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Towa grumbled as she felt someone poke her chin, which caused her to bury her face into the pillow.
"It's time to get up, towa," Kanata whispered into the devil's ear.
Towa swatted her hand, her face turning red as an underlying noise of buzzing could be heard.
"If you don't wake up I'll have Botan come to carry you to breakfast," Kanata said quietly as she removed the covers.
Towa reluctantly sat up, but the blush disappeared when she looked around confused, the buzzing sound was still present.
"Do you hear that?" Towa asked, her voice raspy as she itched her eyes.
Kanata shook her head as she took Towas hands in her own.
"Breakfast! We're hungry, we already let you sleep longer today"
Towa grinned as she got off the bed, following her girlfriend, but noted to ask about the buzzing in her ears later.
—-----
There's a buzzing noise in the office, it's been around her the whole day like it's right by her ears. She asked her coworkers if they noticed it, but they couldn't hear it.
She let it be, it was probably nothing, just overworked. As she was sitting with her last report her phone rang.
"Hi, are you coming home soon?" Kanata whispered quietly.
"Yeah, just finishing the last for today, did botan fall asleep?-" as if to answer her question, Kanata moved the phone closer to the lioness, a rumble could be heard, no not a rumble, purrs.
Towa smiled fondly to herself as she leaned onto her phone.
"Hurry home, but be safe" Kanata whispered softly.
"I'll be home soon, don't wait up for me if you're exhausted too"
She blinked as she noticed the darkness outside, causing her to curse at herself, but something flared up, causing her to hold her arms around her head and ears.
The noise was back, but it wasn't buzzing. It was like a hundred voices speaking at once, over each other, not letting the sentences thrown about her ears, make sense.
She flinched upright when something touched her, she didn't mean to scream so loud, her heart was hammering in her chest.
"Hey, hey, it's just me" Kanata stepped to the devil's side.
Don't be a bother.
Towa flinched at the loud voice, her gaze landing on her keyboard, forgetting her surroundings as she looked back at the report.
"Hey, Towa?" Kanata nudged her, placing a hand under her chin to coax her to make eye contact.
"It's time to go home, we'll buy some aspirin on the way home, Botan is waiting outside"
Protests died in her throat as Kanata stared worriedly, caressing her cheeks slowly. She nodded slowly as she let herself be dragged out of the office.
Kanata placed her finger over her mouth before Botan could speak.
"Headache, we have to stop by the store on the way home" she spoke quietly as she took botans hand, squeezing both.
Towa stared at the ground as they walked, the buzzing clouding over her girlfriends conversation, so when the lioness used her head to rest her own on, she let out a silent scream.
"Kanata is inside the store, you sure it's only a headache?" She asked worriedly, letting her hands caress the devil's sides.
Towa leaned back into her girlfriend, "yeah, it's just a buzzing noise.. nothing serious."
Botan hummed in response as she drew her into a tight embrace.
Towa sat up slowly, as she glanced at the sleeping pair next to her, the buzzing rotating in her ears covered their soft breaths.
She carefully moved out of bed, hesitating at the door, glancing back at them.
"Towa?" She froze up at the door as she had finished taking on her jacket.
"Where are you going?" Botan asked quietly, her head drooping with sleep.
"Just to get some fresh air" Towas shoulders rose to her ears, her tail clinging to her leg.
"You still have the headache?"
Towa didn't answer, just chose to stare at a spot on the floor.
Botan took the devil's hands in her own, leading her to the couch.
"You wanna watch something while trying to sleep? It might help"
She shrugged her shoulders as she laid down on top of the lioness, staring at the tv while listening to the smallest hint of a purr. She let her weight push her as close as she could be, as the buzzing slowly turned into incoherent whispers.
In the morning Kanata found the devil sitting at the window cill, looking blankly at the droplets which were falling silently outside. The lioness sound asleep on the couch.
“Towa?” Kanata placed her hand on her girlfriends shoulder, only to be surprised by Towa flinching away; growling her fangs growing slightly in size.
“Towa?” Kanata repeated as she squeezed her shoulder, not backing away from the feral devil.
Towa had isolated herself in her room, excusing that she was sick and needs to be alone. After biting one of her girlfriends, she couldn’t stand to see herself or even recognise herself.
She knows she shouldn’t, she should talk about the voices in her head, filling her with mistruths. She buried her face into the pillow while dragging the cover over her head, groaning quietly as they grew louder, almost mocking her.
There was a knocking at her door, she knows she can’t hide forever, but she can’t imagine facing the music, that everything the voices told her would be true.
Weakling.
Her stomach lurched as she hugged herself when she answered to let whoever come inside.
Their footsteps were quiet but precise as she gripped the cover as her life depended on it when the bed dipped.
“Towa, come out and play?” Kanata sang, in a worried tone.
Towa shook her head, as her body trembled under the pressure of her thoughts.
“You’re shaking-” Kanata whispered as she laid down, slowly and carefully pulling her arm over the frail devil.
She didn’t ask any questions as she held her close, she let her hand snake under the cover, half expecting for it to get swatted. Towa took it between her hands, holding it against her lips, a gentle but desperate hold.
“I’m sorry” she croaked, her voice hoarse, her tongue heavy in her mouth, the sensation like sandpaper on her lips.
“It’s okay, tell us what’s wrong?” Botan asked as she lay behind the frail form.
“You remember the buzzing…? It’s not really… It turned into voices, kinda” Towa felt a stone in her throat.
“and they tell you lies?” Kanata asked, as she slowly reached to pull the covers off.
Towa just hummed in response, squinting at the new found light entering her vision.
“Don’t listen to them, yeah? Just listen to our voices, when we tell you you're enough, let us bury the voices, one word at a time, together” Kanata stated, as she pulled the devil in close.
“Let’s go take a bath too, start fresh” Botan stated, clearly holding her breath.
“Because I smell?” Towa buried her face into the crook of Kanata's neck, as she shuddered, knowing the neglected self-care, was both visible and able to be smelled.
“Yep,” Kanta said, popping the p, as she slowly moved to get up.
“You stink, let’s go.”