𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐧

✧[50]✧

A sense of dread buzzed through you like an awful premonition. The time was closed then you wanted, only a few minutes away really. Fear seemed to manifest in different ways for you, this fear was unlike any you've felt in a while. Yet, the dread left you with lingering aches of the past. The muscles in your fingers seemed uncontrollable, twitching in fear.

You could remember bits of your past. You knew you now wasn't the time they should haunt you but fear had brought them back. For a moment, only a brief moment. You remembered something horrifying. The first time you felt true fear, the shadows of the person who'd done so caressing your face, soaking in your fear like an animal. You had been prey to them.

But you didn't want to be prey any longer. You weren't prey to anyone or anybody. Yet, when you listened to the crowds murmurs and cheers, you couldn't help but feel like exactly that. They would tear you apart if your messed up, they'd bite onto your soft soul and take advantage of it's purity, taking advantage of it's weakness. You weren't weak. Yet, you felt like it.

Fear was a woman and fear was a man. They often held both of your hands, intertwining their fingers with your own, or wrapping themselves around your body, lovingly while holding a knife. They plunge it straight into your chest but they mean no harm. It's you, you who held the knife after all, they were only there to be a part of your fall.

You hated the way they squeezed you, forcing themselves into people's lives. They drove the decisions of man, casting spells through their fingertips and making them do things out of their weak human minds. They wanted to keep holding you but as you shooed them away, you had realized that fear wasn't the problem, but rather what you had done with it.

"Are you ready?" Deuce asked, patting your back in a reassuring manor as you stared at the bright purple stage. We're you ready? You didn't know.

You wanted to hide. Touching your mask for comfort, the mask of prey, you rubbed your hands over the porcelain for comfort. It was so different from what Malleus had got you previously... The mask he has got you wasn't delicate, not made of glass, nor clay. But something much stronger then that, straying away from the gentle touch of prey.

"It's now or never." Vil murmured, fixing a strand of his hair as he took the first steps towards the stage, standing in the wide open, bare of the world to see, not an ounce of fear to be seen.

Deuce pressed his hands against the crook of your back, pushing your hips forward encouragingly, he could pick up on that fear you had despite how hard you were trying to choke it back, despite how your fingers desperately needed something to grab onto. The crowd began to quiet as one member after another took their place on stage.

"Don't worry, Sweet Potato... Our performance will be absolutely beautiful." Vil whispered as the music began to play. You bit your tongue, choking back fear and began to sing.

You tried so hard not to look at the eyes upon you, some new, some old. Some unseen. You couldn't help but wonder... Where was Malleus? No, that's not what you should be worried about. You were more worried about the fact that you were directly next to Vil. It's where he assigned you. Meanings you were directly next to him, in the front of the crowd, leading the group.

Your vocals were ment to accompany his own, sort of like a mellow echo, but all you could feel was fear tickling you fingertips teasingly, up until the point everyone had bowed as they had finished the last of the song. Jamil had some his part, Vil had done his part... it was done? You blinked, staring at the floor, hesitantly looking up at the crowd, they were... Happy?

"So cute! Are they a rabbit beastman?" You cupped the cheek part of your mask, sheepishly. Some people's words were sweet and encouraging. They managed to stun you to silence. didn't know whether or not to move, you were waiting for Vil. 90% of your actions relied on him when it came to this anyways.

Yet... Sweetness slowly turned into something bitter. Your ears ached as they managed to pluck out the comments that stung like a wasp, "How could you tolerate someone from NRC...?"

"It's probably because they are ugly..."

With a rose came it's thorns, and with a crowds came it's anger. Of course, no one truly ment any harm. However, students from RSA weren't like the ones from NRC. They were simply different breeds. Like a chicken with a fox, one couldn't win with the other by it's side.

A few flowers were thrown and unfortunate for you so we're stones. Although, they couldn't hurt a fly, they were to small for the group to even notice really. But you felt them.

Fear was a woman to you today in the face of judgement and she kissed your face, just as the smallest stone did, unnoticeable really, but like prince rupert’s tears, certain parts of porcelain found themselves shattering at the smallest stab to the smallest parts of themselves.

You trembled, touching your face in pure horror. It broke. Your mask broke. Vil stared at your wide eyed, his fingers grazing against your own for a brief moment as you just stared at the crowd in terror. Fear was a beautiful woman, she cupped your cheeks so lovingly, so romantically, she pressed her lips to your own taking your breath away as the crowed murmured at your stillness.

"Crinkle Cut-"

"Don't... don't touch me!" You hissed, snatching you hand away from his own, you found yourself lost as you covered your face with your palms, letting your legs take you where they wished. The fox and the chicken seemed to dance together like feta danced with you. She bit down on you like a viscous animal while you tried to pull her away from your delicate feathers.

She seemed to be whispering something to you as you pushed past people, her hands cupping around your tender flesh once more as she whisperer something in your ear, "in the face of life's disparities, will you continue being the rabbit? Or will you choose to be the fox."

✧TO BE CONTINUED✧