Chapter Text
This is it. Today is the day. You are finally living on your own. After years of belittling and distance from your parents, you finally managed to save up enough to buy a house. It may be a little stranded in the middle of the woods, but you didn’t mind. Just meant you won’t have to worry about neighbors coming to bother you. It even gave your dog Teddy enough room to run around for hours. Teddy was a Great Dane and Irish Wolfhound mix, so he was a pretty big ass dog. You’ve had him for a couple years now and have become so dependent on him it was honestly scary. He recently got finished training to be your personal guard dog, but you know how much he loves deer hunting with you. You won’t even try to think of how life would be without him. You were cut from your thoughts by the sound of the moving truck leaving, its tires squeaking loudly.
“Well, I guess we better get started then Teddy,” you sighed, Teddy, barking in reply. This was gonna be tough. They didn’t even put your stuff near the door! Mumbling insults, you picked up a couple of the lightest boxes and began moving them inside, being careful not to drop any. It had some pretty important things in there after all!
A good 2 hours later and you feel like you walked 5 miles uphill with a boulder strapped to your neck. Ugh, why did you have to bring so many crystals? Not even your consoles were that heavy, and you didn’t even have that many to begin with! You never really played on them that often and you never bothered to buy the new consoles that kept coming out of the blue. Well except for the Switch, which you bought simply because it could play Undertale and Animal Crossing. You haven’t played Undertale in a while… You remember all the pictures you downloaded, the different fan-made AU battles, and the stories you’ve read. The bittybones universe was one of your favorites.
Back to moving! You can’t afford to get distracted, especially since you still need to figure out how you would set up your mountain of books and crystals. You began by putting away all your clothes in the bedroom, the comically large walk-in closet was a blessing for organizing all the seasonal clothes you bought. Teddy was let outside to go and explore the literal forest of a backyard. As you were putting away your jackets, a flash of gold caught your eye. You went over to look and a sense of nostalgia flooded over you.
“Hey, I haven’t seen this in years!” You shouted. “It's still soft too.” You buried your face in the fabric. It was a beautiful forest green, with golden accents along the trim of the hood, sleeves, pocket, and bottom edge. It was something your older sister gave you before she left for Egypt. Back then, it was so big you could swim in it, but now it looked like it could finally fit you properly. You didn’t even have to think twice, slipping the jacket over your head and practically melting over how warm it was. Not to mention that it was big enough to hide your hands perfectly!
You run over to the mirror and look at yourself. You still wonder where you got your looks from because you look nothing like your parents. You stare at yourself, looking at your thick, curly brown hair that reached your shoulders. You need to wash it soon since it tangles so much. You were pretty tall for a woman your age, a whopping 6’2 ft. of curves. Your legs were thick and muscled, strengthened from your training as a dancer and kickboxer. You looked down at your chest. Still had a ways to go in that department, remaining a B cup despite everything else growing bigger. You had hazel eyes, brown surrounding your pupil, and green specks everywhere else. You loved that they looked like the gems you tended to collect.
Your skin had to be your most striking feature. It was a golden olive hue, with white splotches that have been spreading since you were 10. Vitiligo, a disease in which pigment-producing cells die or stop functioning, creating pale patches all over the body. Most of it was on your arms and legs, but at some point, it started spreading to your face. You now had a large white spot over your right eye.
You were always teased as a child. Called names like Bessie, cow, or even demon by some of the more religious adults in the community. You hated it. You hated THEM. Your parents never helped, which just made things worse. They told you it was to be expected with looks like yours. Even now, your parents never look at the things you have accomplished and only focus on your other siblings. The only comfort you got was from your elder sister, who took it upon herself to teach you how to fight and later on, taught you how to dance. Your brother also helped. He taught you how to sew and embroider clothes, and would sometimes hide little messages on the insides of your jackets. He even did it on this one; on the inner part of the hood was a little star that looked like it was made of emerald and amber. It was beautiful.
