Obey Me One Shots

Salpêtrière ~ Thirteen

Art supplies threatened to fall out of their grasp, their sketchy jenga tower of items bundled in their arms teetered as they walked. Solomon might still be in the studio if they got there soon, but as long as he didn't lock it, they didn't really care.

Rope creaked above their head as MC rounded the corner, freezing at the curtain of purple hair obscuring the rest of the hall. A nervous chuckle sounded from the woman, her face flushed. She swung steadily, hugging a knee to her chest as she reached for her other ankle. Thirteen was suspended by her ankle in the middle of the hallway. "A little help?" She laughed, dropping back toward the ground. The rope bounced at the sudden jerk, her swing increasing ever so slightly.

MC sighed. This woman really was hopeless. They'd lost count of how often they'd helped her out of one of her traps. They worked better on the reaper than any of her targets. MC flicked their pocket knife open, dumping their supplies to the side and finding where the rope was tied to a cauldron filled with rocks. Instead of untying it or letting her down slowly, MC opted to saw through the rope, letting the reaper careen to the floor. She plummeted face first to the rug.

"Ow, shit." Thirteen groaned. She seemed alright at first, pushing herself onto her knees before collapsing back to the ground. She fell hard onto her shoulder. "Shit!"

The human's smile dropped. They flipped the knife shut, running over to the reaper. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine just..." She winced, massaging her hand. "I fell on my wrist." She laughed softly. She took the hand they offered her, climbing to her feet. MC walked her to the cafeteria, buying a cold drink to ice her wrist. It seemed not even RAD could keep a nurse on campus more than twice a week. They ducked into an empty classroom, Thirteen hopping on a desk as she clutched the bottle to her joint. She talked about anything and everything that came to mind as MC rooted through the teacher's desk for a first aid kit. They looked at her strangely when they returned with athletic tape. MC chuckled and shook their head, taking both Thirteen's hand and the bottle, setting the soda to the side and applying the supportive tape to her wrist.

"What was that trap anyway?" MC asked, not looking up from her mummified joint.

The reaper's feet kicked between them, the movements just barely avoiding hitting MC's knees. Her eyes danced around the room. "Solomon likes to paint there so I thought I could get him on his way out, but he came out when I was looking the other way and pushed me into the loop." She laughed, a breathy one that your throat stops too early and kinda chokes itself out.

MC had never seen Thirteen this fidgety before and they had calculus with her. Something was clearly wrong. They set her hand gently on her lap, tilting their head to look her in the eye. She side eyed them briefly, before becoming too interested in what was probably the most boring poster in the room. "Hey," The reaper tensed at their gentle tone. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She giggled again. "Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Thirteen." MC's voice was stern, the reaper still avoiding their eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I'm fine." They sighed, falling quiet. MC climbed on the desk beside Thirteen, sitting in silence with her for what felt like ages.

"MC," Thirteen began, her voice solemnly quiet. "Do you know where reapers come from?"

"Storks?" The human joked.

She laughed, shaking her head. "In a way, yeah." Thirteen's face tightened again. "We, uh... Reapers were human...once." MC straightened, giving the woman their full attention. Thirteen picked at the edges of the tape, ignoring the ache in her arm. "Reapers are... humans that killed themselves..."