Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Cat of the Lilac Eyes ❯ Chapter 7: Halloween ( Chapter 7 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Sailor Mini Venus 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.05.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 288 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.05.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 288 | Status: Completed
Shiro: (grins) And here's chapter 7! As I promised, it's longer than the last one to make up for the shortness.
Kaze: It's not that long.
Shiro: Shut up, Kaze. Anyway, please enjoy!
Disclaimer: (checks) Nope, still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I do own all OC's used in this story.
-C-A-T--O-F--T-H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S--C-A-T--O-F--T -H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S-
Riley eyes the now black, red, and golden haired boy suspiciously. “Damian, what on earth are you plotting?” She finally asks.
“Nothing, nothing.” Damian says, false-innocently. “I’m planning.”
“By your book it’s the same thing.” Riley responds.
Damian shrugs. “I’m planning a Halloween party. Want to help?”
Riley considers this, distracted for a moment by Holly and Max as they sit down.
“What are you plotting this time?” Max asks wearily, nothing Damian’s grin.
“Halloween party.” Damian cheerfully replies. “You guys want to help?”
“Sure!” Holly exclaims excitably. “This is going to be so much fun! It is going to be a costume party? Will there be food? What-?”
Damian laughs at her eagerness while Riley and Max listen on in amusement.
“We’ll help, Damian.” Riley says. “Your poor house would be destroyed if it were to be just you and Holly decorating.”
“Thanks guys. Oh, and let’s just tell the others we’re throwing a party. I want the decorations and everything to be a surprise.” Damian says before Ashling and Malik sit down, shortly followed by the rest of the Anime fanatics and then Mike, Chris, and Tabby.
“You’re hosting a Halloween party?” Jiro asks, surprised. “Is it a costume party or just a lets-hang-out-and-act-stupid party?”
“Costume of course!” Damian responds. “It’s gonna be on Halloween for once ‘cause it’ll be Saturday!” He cheers. “This is going to be the best ever! How does karaoke sound?”
Ashling raises an eyebrow. “After hearing you sing at my family’s Fourth of July get-together? No thanks.”
“Okay, so I was a little high from having too much soda and candy, but that won’t happen this year!” Damian exclaims.
Riley gives Damian a look. “Yes it will. You’re going to eat so much candy and drink so much soda that you’ll wake up the next morning with a sugar induced hangover and basically no memory of what happened the night before. Then me, Holly, Ash, and Jiro will tell you and you’ll remember all the crap you did.”
Damian sighs. “Yeah, you’re right. Sometimes I hate it when you’re right.” He pokes something on his plate with his spork. “So… does anyone have any idea about what the hell this is?”
Everyone looks at the wiggling mutated mass of something in disgust.
“Didn’t think so…” Damian mumbles, poking it more violently with his spork.
Ashling turns green. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Garbage can is right there.” Damian says cheerfully, pointing over his shoulder to the gray garbage can behind him.
Ashling turns more green if possible. “Shut up, Damian.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Later that night Malik is laying on his bed doing homework and Ashling is at her desk doing a bunch of different things. Every once in a while the strawberry blonde haired girl glances down at Malik, obviously fighting an inner battle over something. Finally, she reaches a decision and turns around in her chair to face him.
Malik looks up from his work, feeling Ashling’s eyes on him. “What?”
“Ano…” She holds up their Algebra 2 homework. “Can you help me out?”
Malik looks at her in surprise. “You want my help?”
Ashling bites her lip and nods. “None of the others are in Algebra 2 and besides, you’re right here.”
“Fine. Come down here and show me what you need help with.” Malik says with a sigh.
Ashling gets up from her chair and sits down beside Malik. “I can’t really explain it. I mean, I understood it when she showed us and gave us notes, but now I can’t figure it out.” She says. “I re-did the example problem but came up with something completely different.”
