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{\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.21.2510;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\sa150\sl0\slmult0\cf1\f0\fs24 # 1\par
\tab Silver, predatory eyes burned in the dark, locked with hers. She froze as prey without escape. All was dark, motionless, and silent, as though the world ceased to exist outside of the glint of sinister intelligence before her. He stepped forward and paused, breaking eye contact to look over her body with unnerving possession. In turn, she examined him. Moonlight revealed the cut of his jaw and long, thick hair. His face was barely perceptible apart from the intensity of his eyes. His eyes locked with hers once more. \par
\tab "Cassarah."\par
\tab She was absolutely paralyzed now, her heart plunging. She clinged to his eyes, waiting. He took another step. He towered over her now. Large, blocky fingers met her jaw. She howled desperately to alert anyone but nothing came. She struggled, attempting to jump back, talk, move her finger, communicate in any possible way her distress. Nothing came. She really has been paralyzed. What is this!\par
\tab "You can't move." \par
\tab He knows? What is this! \par
\tab The predator relaxed, resting his elbow on the bed next to her head. He was very near now and speaking more quietly.\par
\tab "You are scared," he said with self-satisfaction. "I am just guessing, though. I don't know what you are thinking."\par
\tab He pulled back her covers and ran his fingers along the outer curve of her body. Then he grabbed part of her belly. She was mortified.\par
\tab "Too fat. You're past the point of softness and just look overfed. It all goes to that solid round belly," he said as he patted it. "How unlucky. You would look a lot better if the fat favored your breasts and hips and you weren't so short. That's not important to me, though."\par
\tab He crawled on top of her, and she realizes he is completely naked. She waits in resignation as he unbuttons the front of her gown. Like a flash, he turned rough. His fingers were inside her, clawing and digging. His large firm body felt overpowering, but there was no way to howl, fight, or flee outside her mind. Her heart felt ready to explode in protest with any attempt at moving, even the tip of her finger. She could not even breathe. \par
# 2\par
\tab Cassarah threw up. It came in big, reaking chunks and covered her sheets and nightgown. She was torn and excrutiating \i down there\i0 . She had never been particularly conscious of her privates apart from the mild sensation of washing with soap during her shower. She would not dare look yet. She was filthy and naked. She went to the shower. Her eyes caught hers. She paused at the mirror, a bit horrified and not quite recognizing herself. She balanced on the edge of the shower area and turned the hot water knob. She held her hand in the running water, waiting for it to warm. Every time she blinked, those gray eyes were back. She had to know.\par
\tab Stepping out, dripping and shivering, she returned to her bedroom. The cover and sheets were everywhere, as if she had struggled all night. Vomit colored them orange in nasty globs. Ripping her eyes away, she looked at the window to fit it neatly locked and shuttered. Her closet is empty with shoes and hung garments. The patio door was also locked with no evidence of tampering. The front door was locked and deadbolted. Her kitchen window, her balcony, her bathroom, her walls, her floors, everything was as she left it. Her keys were tidly hanging on their hook. No sign of trespassing existed except the disheveled bed. Cassarah paused. \i No sign of escape existed either.\i0\par
\tab Cassarah held her breath and listened to the apartment. Besides the guassian fall of water through the wall, could she hear anything? Surely if he was here, she could. Surely she should have seen him in her earlier search! The man was huge. Where could he possibly hide in her little room?\par
\tab With no apparent entrance, no apparent exit, and complete lack of presence, Cassarah felt her first pangs of doubt. He was handsome with an envious body, too. It was so dark, but she could tell. Even if he was capable of pulling off this perfect crime, why would he? The scenario made less sense. \i It couldn't have been a dream--could it?\i0  \par
\tab Lost, confused, reaking, and in twisting pain, she retreated to the shower to cry bitterly.\par
# 3\par
\tab Cassarah stood in front of the open refrigerator, staring at its empty shelves. She was tired of living off of snack cakes and fruits all weekend and craved protein and oil. If only she had gone grocery shopping on Thursday with Katherine like she planned. Dr. Jaron did not even show up to the meeting, so it was a waste of time to go. She did not want to go out right now. She just wanted to curl up and play petsites all day. She really did not want to go out. Ordering pizza might be better, but the idea of inviting a stranger to her doorstep required too much bravery. She got ready to go out. After all, this was the only thing she needed to do today. \par
\tab Her closet still smelled a little like vomit. Would boiling a potpourri help? She quickly picked through the buttons, sheer layers, and lace-ups and settled on a belted denim maxi dress. It was the easiest thing she owned. She tossed on a car coat, booties, and shoulder bag before giving herself one last peptalk in the mirror. \i It's just the grocery store.\i0\par
\tab No one was out in the hallways or by the mail boxes. She breathed a sigh of relief. Once she was outside, her mood brightened significantly. The sun was out and happily shining, though it provided virtually no warmth. The wind kept blowing her hair out of place, but it was not so bad. Most importantly, everyone was gone. The parkinglot was less than half full. Everyone always goes home on holidays. The students who stay tend to be the sort locked up in their rooms with study material and are quiet and unassuming when they go out. That, or they are foreigners without a reasonable opportunity to visit their families. Neither group bothered her. \par
\tab The rustle of trees, the crunch of dead leaves underfoot, and the occasional unhurried car provided a grounding soundscape. How silly that this is the world she had been hiding from all weekend. Across the street, there were two tables of friends seated outside the bar. Their inoffensive chatter was comforting. They looked happy.\par
\tab The grocery store's parkinglot was also half-empty. When the students leave town, the stores usually put up their best discounts in celebration. As Cassarah pittered her buggy down the aisles, a little pressured by the sales prices. It was the best time to stock up on basics, but she only planned to spend a few minutes here. She ended up putting a month's worth of pasta, eggs, rice, oil, water, and frozen vegetables in her cart among some snacks, soap, toilet paper, and cuts of beef. It all looked so good, and she looked forward to having a full refrigerator again. She didn't feel like cooking right now, though, so she grabbed a few microwave meals, too. She went through self-checkout to avoid the overly talkative staff.\par
\tab How am I going to carry all this? She forgot she walked here. If only she had brought her car. After returning the buggy, and distributed the weight between her hands and marched back. \par
\tab ** Embarrassed and feeling fat with all the groceries. Bad thing sours her mood worse. **\par
\tab She plopped her bags at her front door and hesitated at the lock. Circling the facade, she discovered nothing out of order. Sighing, she unlocked the door and lugged in her groceries. As she sorted them, she became lost in thought about him. His eyes, the pain, his words, the apparent impossibility of his entry...\par
\tab "I must be crazy."\par
\tab ** Another day of lounging, self-talk, and awkwardness passes. Does she have any duties? Flashcards, studying, projects, etc. How do they tie into the theme? **\par
\tab She glimpsed at the clock again: 12:35 A.M. For a break with plenty of time left to finish her project, she should be in bed by now. The word processor will still be here in the morning. She brushed her teeth and crawled into bed. Every time she closed her eyes, she was looking back into his eyes. If she shifted in the sheets, she swore he had just brushed her skin. The next few hours were another round of trying to keep her eyes closed for more than a minute without hopping out of bed and turning on the light. \par
\tab "Maybe I should get a gun for self-defense."\par
\tab When she did fall asleep, it crept over her so stealthily she felt she had not slept at all. