation. After several long minutes of mixed up phrases, and instructions on how the spirit should bend his neck, he finally found himself free of the captivating grip of the wind chimes, running his hands over his large antlers to check for any possible snaps or scrapes.
"Ah, I'm eternally grateful for your kindness." The spirit spoke happily with a kind smile, glancing upwards however to make sure where he stood now didn't have any more wind chimes above. Ray only grinned at the other, finding it silently funny. Meanwhile the beast was having a fun time prancing circles around trees, cautious as to not get his own pair of antlers stuck and definitely more tuned into his surroundings from how gracefully he appeared to move.
"No problem, bro." Ray offered with a shrug, you meanwhile fiddling with the wind chime itself for a few moments to put it back up in the branch properly so it could still continue singing it's little sing every time the wind blew. "I'm Ray Sunshine." He introduced, now gesturing to you with one hand and ruffling your hair playfully.
"This here is (Y/N), or as I call her, Mary Jane. And that one back there," He pointed in the direction of the spread-eagle boy in the front doorway past out. "That's Markus, or also known as, Brochacho tech geek-o. He definitely prefers the second name over the first." He winked, the spirit giving a small nod in response and definitely happy to have all of yours names.
"Well hello! I am referred to as simply, Ethan." The spirit offered, giving both of you a polite wave, his beast meanwhile budging into the conversation with it's huge head, giving a mewl as he noticed how little he was involved with this conversation. You couldn't help but chuckle, unsure of how to react to such a gigantic animal staring at you with pure frosty eyes, it's beautiful coat smelling of fresh mistletoe and partial mint. "Oh, and this here," The spirit smiled, patting over the beast's tall muscular shoulder gently to welcome him into the circle. "is Lixue, my cloud jumper." He smiled.
"Well, hello there, buddy-" Ray hummed, reaching over to touch the creature's head, however he was very quickly responded to with a nasty little hiss in warning, the creature's ears flattening at the sudden act of nearly being pet by someone other than Ethan. " understandable-" Ray let out as he stepped back, hand retreating to his side immediately at the sight of those sharpened canines as he studied the animal curiously now, you however holding back a laugh at Ray nearly getting a finger chomped off. The spirit meanwhile gave an apologetic chuckle.
"Sorry for that. He isn't used to hanging around many people, especially mortals. I believe he'll grow on you in the long-run, though." He spoke calmly as he rubbed over the strong animal's neck.
"Hm.... Why are you down here? I mean, on Earth... Shouldn't you be up above until your holiday...?" You questioned suddenly, already believing you knew the answer as to why the Christmas spirit was here in the first place, although you just wanted the other to clarify.
"Me?... I'm here to obtain Xavier, the Halloween Spirit who's definitely gone dangerously off his path." The spirit spoke sadly, his fluffy ears flattening themselves down as he continued gently stroking over the beast's neck lovingly, who gave a sigh in relaxation at the loving pets of his companion. You and Ray however shared a nervous glance between each other, silently trying to figure out which of you would be explaining the story. Finally, you decided to take one for the team, parting your lips and beginning to tell this Spirit the strange and twisted tale of love at first sight.
Best hurry with the story. Beings like Xavier don't wait long before striking.