Seeing is believing [Viola]

[Deleted]

Maria was feeling funny.

No, not the 'haha' funny. Like Something just felt... off. The past few days had been rather intense emotionally so part of her wondered if emotional stress was just catching up with her but as the day went on she was starting to realize that it couldn't possibly be that. And as the day progressed? The worse it got. Just this... off feeling. As it neared dinner though that offness turned to a constant and irritating itch. It was like ghost hairs. Unseen but there, constantly irritating your skin. And no matter what you did it wouldn't go away. At dinner Maria kept fidgeting. Kept trying to brush off something from her arms or hands or thigh every few moments. And all this scratching was putting Maria in a very, very bad mood. Her irritability had reached a peak. Was she allergic to something? Was she sick? She had no idea, and every time someone mentioned her constant scratching shot figurative daggers at them. Finally though Maria couldn't take it. "I'm going to bed." She announced to Viola, not waiting for any sort of answer as she got up and left the Great Hall in a frustrated huff.

It was still early, too early for Maria to usually go to bed but this itching was driving her absolutely mad. And to make matters worse? She was half way to the ship when she found a cockroach on her hand. a COCKROACH. Maria almost screamed right then and there as she frantically waved her hand to get rid of it.

Maria failed to realize that it was winter... So there shouldn't even be any cockroaches out.

She'd just reached the ship when she found a second one on her shoulder. A third by the time she reached the girl's dorm below deck. And that's when there was a swarm and Maria screamed.

By the time the door opened again Maria was frantically trying to brush off.... Nothing. To the eyes of anyone else all they'd see was Maria. But to Maria? There were cockroaches everywhere. Crawling all over her. Biting. Muttering frantically and desperately. It was almost incoherent. But if you listened closely you might make out the words. "Get them off, get them off, get them off!"

@viola

[Deleted]

Maria had been acting kind of strange the entire day, and Viola had noticed. They had been trying to give Maria her space, mostly because they thought the strangeness might have had at least a little bit to do with the fact that they had confessed their love to her the night before. Maria hadn’t outright told them to stay away, though, and Viola couldn’t resist being around her. They were still worried that she was going to run away from them, though they didn’t share that particular fear. They didn’t know how to phrase it without seeming like they were trying to guilt-trip Maria into returning the sentiment of affection, and between them feeling slightly shitty and Maria feeling really shitty, Viola chose the former. As they sat beside their girlfriend at dinner time, Viola noticed that she was fidgeting quite a bit. They glanced over occasionally to look at her, but since there wasn’t anything outwardly physically wrong, they didn’t know how to help, and figured that just being there was good enough, if it was an emotional problem Maria was trying to work through.

When Maria announced that she was going to bed, Viola shoved one last bite of food in their mouth and then turned to follow her out of the Great Hall. They couldn’t call out to her because their mouth was full, but Viola kept up with Maria as she walked through the grounds. Even when Viola was done chewing, they kept silent. Maria looked really, really bothered, and they couldn’t see why. Talking would just take her out of her head, and maybe make the problem worse. Viola followed Maria all the way down to the girl’s dorm in the ship, where they could hear their girlfriend muttering. “Maria?” They asked. “What’s the matter?” The words sounded like ‘get it off’ but Viola couldn’t see anything on Maria to get off.

@maria

[Deleted]

Maria didn't hear Viola enter the room. Didn't even realize Viola had followed her actually. She was to obsessed and consumed by the invisible creatures crawling over and inside her own skin. No matter how hard she tried they wouldn't go away. They kept appearing. Kept biting. Kept tormenting her. It was so severe that Maria was physically shaking, violently, as she tried to bat away the creatures. Tried, and failed. Maria hadn't felt this sort of terror in... a long time.

Even when Viola spoke, Maria only vaguely heard their words. It was almost like hearing them through water, muffled and difficult hollow. It was impossible to focus on the words of her partner. And now? Maria was starting to get desperate. So desperate in fact that Maria no longer seemed to realize that she was on a ship. A ship made of wood. Flammable wood. Lots of flammable wood. Her muttering of 'get it off' and now shortened to just 'off. And sounded just as frantic as she looked and was acting. And a moment later both her hands erupted into flames. If she couldn't knock them off she'd burn them off.

@viola

[Deleted]

Viola could tell from the get-go that Maria wasn’t listening to them. Hearing them, maybe – and that was a big maybe – but not listening to them. She kept repeating one word, over and over and over. Off. Viola was still trying to figure out what was on her, though. The list of things that could freak Maria out was short – or at least the list of things that Viola was aware of was short. Wasn’t she afraid of bugs? But there were no bugs. That was what Viola kept going back to – Maria seemed freaked out, but nothing was there. The realization dawned on Viola slowly. If they couldn't seem something, but their girlfriend was sure it was there, then Maria must have been hallucinating.

That realization didn’t matter as much as the realization that Maria’s hands were on fire. Shit, shit, shit. What were they supposed to do? Reason with her. The first step was always to reason with her. If nothing else, Viola wanted to get Maria to put out the flames. “My Maria.” Viola said, voice shaking slightly. “Listen to me.” They were hoping the short command, combined with the pet name of sorts, would be enough to make Maria pause. “There’s nothing there, my darling. There’s nothing there.” Telling someone who was hallucinating that their hallucinations weren’t real probably wasn’t the best line of action, but it was the only thing Viola knew how to do.

