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Here she was with some unknown contraband set in front of her.
She knew better, she knew well what this could do to her. It could get her in trouble if any remaining substance lingered after its use. That would be horrible. She didn't want to lose the library she worked so hard on. All these books over the few tens of years that she gathered would go to waste. Her works would be dumped and donated. Not a pleasant thought at all.
There was also the fact on what it could do to her. She has read many books about the unfortunate demons that had turned to drugs to ease themselves and let go. Perhaps they let go a bit too much because it almost always ended with their life slipping from their hands. The symptoms were worrying and rather gross to read off the pages of where they were written. The red eyes, the shaking, the blurriness in your vision. The cause of failures in many vital organs came from drugs... And it can easily be prevented if you just didn't take it. Didn't have it.
And yet here it was.
Sitting on her desk covered by stacks of books in case someone looked into the library. She didn't dare unlock the library's door, making sure the sign still showed closed from outside. It was a bit unusual seeing as she was usually open on Tuesdays. But not today. Not now with this... Lingering problem in front of her.
Could Traffic not have just... Told her what it was? Surely it wouldn't have been that big of a deal.
All he did was come into her establishment, greet her, said he had a gift, dared to drop a bunch of drugs into her front desk and walk out with Lightblox to go spend time with her at the park... What?
Was this some sort of frame? Was this stoner friend of hers trying to get her into legal trouble? How did he even get his hands on this in the first place?! That's what she wanted to know. He tended to smoke weed and such. She wouldn't tell him what he should and shouldn't put into his body as long as it wasn't life threatening. But this? This is dangerous. This could just mess with your mind couldn't it? Why did he give it to her? What did he think she was going to do with this?!
What was she even going to do? She could turn it to the authorities.. but that would put her at risk for being blamed for even having this stuff in the first place. Wasn't this banned in every single faction but lost temple?
She had no doubt she would be on watch after turning it in. Getting rid of it would be hard as well. Many homeless people tended to go through many trash sights in crossroads. Trying to throw it out there would mean someone else would come across it. She wouldn't have that. It could kill them. This stuff could kill a healthy, strong, living demon...
But could it kill her?
She isn't anything from this outer world or inpherno may she say... she doesn't even know if there are any of her kind left. She will live up to about 300 years.. maybe less or older. It's more than the demons who are the dominant species of this world. It's a lot more actually. Her body is built differently from demons. She is essentially a walking, skeltory, figure. With fire coursing around the darkened bones of her body. Her exposed heart could always be heard beating and it unnerved most who could not deal with the disturbed. Her head was made of fire, and yet it was covered by a white pumpkin given to her by a certain florist.
This head wear was a gift that she could appreciate. It helped her blend in more with society with the blue jeweled decorated antlers that colors fade from gray to azure. She really could thank Vinestaff for gifting it to her.
She turned back to the "not as welcomed" gift on her desk. She wondered.. would it have the same side effects on her as it would an ordinary demon? Or would it be different? Would the current heart resting on her chest stop beating, or would it beat faster from the rush the contraband would give? She couldn't help but be curious about it all. She shouldn't. Really shouldn't. But what unique document it would be to write about herself.
She had never taken drugs before despite living so long on the surface of this world. She only knew how terrible the outcomes would be. But would it really be the same for her? She wanted to see if she could handle the rush it would give. Feel the side effects course through her charred vessel of fire and jot down every reaction...
So in the end her curiosity for more knowledge won.
Ghosdeeri waited for the sun to set into the evening. Even though night hours tended to have less demons roaming around crossroads she wanted to make sure no one was around during this... Activity.. this very illegal activity. Demons don't often appear in the evening or at dawn and she'd be quick enough to use the substance before anyone could look into the windows and notice.
She carefully slipped off her pumpkin head and set it aside onto the ground, open blue flames lighting her desk and the books around her.
She slowly unwrapped the package that the substance was in, trying not to spread its powder anywhere. She didn't need lasting evidence being sound or randomly inhaled after all.
Looking out into the street, it was just as she thought. There were no demons in sight. Only the sky being overcast by the city and tall skyscrapers. You could always see the flip side tower in the center, no matter where you were in Crossroads.
Insuring no one was around she got a small pinch of the drug, carefully sprinkling it into her flamed head. She didn't have a mouth despite being able to talk, if she wanted to eat she would have to let it disintegrate through the fire of her head, not a single ash left. Hence she figured this would be the same, right?
She felt nothing, perhaps she needed more?
Every time she burned more of the substance she noted down how she felt within her journal, currently she felt fine. Nothing out of the ordinary. She knew demons wouldn't be able to take half of this much. Yet here she was. Still going on and on.
After getting about half way through the pack, she figured she may as well just burn the rest all at once. It was clearly not having a big effect on her and she probably needed a bigger dose. She tilted the flames of her head downwards, burning the rest of the drugs into nothingness. Her table was fireproof and made of metal, her books were set a decent distance away so she didn't have to worry about burning them.