Now, look at you, opening your own studio, and teaching people how to dance. It was because of them that you started to like your skin just a little bit more, and now you feel even more confident than ever before. The trauma from your childhood still haunts you, but you’ve started to embrace it. At least, that's what your therapist says.
“I think a find like this deserves a lot more than to be rotting in some closet,” you joked. Smiling, you continued to put away the rest of your clothes and began placing all of your crystals around the bedroom, making it look like it came straight from a fantasy book’s description of a dragon’s den. A few hours in and the rumbling of your stomach finally grabbed your attention. “I guess I better eat something, huh? I wonder what I can make,” you mumbled, rubbing your stomach. You didn’t have enough time to buy proper food so instant noodles and potstickers should be enough, right? You really need to buy something decent.
You made your noodles and went to the living room, watching a few videos on your phone to pass the time. Eventually, Teddy came around to scratching on the door. Once you let him inside, you set up his food and water bowls and left him to eat while you finished cleaning. You only slightly resent your hoarding tendencies, since over half of your belongings consisted of shiny crystals, art supplies, and books. Because of that, it was taking you much longer than originally planned. When you looked outside, the sun was beginning to set.
“Alright Teddy, let’s go for a walk!” You called, grabbing his leash. He loved his long walks, and since you wanted to explore the area, you chose your tennis shoes instead of your usual slides. Since October started, the air has been cooling down much faster than you’re used to. It only got worse when the sun had set, and you felt lucky to have found your old jacket. It was really coming in handy. The forest around your house was beautiful. Large oak trees and mushrooms of every kind, and you even saw a fox with her kits. You stayed very still and even got a few pictures before they saw you and ran off.
Once you got home, you were exhausted. The trip here was tiring enough, topping it off with putting all your stuff away and an hour-long walk was a bit overkill. You felt gross, sweaty, and tired so you decided to take a shower and head to bed. You’d wash your hair tomorrow, it would take forever to dry and you couldn't see your hair dryer or diffuser anywhere. The bathroom was pretty big and even had a tub big enough for you to lay down in. Perfect, you wouldn’t have to call and get a custom one made! Talk about lucky savings. But sadly, you weren’t in the mood for a bath just yet so you used the built-in shower this time.
Once you were warm and slightly red-skinned, you got out, you put on a pair of underwear, knee-high socks, some shorts, and a big t-shirt and went to bed. You knew it would get chilly in the house since the floors were mostly made of wood. The only carpeted areas were the bedrooms and the living room. You double-checked to see if you set your alarm for tomorrow since you still needed to buy some more food. You called Teddy over to jump on the bed. Teddy always wanted to sleep with you when he was little, and that never changed. You felt safe when he was laying next to you. Reaching over, you placed a kiss on his head and whispered goodnight.
After turning off the lamp, you soon drifted into darkness.
Weightless.
You were floating, suspended within the ever-present darkness that surrounded you. It was warm yet cold, overbearing and confusing, yet familiar and kind. A memory that did not belong to you alone.
A voice calls your name. What does it want? It grows louder, more urgent. You open your eyes and try to find who is speaking. Its calls are getting frantic like it’s trying to warn you of something. You turn towards the sound and see a face.
It’s getting closer. Who is that man? Why does he look so familiar? Is he okay?
Questions are running through your head, but you say nothing. The man speaks to you once again.
“Child of man, you shouldn't be here. You must leave this place quickly," he warns. "Be careful, for one day the void will try to claim you as well.”
His voice felt like it was distorting space and time, and it sent shivers down your spine. He was right. You shouldn’t be here. But where were you?
He was even closer now. He looked familiar, like someone you’ve met before but you couldn’t remember from where. It was then that you realized something.
He said the void would claim you if you stayed.
You have to leave .
N O W!
You woke up with a start, panting and grabbing at your sheets you tried to remember what just happened. A dream? You could still remember the way he spoke, haunting and foreboding. An event you shouldn’t have witnessed yet.