@maria

[Deleted]

Why wouldn't they burn?! They wouldn't stop, and the fire wasn't doing anything. Maria didn't even seem to realize that rather then burning the insects she was burning herself. In fact she didn't even seem to feel it. While her hands were particularly fireproof the rest of her body was not. So her arms, though not serious, were not covered in in mild burns from the brief contact her hands kept making. Despite how futile these efforts were she didn't stop. Couldn't stop, actually. As the fear and panic took deep root it became impossible to stop.

Until she heard someone command her attention. Demanding that she listen. Desperate to listen, to focus on something other then the root of her fear. Maria finally saw Viola, finally realized that they were there. Telling her that nothing was there. What? Nothing was there? Impossible. Why couldn't Viola see them? Why did they look so calm? Maria's whole body was shaking violently as she backed away from Viola, until her back was against one of the walls of the dormitory. "Everywhere.... They're everywhere...." Maria's managed to get out, her voice just as desperate as her shaking and frantic behavior. Her hands weren't extinguishing and the burns on her own arms were getting worse as she kept swatting at the same spots. Maria didn't care. She didn't care if she burned herself. As long as they were gone. If they were gone it'd be okay. "Please... please make them stop.....!" This tone of voice... It was so uncharicteristic of Maria. Almost as if it were a completely different person. Pleading for help because nothing she was doing was working.

@viola

[Deleted]

Maria was burning herself. The realization made Viola's heart jump into their threat, and the situation, which had already been tenuous at best, suddenly got a lot more dire. Maria couldn't get hurt - that was the one thing that Viola absolutely could not stand. Maria appeared to actually hear them that time, but she didn't seem to believe them...which was not good, to say the least. She was shaking like a leaf, and all Viola wanted to do was make it better. But they didn't know how, because nothing was there! They approached Maria slowly, palms turned towards her to show her that they didn't have anything on them to hurt her. Viola was praying that whatever Maria was hallucinating was only on her own body, because if things got sticky...no, Maria wouldn't hurt them. Then again, normally she didn't hurt herself, either. Viola was walking into the unknown, but they were doing it because Maria needed them. She would never admit it, but Viola knew that she needed help.

"I'll get them off!" Viola promised, voice raised about a half octave in desperation and the beginning of panic. "I'll get them off you, Maria, I promise." They said, advancing ever closer. "But I can't do that when you're burning yourself. I need you to put out the fires." Please Viola begged with their eyes, though they didn't know whether or not Maria was really seeing them. They just wanted to make this better.

@maria

[Deleted]

Where were they coming from? How many were there? Despite Maria's attempts to try to bring some logic and sense to the situation it wasn't working. Her panic was only growing worse. That fear only deepening. And finally? Logic and sense didn't exist anymore. Maria was entering into full fight or flight mode. Maria rarely chose flight though. Which meant... Well, 'fight', fire, and other people was a very dangerous and volatile mixture...

Back pressed against the wall, Maria kept batting at the invisible creatures, eyes wide. The fire in her hands was fluctuating between sparks and raging fireballs, as if unable to decide which would be more effective. But really? It was only a sign of total lack of control on Maria's part. The fire was only obeying her fear now. So when she heard Viola's panicked and desperate plea for Maria to put out the fires her own panicked gaze finally met Viola. Finally looked at her partner in a terror that was almost crippling. "I can't- Don't.... Stop... Stop... please.." Stop before they got to close. Stop before she hurt them. Maria had always thought she'd be able to prevent herself from hurting people she cared about. By sheer will or going to cool off before she exploded. But now..."Don't.... don't let me hurt you-" Let. Don't let her hurt them. Because Maria just knew she couldn't stop it anymore.

And that's when her hands practically exploded with flames. Viola was too close to avoid the fire balls...

@viola

[Deleted]

Viola had done many, many unpleasant things in their life, but none so unpleasant as watching Maria hurt herself, deep in her own mind and facing invisible demons that they couldn’t see. Every time Maria’s hands touched her skin, Viola winced as if they could feel the burns themself. They had already admitted to themself that their previous strategy of trying to calm Maria down wasn’t working, which meant that they were going to have to use force. Viola drew their wand, and licked their lips to moisten them so they could speak. “I’m so sorry, Maria…My Maria…” But this wasn’t their Maria. She was gone somewhere beneath the fear, and Viola couldn’t be thinking about the person in front of them as their girlfriend. That would make what they were about to do impossible. “Stupefy.” There was no passion behind that word, only cold resignation. But as Viola was incanting the stunning spell, two fireballs exploded from Maria’s hands. Viola was consumed in fire. Everything was hot, and everything was burning, and they couldn’t breathe because the fire was consuming all of the oxygen. Their clothes were burning, and the small crop of hair on the top of their head was burning, and their skin was burning. The fire was eating them up from the outside, and Viola knew that they had to move before the fire spread from their clothes to the bedsheets to the wooden ship. They turned around and tried to look over their shoulder to see if their stunning spell had been successful, but couldn’t see through the flames from the back of their robes. After that, Viola just…ran.

@maria
(end?)

[Deleted]

While being stunned was definitely not on Maria's bucket list, that had almost been what she'd been pleading for. Not necessarily being stunned though. More like... stopped. As long as Viola stopped her before she hurt them. It didn't matter how. Because she knew she was going to hurt Viola if someone didn't stop her. She'd never been the best at controlling the fire she'd inherited but at least she'd never lost control to this magnitude. It was almost like being at the mercy of the fire. And all the way while was the constant terrorizing creatures that Viola couldn't see or feel. How that was possible... Well, Maria couldn't think clearly enough to wonder why Viola couldn't see them.

So, when Maria heard that spell? It was a relief. Oh, a blessed relief. The spell struck true, hitting Maria square in the chest. The world went black, and finally, finally the cockroaches were gone...

@viola
(yup, end.)