Malik takes Ashling’s notes and compares them to his own. “You’re missing a part here.” He says, pointing to a space between two steps. Malik then goes on to explain it to Ashling. Unbeknownst to them, Ishizu peeks through the door to watch them, smiling when she sees them finally getting along.
“Thanks Ishtar!” Ashling says, her voice considerably more cheerful. She quickly hugs him and then bounces back into her seat, slipping her headphones back on.
Malik watches her in something akin to amazement. ‘She’s defiantly a mystery…’
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Holly joyfully hums along to the Linkin Park CD as she, Riley, Max, and Damian decorate the overly large basement where the party will be held.
Riley and Damian are both working on ceiling decorations, not trusting Holly or Max with the ladders. Holly is alternating between getting decorations for Riley and Damian and cleaning up. Max is arranging the tables and going over the list of food and drinks for the party.
“We need a checklist.” Riley comments. “That way we can make sure we have everything.” She climbs down off the ladder, done with that section of the ceiling.
Damian nods and hops down off his ladder. “Max, you got a pen and paper?”
Max flips over to the next page in the notebook he’s writing in. “Yup.”
Damian begins naming off things for the checklist. Riley, Holly, and Max add things now and then.
With the way things are going with the decorating, they’ll be finished long before the party. They actually finish on Friday, but have to hold off on putting out food and drinks until Saturday evening.
Saturday comes with much excitement for everyone going to the part. The list extends past the usual group to include more people they know, a fact that bothers Ashling, who would prefer goofing off with her close nit group of friends.
Ashling and Malik arrive at Damian’s house at 7:05, five minutes after the party began. They follow the path lined by lit pumpkins to the basement door, which has been decorated by black and orange strips of fabric that fall over the frame. Inside, it takes a bit of searching to find their friends among the colors of the decorations and all the other people. Ashling keeps a tight hold on Malik’s arm the entire time, not wanting to be left alone in the crowd. They eventually locate their friends who are lingering by the food.
Ashling is dressed up as a cat demon witch, her blonde hair left down for once. A black witch hat with a navy blue silk scarf wrapped around it and golden-blonde cat ears fixated on it is on her head. Her clothes are black with blue see-through pieces making up her sleeves and the bottom trim of her skirt. Wrapped around her waist is a blue scarf that matches the one around her hat. Poking through the back of the skirt is a golden cat tail that tufts out slightly on the end. Painted on her right cheek is a blue pentagram and on her left cheek are two sky blue stripes.
Malik is dressed up as a biker- dark blue jeans, red t-shirt, and a black jean jacket. In Ashling’s sarcastic words, “How original.”
Damian is dressed up as a ninja, Naruto style. The oh-so-familiar Konoha village head plate is tied around his head. He’s wearing black pants and a dark green top. The usual pouches tied onto random but easy to reach places.
Jiro is dressed up as Miroku from Inuyasha- purple robes, golden staff, and all. He even has a lovely red handprint on his cheek from where Kaylie slapped him over something stupid.
Max is a baseball player.
Riley is dressed up in her old poodle skirt. It has a light gray top and a pink skirt with a little white poodle on it. Her hair is pulled up into a ponytail with a pink scarf that matches her skirt.
Kaylie is a dog demon. She’s make cute little black dog-ears to go on her head and found a black tail. She’s wearing a pale blue kimono with little dog bones decorating it. The obi for the kimono is black. On her left cheek is a single black stripe.
Holly is a dragon demon. She’s wearing a ebony black kimono with red and blue dragons stitched into it. The obi for her kimono is fire red. Her hair is pulled up into a bun and she’s wearing make-up. She has a light dusting of red eyeshadow and is wearing lip gloss. A bright red stripe runs from the bottom of her ear up halfway across her cheek on both sides. Below that stripe is a blue one that’s a little shorter than the red one. On her forehead is a strange red marking that looks like two crescent moons, open ends pointed outwards, with a dot below and above it. )(
Tabby is a pirate. She managed to find a cream colored long sleeve shirt with somewhat puffy sleeves and a black vest with brass buttons. She also found black pants and some brown boots, which she tucks the ends of her pants into. A red piece of fabric is wrapped around her waist and is used to hold the fake sword she bought. Her hair is down, but is partially held back by the red bandana on her head. In both her ears are gold hoop earrings.