There was nothing left. Not a single trace of residue at all.
No one saw either.
She felt perfectly fine.
Standing up from her desk albeit a bit disappointed, she put back on her pumpkin and glasses. Picking up her journal with her to-
It hit her like a truck.
Her vision immediately looked all hazy and disoriented. The blues in her vision took over everything else that was gray. The doors and windows became disproportional, overlapping one another and becoming crooked. Her books were constantly falling off the shelves despite her walking over to put them back. Her hands phased through the material.
Scribbles were forming, why? The realistic viewing of her vision was quickly turned into childish scribbles. Blue painted and splotched. Dripping down the walls of the former library.
Don't people feel euphoric when they do this? Why didn't she? Why did she only feel weird? Why did she feel sad? She didn't like this.
The smiley faces around her were trying to smile, but failed as the edges of their mouths curved downwards to a frown.
Books went drip.
Floors went bang.
The desk went bam.
The hands went creak.
Her heart thumped without sound.
Her vision went fizz.
A sudden blinding color came from the windows.
She had never seen it before. What was it? Why was it here? She had only ever seen blue, what was that color?
It got brighter, it got towards the door.
Was she supposed to be scared about it? Was she supposed to welcome it?
It knocked.
She wanted to answer it.
SHE WANTED TO IGNORE IT.
She's here.
After a few knocks, the color pulled out a blurry item and slipped into the blue door knob of the playroom.
She wanted to greet it.
SHE WANTED TO KICK IT OUT.
It was trying to say something, but the blue goo is all that came out. The unknown color kept spitting out blue as it tried to speak.
SHE WANTED TO UNDERSTAND IT.
She wanted to strangle it.
It got closer to her.
SHE WANTED TO WELCOME IT.
She wanted to get away from it.
The color's deformed arm brought its hand up to her pumpkin. Caressing the side of her face essentially. The color’s hand was warm... Was it a warm color?
She wants the hand to stay there. She brought up her own clawed hand to gently place it on top of the warm color's wooden one.
Vinestaff was warm, wasn't she?
This color reminded her of Vinestaff.
Didn't Vinestaff say she wore pink, and had pink horns? She had never seen it before. She had never seen any other color in her life besides blue or gray. This new color was new to her but she'd like to think it was a nice warm shade of pink. Maybe she was wrong but she didn't care, she nuzzled her pumpkin more into the warm colors hand.
The warm color was muffled still as it tried to talk, but sounded nice. Soothing. Like the chirps of a young songbird that would fly around and mesmerize you with its music that came from the aves's throat. A wonderful sound indeed.
Bright pink flowers formed around the warm color. It suited them. She didn't know why but for some reason it just seemed like the type of thing that would suit this Color. As if it was made for it.
Her and the warm color sat down onto the floor, she could feel their arms wrapping around her boney torso. She felt them rub her back as Ghosdeeri laid their head down onto the color's shoulder Touches filled with tenderness and love. This color cared for them.. and they loved that.
Pink represents love... She sworn she read that in a book somewhere. She was glad to be able to see love. See it for how it manifested and how it was. It was such a change from blue, she wished to see this color more often. She wished to be near the color forever...
Ghosdeeri hugged them back. She could feel the color's lips fall onto the top of white skin of her helm, giving it a loving kiss before the color decided to nuzzle their foreheads against one another.
She was sad she couldn't kiss the color herself. She had no mouth after all.. But she knew there were other ways to show her gratitude for the living color. She wanted them to feel happy like she was. Did they like blue as much as they did pink?
She loved this familiar color...
She loved Vinestaff.
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Waking up she felt woozy. Her vision was back to normal at least. The colors of her world had reverted back into the near placements of blues and grays. The sky was getting lighter, signifying it was the early morning... That pink color was gone.
She felt some warmth that was not from her own fire, beside her... Vinestaff.
The demon was awake and sitting up, looking at Ghosdeeri with a strangely concerned expression. Her hair was a bit messy, perhaps she also just woke up.
"Deerie... Are you alright now?"
She was confused. Has something happened?
"What do you mean?"
"I came here to visit you last night, you were walking around aimlessly and it worried me. I had a slight amount of trouble getting you to calm down and sit beside me. Are you okay?"
She really shouldn't have taken those drugs... She had worried Vinestaff.
"Yes, I am alright. Now at least."
"Thank goodness!" Vinestaff gave her pumpkin head a kiss, where her mouth would be if she had one.
The two had started dating a while back, bonding over their long life spans and similar interests. She really did care dearly about her.
And now she felt lucky.
Lucky to see what color Vinestaff really was. Instead of the gray she usually saw, she would envision the vibrant pink she saw yesterday.
Pink, Vinestaff's color.
"Why were you acting funny earlier?"
"Traffic had given me some contraband, which I had taken as to record how I would be able to handle said substance compared to your kind." It was good to be honest towards your loved ones was it not?
"Hm, I see... Wait- WHAT?!"