madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-//TW//: Clowns, Cults, and Symbolism-

Teqi looked around, assuming it was morning. The fluffy looking white clouds she was sitting on felt like nothing beneath her, and the vast space around her was empty. 

She was in her mind. 

Well that sounded bad, because it was empty, so a better way to put it was maybe a lobby. Teqi could control what happened inside it, she could visit people when they were asleep, and people [gods] could visit her. Teqi hadn't woken up there since her last quest, and she didn't need to contact anyone back at camp, though she wanted too, so she sat there waiting for whichever demanding god or goddess came up to her this time.

She waved her hand in a circle, and a hoola hoop like circle appeared in front of her. Teqi focused, and a skyscraper erupted next to her. Woah. She closed her eyes and imagined a city, a big one with tall buildings and cool lights. Planes flying overhead in the night sky. Maybe there was rain pouring down, people bustling around. Fancy shops and cafes that spilled out onto the path. Parks in the centre of the city with ponds and ducks, teenagers going out with friends. 

Somewhere that wasn't camp.

Teqi opened her eyes, and walked in a small circle, gazing around at the world she created around herself.

She had never been to a city like this, well, without having to kill monsters and free goddess. Without having to survive by herself and escape police and creepy men while the city was rebuilt around her.

The next second, the dark alleyways glowed with red eyes, the tall buildings and cool lights turned black, the planes in the sky exploded. The rain hissed and bubbled where it landed, making acid puddles around Teqi's bare feet. Fancy shops sold body parts that Teqi recognised when she pictured her friends. The parks were lined with beds of purple roses and people wailed from the ponds, clawing at the air, until they were silent and bubbling. The people walking around her started bumping into her, until they were grabbing at her.

She waved her arm, and she was back in the fluffy blankness. Only the fact that Teqi wasn't physically there was stopping her from hyperventilating herself into a panic attack. She fumbled for her pouch of knives, but it turned into nothing in her hand. Teqi whipped around, not wanting to stand still long enough for something to be behind her.

Teqi waited for the clouds around her to turn grey, but she was still surprised when it happened. Why was he here? Why was this happening again? 

Teqi felt like crying, she knew this was a dream, so she just needed to wake up. Pinching herself didn't work, and Teqi forgot about all of that when a stone appeared in front of her.

Teqi sunk to the ground, kneeling in the grey clouds. She closed her eyes, not wanting to read the names on the graves around her, not wanting to see the purple roses growing between them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   "Go away go away go away go away go away!" A million thoughts ran through her head, all of which became tangled white noise that desperately tried to block out the voices she was expecting. But they didn't come.

Cautiously, she opened her eyes, looking around quickly into the darkness surrounding her. nothing came from the inky black, and knowing how horror movies worked, Teqi still stood up and walked forwards. She sunk to just below her knees in the clouds, that were no longer white and pretty. There were long creaking sounds from beside her, and Teqi gulped, walking forwards.