Everywhere around the basement is orange and black crepe paper and bats and little pumpkins hanging from the ceiling. An apple dunking tub is set up in a corner of the basement and already has a crowd of people around it. Both the tables are covered with bowls of food, which are carefully monitored by Max, Chris (who’s wearing camouflage), and Mike (who’s a ghost).
“Damian, Riley, Holly, and Max did a good job on the place.” Ashling murmurs.
“Thanks Ash!” Max says happily, before going back to his conversation with one of the girls from school.
Someone taps Ashling on the shoulder moments later and a sense of familiarity washes over her followed by a calming wave of comfort. She turns around to see a boy with familiarly spiked reddish blonde hair. Most of his face is hidden behind a white mask and the boy is dressed entirely in white, which makes his pale skin seem darker. Strangely, there’s a pair of white wings on his back, which shows he’s dressed up as an angel.
“Care to dance?” He asks with a charming smile.
Ashling numbly nods, almost fearful of the strange familiarity.
Smiling, the boy leads Ashling off into the crowd to dance.
“Hey Malik, where’d Ash go?” Riley asks, walking up to the table with a cup of soda.
Malik points out to the dance floor. “She went off to dance.”
Riley looks, startled, in the direction that Malik pointed, almost dropping her cup of soda. “What? But Ash-! She never-!” She glances fearfully at Malik. “What did the guy she went with look like? Did he seem intimidating at all?”
“I didn’t get a good look.” Malik says. “I know he had blonde hair the same color as Phoenix’s and he was dressed up as a white angel and had a white mask. He had a calm feeling around him, I guess.” He shrugs after saying this. “What’s the big deal?”
“Ashling has a… condition.” Riley says worriedly. “She doesn’t trust very easily; she’s incredibly shy. Me, her, and Damian have been friends since we were about seven and we’re basically the only people Ashling completely trusts. Holly and Max are the only other people she considers trusting. I’m really surprised she’s even half-accepted you already. Especially given the circumstances.”
“So she doesn’t go off with random people.” Malik fills in. “There’s no one else she trusts?”
Riley bites her lips, wracking her brain for someone else. “Her brother… but he’s gone.” ‘But stil, the description Malik gave me sounds like him. But that’s not possible!’ Riley searches for her blonde friend out on the dance floor. “I’m going to go find Ashling.” She tells Malik, who nods.
But Ashling isn’t out dancing anymore, she’s now outside with the boy, talking to him. She stands several feet away from him, watching him wearily.
“Hey Dream Kitten.” He murmurs.
Ashling looks at him in shock. ‘What!? But only one person-!’ “Liam?” She whispers.
The boy pulls off his mask and slips it inside a pocket hidden within the folds of his costume. Then he looks back at Ashling with calm stormy blue eyes.
Ashling gasps. “Oh Kami…”
Liam rushes forward and catches her as her knees buckle and she starts falling. “Easy sis. I told you that you get too stressed out.”
Ashling looks up at her twin, clinging to his robes. “How?” She whispers, her throat dry. “How are you here? You- you’re…”
“Dead?” Liam gently finishes, setting Ashling down on the grass. “Yes, I’m quite dead. I really wasn’t suppose to come down here, but you know me. I snuck out.”
Ashling sweat drops at the completely Liam-like remark. “Liam, you moron.”
Liam grins. “Oh how I missed that. But anyway, I snuck out to talk to you.” He takes on a serious look. “Sis- Dream, you gotta let go. I hate seeing you like this.” He shushes her when she tries to speak. “Hush, I don’t have too long so hear me out. I know you miss me- I’ve missed you too- but you’ve been mourning for so long. When I look down at you I want to see the real you. The prank-loving, slightly insane, twin sister that I grew up with and love.”