A cold, wet something touched your cheek and you turned to see Teddy. He was whining and pawing at your arms, his blue eyes were focused on yours. As you slowly began to calm down, you leaned over to hug him and bury your face in his fluffy chest.
“Thank you, Teddy. Sorry if I scared you, baby, I just had the strangest dream.” You yawned that last sentence out, now beginning to notice that your phone was going off. It was probably your alarm. Letting go, you turn to retrieve the offending device, turning it off with practiced ease. Guess its time to start the day.
You stretched as you removed the covers, sliding out of bed, and throwing on your slippers. You waddled over to your bathroom, looking in the mirror and almost screaming at what you saw. You were a mess! Your hair was sticking up all over the place and you had dark circles under your eyes.
‘Ugh, that was terrifying’ you thought to yourself, grabbing your toothbrush and toothpaste before going to work on your morning breath. Once you spat out the remaining water and mouthwash, you jumped in the shower after tossing your clothes into the hamper. You began to detangle your hair, letting your thoughts drift away.
‘Why did I have that dream?’ You pondered. ‘Was it a message? I don’t think anything bad is gonna happen, but what if it does? I felt like I knew that guy.’ You washed out your shampoo and comb conditioner through your now mid-back length hair. ‘I shouldn’t bother with it too much. Who knows what could happen.’ You scrubbed down your body with soap, taking the time to clean every inch. You decided to shave today, so you grabbed your razor, chafing balm, and sugar scrub and got to work. Once you were silky smooth and smelled like lavender and sweet fruit, you got out and wrapped yourself in a towel before getting to work on your hair. This was gonna take a while.
After what seemed like forever - it was only an hour - you were finally done raking your products through your hair and just needed to let it dry. In the meantime, you pulled out the mango butter your brother got you and started working it into your skin. It smelled absolutely divine, like fresh mangos and honey. You felt like a queen whenever you used this, and you were glad your brother made you like 20 lbs of the stuff. You could use this every day and it would still take a good couple of years to work through it all. God bless your little brother, you never knew how helpful homemade body products could be.
Since you were feeling better than before, you decided to dress yourself up a bit. You pulled out a matching pair of green silk undergarments and got out a set of black thigh highs and a garter belt. You placed them on the bed before walking into your closet and grabbing your favorite fur-lined tights (made with ethically collected fox fur and even had POCKETS!!) and a brown turtleneck. It looked pretty cold outside, and all you had was your green jacket to keep you warm. Might as well layer up. After getting dressed you walked out into the living room to see Teddy sitting in front of his food bowl wagging his tail and staring at you. He barked as if to say, “Took you long enough! I’m hungry!”
“Yes, yes, baby I know. Mommy always takes soo longgg,” you teased, laughing at how he seemed to get even more restless at you responding to his barking. Grabbing his bowl, you filled it with two scoops of his food and set it down. “Teddy, wait.” You ordered. He stood by your legs and looked up at you, waiting for the next command. “Ready… GO!”
After giving the okay he practically flew to his bowl, flinging some kibble and kinda making a mess. You didn’t worry too much though, he was an enthusiastic eater and he never let any go to waste. Not even a crumb would remain in about five minutes. You then turned to make your own breakfast, deciding to go with some eggs and bacon. Oh, and toast! You can never go wrong with toast. While you were cooking you also set some water to boil. Coffee is good and all, but today you weren’t gonna do that much, so tea it is!
Once you got everything, you went straight to the dinner table. Sitting down, you took the time to review what needed to get done. You have to go shopping, clean upstairs, organize your books, and set up your TV and wifi. After you finished eating, you grabbed your plates, placed them in the sink, and called for Teddy for his morning walk. You were right to bundle up, it was freezing!
While going down one of the trails, Teddy began to growl at something in the distance. You began to smell the familiar tang of iron in the air, like rust and electricity. You gripped Teddy’s leash tighter, giving him a command and slowly letting him lead you to his target.
What the hell was that?
END OF CHAPTER ONE