Shiori and the Novelite

Entry 30

A fresh talent strolls in, offering a salute before enthusiastically announcing, "Shiori~n! Shiori Novella here at your service!" You meet her with a curious expression, finding her introduction somewhat amusing.

"Thought it might be a cute greeting," she confesses, her lips curving into a sheepish grin. "I don't know how to be cute like the others," she adds quietly.

~~~~~

You look to the side to see someone who followed her in. Their hair is black, but you could swear that you see ripples of purple in their hair, and their eyes have a tint of gold to them. They nod to you briefly before looking back up at the girl.

She's one of the ones who crashed a car into the side of your building the other day, and this is the deal for not returning her to her prison. All of them had seemed desperate not to return, which makes sense, but you could tell there was something more to it...

"It's quite alright. It was cute. Maybe we'll have all of you do something similar," you smile gently to try to ease her nerves.

She nods in return. She had volunteered to go first, which surprised you. She seemed to be something of an impromptu leader and caretaker for the others, but this one had a little ink blot on her shoulder, and this... "Novelite", she called it, following her around. The others had similar little things with them, but this "Novelite" is different. It seems like a caretaker for her, but not quite.

You can tell it's important to her, but not why. She did mention that there have been several, and that this one is nearing the end of its time with her. She also mentioned that she'd been in that prison for a long time, such a long time, that she didn't even remember how long it'd been... One of the others, Nerissa, mentioned that she'd been there for 9000 years, but... That's not possible, right?

-----

You look over to the man sitting in front of Shiori and nod when you notice him looking over at you. You feel your ink slowing down, congealing, and know that your time is almost up. It'll be time for you to join those dolls, too. Remembering how creepy that room was, you can only hope that the next Novelite takes it better than you did.

As Shiori finishes her audition with the man, Yagoo, you believe, she bounds over to you with a wide grin on her face. She lands in front of you with a final hop, and tilts her head at you.

"What's wrong?" she asks, suddenly concerned.

You nod, but can't speak. It's too close to the end of your time with her. It's been a long time, at least a few hundred years, but... It's been a lot of fun. You were never bored with her, never sad for very long, scared sometimes, but... it was fine.

"Oh... Alright... Well, I guess it's just your time, huh?" she asks, saddened by your inability to stay with her.

The two of you walk out of the building together. Looking over, you can see the tarps covering the hole in the wall from where Shiori and her friends crashed into the building. You follow her into a shadowed part of the garden in front of the building, out of sight from the main paths.

You look into her eyes, as they flash gold, a tear dripping down.

"This part is always my least favorite... Thank you, for everything, Novelite," she says, her voice wavering.

The shadows warp and waver around you, as you're drawn down into the shadows. One. Last. Time.

-----

"Is that... where all those dolls came from?" you ask, incredulously, finally having drawn the courage to ask her about the dolls.

"That's right... I didn't end their stories myself... In most cases, anyway. In some, it was just the best choice," Shiori responds, a little sadly.

"So... That'll happen to me, someday?" you ask, not sure what to think.

"Yep. But.. not for a long, long time," she smiles at you. "For now, let's just have fun, ok?"

You nod at her, smiling. You're reminded once again that, despite all her knowledge and power, she's still just a person at the core. She's seen dozens of Novelites like you, you're just the most recent.

You'll do everything you can to make sure she keeps smiling. When you tell her as much, she just smiles and nods, before pulling you along.

"It's a two-way street, you know! Let's just have fun and see where life takes us!" she says, with a smile brighter than you'd think for someone who controls something as dark as ink, pulling you along to whatever she has in mind next.