Ashling has to crack a small smile at her brothers compliment.
“Ash, please don’t stay locked up inside.” Liam begs, glances around quickly. His eyes land on something that only he can see. ‘I am in so much trouble. How am I going to get out of this one?’ “I’ve got to go.” He says.
Ashling grabs his arm in an effort to keep him from leaving. ‘Cold… he’s so cold…’ “Please don’t go! I never got to say goodbye!”
Liam sadly smiles. “There’s no such thing as ‘goodbye’, Dream. Just ‘see ya’.” He says, patting Ashling on the head. “So, I’ll see you, alright?”
Ashling sniffles, a tear running down her cheek. “Yeah… see you.”
Liam sighs and places a feather in his twin’s hand. “When you need me, I’ll be there.”
Ashling looks at the feather for a moment and then tightly hugs her brother. Liam hugs her back and then lets go and steps back.
“Later sis.”
The wind blows, stirring up the leaves that have already fallen. Feathers flutter around Liam and then he’s gone.
Ashling stands there for a moment, fighting with the more rational part of her mind. Then Riley rushes outside and ushers her back inside. The white feather remains in Ashling’s hand.
Ashling glances back at the spot Liam had stood. ‘You’ve always been my determined guardian, haven’t you? We’ve both lived up to our names now…’
-C-A-T--O-F--T-H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S--C-A-T --O-F--T-H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S-
(cricket chirps)
Bast: You just couldn't resist the temptation, could you?
Shiro: Nope. I figured that if we've got spirits over 3000 years old trapped inside golden items, why not have a slightly insane spirit who's 17 and actually has ties to the world.
Keitaro: She's got a point.
Kaze: (snorts) If you call that a point.
Shiro: (glomps Keitaro) Yeah!
Kaze: (leaving...)
Kyle: (sighs) If you're reading this story, then please review.
Kaze: It's not that long.
Shiro: Shut up, Kaze. Anyway, please enjoy!
Disclaimer: (checks) Nope, still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. I do own all OC's used in this story.
-C-A-T--O-F--T-H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S--C-A-T--O-F--T -H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S-
Chapter 7: Halloween
It’s now October and already close to Halloween. It’s been over a month since the anniversary, so Ashling is back to what Malik sees as normal. Because it’s so close to Halloween, the large group- aka Riley, Max, Holly, Damian, Jiro, Ashling, Kaylie, Malik, Tabby, Mike, and Chris- is preparing for it. Then Damian comes up with his ‘most brilliant plan ever’, which is the reason why he’s grinning like a maniac when he sits down at the lunch table on Tuesday afternoon.Riley eyes the now black, red, and golden haired boy suspiciously. “Damian, what on earth are you plotting?” She finally asks.
“Nothing, nothing.” Damian says, false-innocently. “I’m planning.”
“By your book it’s the same thing.” Riley responds.
Damian shrugs. “I’m planning a Halloween party. Want to help?”
Riley considers this, distracted for a moment by Holly and Max as they sit down.
“What are you plotting this time?” Max asks wearily, nothing Damian’s grin.
“Halloween party.” Damian cheerfully replies. “You guys want to help?”
“Sure!” Holly exclaims excitably. “This is going to be so much fun! It is going to be a costume party? Will there be food? What-?”
Damian laughs at her eagerness while Riley and Max listen on in amusement.
“We’ll help, Damian.” Riley says. “Your poor house would be destroyed if it were to be just you and Holly decorating.”
“Thanks guys. Oh, and let’s just tell the others we’re throwing a party. I want the decorations and everything to be a surprise.” Damian says before Ashling and Malik sit down, shortly followed by the rest of the Anime fanatics and then Mike, Chris, and Tabby.
“You’re hosting a Halloween party?” Jiro asks, surprised. “Is it a costume party or just a lets-hang-out-and-act-stupid party?”
“Costume of course!” Damian responds. “It’s gonna be on Halloween for once ‘cause it’ll be Saturday!” He cheers. “This is going to be the best ever! How does karaoke sound?”
Ashling raises an eyebrow. “After hearing you sing at my family’s Fourth of July get-together? No thanks.”
“Okay, so I was a little high from having too much soda and candy, but that won’t happen this year!” Damian exclaims.
Riley gives Damian a look. “Yes it will. You’re going to eat so much candy and drink so much soda that you’ll wake up the next morning with a sugar induced hangover and basically no memory of what happened the night before. Then me, Holly, Ash, and Jiro will tell you and you’ll remember all the crap you did.”
Damian sighs. “Yeah, you’re right. Sometimes I hate it when you’re right.” He pokes something on his plate with his spork. “So… does anyone have any idea about what the hell this is?”
Everyone looks at the wiggling mutated mass of something in disgust.
“Didn’t think so…” Damian mumbles, poking it more violently with his spork.
Ashling turns green. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Garbage can is right there.” Damian says cheerfully, pointing over his shoulder to the gray garbage can behind him.
Ashling turns more green if possible. “Shut up, Damian.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Later that night Malik is laying on his bed doing homework and Ashling is at her desk doing a bunch of different things. Every once in a while the strawberry blonde haired girl glances down at Malik, obviously fighting an inner battle over something. Finally, she reaches a decision and turns around in her chair to face him.
Malik looks up from his work, feeling Ashling’s eyes on him. “What?”
“Ano…” She holds up their Algebra 2 homework. “Can you help me out?”
Malik looks at her in surprise. “You want my help?”
Ashling bites her lip and nods. “None of the others are in Algebra 2 and besides, you’re right here.”
“Fine. Come down here and show me what you need help with.” Malik says with a sigh.
Ashling gets up from her chair and sits down beside Malik. “I can’t really explain it. I mean, I understood it when she showed us and gave us notes, but now I can’t figure it out.” She says. “I re-did the example problem but came up with something completely different.”
Malik takes Ashling’s notes and compares them to his own. “You’re missing a part here.” He says, pointing to a space between two steps. Malik then goes on to explain it to Ashling. Unbeknownst to them, Ishizu peeks through the door to watch them, smiling when she sees them finally getting along.
“Thanks Ishtar!” Ashling says, her voice considerably more cheerful. She quickly hugs him and then bounces back into her seat, slipping her headphones back on.
Malik watches her in something akin to amazement. ‘She’s defiantly a mystery…’
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Holly joyfully hums along to the Linkin Park CD as she, Riley, Max, and Damian decorate the overly large basement where the party will be held.
Riley and Damian are both working on ceiling decorations, not trusting Holly or Max with the ladders. Holly is alternating between getting decorations for Riley and Damian and cleaning up. Max is arranging the tables and going over the list of food and drinks for the party.
“We need a checklist.” Riley comments. “That way we can make sure we have everything.” She climbs down off the ladder, done with that section of the ceiling.
Damian nods and hops down off his ladder. “Max, you got a pen and paper?”
Max flips over to the next page in the notebook he’s writing in. “Yup.”
Damian begins naming off things for the checklist. Riley, Holly, and Max add things now and then.
With the way things are going with the decorating, they’ll be finished long before the party. They actually finish on Friday, but have to hold off on putting out food and drinks until Saturday evening.
Saturday comes with much excitement for everyone going to the part. The list extends past the usual group to include more people they know, a fact that bothers Ashling, who would prefer goofing off with her close nit group of friends.
Ashling and Malik arrive at Damian’s house at 7:05, five minutes after the party began. They follow the path lined by lit pumpkins to the basement door, which has been decorated by black and orange strips of fabric that fall over the frame. Inside, it takes a bit of searching to find their friends among the colors of the decorations and all the other people. Ashling keeps a tight hold on Malik’s arm the entire time, not wanting to be left alone in the crowd. They eventually locate their friends who are lingering by the food.
Ashling is dressed up as a cat demon witch, her blonde hair left down for once. A black witch hat with a navy blue silk scarf wrapped around it and golden-blonde cat ears fixated on it is on her head. Her clothes are black with blue see-through pieces making up her sleeves and the bottom trim of her skirt. Wrapped around her waist is a blue scarf that matches the one around her hat. Poking through the back of the skirt is a golden cat tail that tufts out slightly on the end. Painted on her right cheek is a blue pentagram and on her left cheek are two sky blue stripes.
Malik is dressed up as a biker- dark blue jeans, red t-shirt, and a black jean jacket. In Ashling’s sarcastic words, “How original.”
Damian is dressed up as a ninja, Naruto style. The oh-so-familiar Konoha village head plate is tied around his head. He’s wearing black pants and a dark green top. The usual pouches tied onto random but easy to reach places.
Jiro is dressed up as Miroku from Inuyasha- purple robes, golden staff, and all. He even has a lovely red handprint on his cheek from where Kaylie slapped him over something stupid.
Max is a baseball player.
Riley is dressed up in her old poodle skirt. It has a light gray top and a pink skirt with a little white poodle on it. Her hair is pulled up into a ponytail with a pink scarf that matches her skirt.
Kaylie is a dog demon. She’s make cute little black dog-ears to go on her head and found a black tail. She’s wearing a pale blue kimono with little dog bones decorating it. The obi for the kimono is black. On her left cheek is a single black stripe.
Holly is a dragon demon. She’s wearing a ebony black kimono with red and blue dragons stitched into it. The obi for her kimono is fire red. Her hair is pulled up into a bun and she’s wearing make-up. She has a light dusting of red eyeshadow and is wearing lip gloss. A bright red stripe runs from the bottom of her ear up halfway across her cheek on both sides. Below that stripe is a blue one that’s a little shorter than the red one. On her forehead is a strange red marking that looks like two crescent moons, open ends pointed outwards, with a dot below and above it. )(
Tabby is a pirate. She managed to find a cream colored long sleeve shirt with somewhat puffy sleeves and a black vest with brass buttons. She also found black pants and some brown boots, which she tucks the ends of her pants into. A red piece of fabric is wrapped around her waist and is used to hold the fake sword she bought. Her hair is down, but is partially held back by the red bandana on her head. In both her ears are gold hoop earrings.
Everywhere around the basement is orange and black crepe paper and bats and little pumpkins hanging from the ceiling. An apple dunking tub is set up in a corner of the basement and already has a crowd of people around it. Both the tables are covered with bowls of food, which are carefully monitored by Max, Chris (who’s wearing camouflage), and Mike (who’s a ghost).
“Damian, Riley, Holly, and Max did a good job on the place.” Ashling murmurs.
“Thanks Ash!” Max says happily, before going back to his conversation with one of the girls from school.
Someone taps Ashling on the shoulder moments later and a sense of familiarity washes over her followed by a calming wave of comfort. She turns around to see a boy with familiarly spiked reddish blonde hair. Most of his face is hidden behind a white mask and the boy is dressed entirely in white, which makes his pale skin seem darker. Strangely, there’s a pair of white wings on his back, which shows he’s dressed up as an angel.
“Care to dance?” He asks with a charming smile.
Ashling numbly nods, almost fearful of the strange familiarity.
Smiling, the boy leads Ashling off into the crowd to dance.
“Hey Malik, where’d Ash go?” Riley asks, walking up to the table with a cup of soda.
Malik points out to the dance floor. “She went off to dance.”
Riley looks, startled, in the direction that Malik pointed, almost dropping her cup of soda. “What? But Ash-! She never-!” She glances fearfully at Malik. “What did the guy she went with look like? Did he seem intimidating at all?”
“I didn’t get a good look.” Malik says. “I know he had blonde hair the same color as Phoenix’s and he was dressed up as a white angel and had a white mask. He had a calm feeling around him, I guess.” He shrugs after saying this. “What’s the big deal?”
“Ashling has a… condition.” Riley says worriedly. “She doesn’t trust very easily; she’s incredibly shy. Me, her, and Damian have been friends since we were about seven and we’re basically the only people Ashling completely trusts. Holly and Max are the only other people she considers trusting. I’m really surprised she’s even half-accepted you already. Especially given the circumstances.”
“So she doesn’t go off with random people.” Malik fills in. “There’s no one else she trusts?”
Riley bites her lips, wracking her brain for someone else. “Her brother… but he’s gone.” ‘But stil, the description Malik gave me sounds like him. But that’s not possible!’ Riley searches for her blonde friend out on the dance floor. “I’m going to go find Ashling.” She tells Malik, who nods.
But Ashling isn’t out dancing anymore, she’s now outside with the boy, talking to him. She stands several feet away from him, watching him wearily.
“Hey Dream Kitten.” He murmurs.
Ashling looks at him in shock. ‘What!? But only one person-!’ “Liam?” She whispers.
The boy pulls off his mask and slips it inside a pocket hidden within the folds of his costume. Then he looks back at Ashling with calm stormy blue eyes.
Ashling gasps. “Oh Kami…”
Liam rushes forward and catches her as her knees buckle and she starts falling. “Easy sis. I told you that you get too stressed out.”
Ashling looks up at her twin, clinging to his robes. “How?” She whispers, her throat dry. “How are you here? You- you’re…”
“Dead?” Liam gently finishes, setting Ashling down on the grass. “Yes, I’m quite dead. I really wasn’t suppose to come down here, but you know me. I snuck out.”
Ashling sweat drops at the completely Liam-like remark. “Liam, you moron.”
Liam grins. “Oh how I missed that. But anyway, I snuck out to talk to you.” He takes on a serious look. “Sis- Dream, you gotta let go. I hate seeing you like this.” He shushes her when she tries to speak. “Hush, I don’t have too long so hear me out. I know you miss me- I’ve missed you too- but you’ve been mourning for so long. When I look down at you I want to see the real you. The prank-loving, slightly insane, twin sister that I grew up with and love.”
Ashling has to crack a small smile at her brothers compliment.
“Ash, please don’t stay locked up inside.” Liam begs, glances around quickly. His eyes land on something that only he can see. ‘I am in so much trouble. How am I going to get out of this one?’ “I’ve got to go.” He says.
Ashling grabs his arm in an effort to keep him from leaving. ‘Cold… he’s so cold…’ “Please don’t go! I never got to say goodbye!”
Liam sadly smiles. “There’s no such thing as ‘goodbye’, Dream. Just ‘see ya’.” He says, patting Ashling on the head. “So, I’ll see you, alright?”
Ashling sniffles, a tear running down her cheek. “Yeah… see you.”
Liam sighs and places a feather in his twin’s hand. “When you need me, I’ll be there.”
Ashling looks at the feather for a moment and then tightly hugs her brother. Liam hugs her back and then lets go and steps back.
“Later sis.”
The wind blows, stirring up the leaves that have already fallen. Feathers flutter around Liam and then he’s gone.
Ashling stands there for a moment, fighting with the more rational part of her mind. Then Riley rushes outside and ushers her back inside. The white feather remains in Ashling’s hand.
Ashling glances back at the spot Liam had stood. ‘You’ve always been my determined guardian, haven’t you? We’ve both lived up to our names now…’
-C-A-T--O-F--T-H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S--C-A-T --O-F--T-H-E--L-I-L-A-C--E-Y-E-S-
(cricket chirps)
Bast: You just couldn't resist the temptation, could you?
Shiro: Nope. I figured that if we've got spirits over 3000 years old trapped inside golden items, why not have a slightly insane spirit who's 17 and actually has ties to the world.
Keitaro: She's got a point.
Kaze: (snorts) If you call that a point.
Shiro: (glomps Keitaro) Yeah!
Kaze: (leaving...)
Kyle: (sighs) If you're reading this story, then please review.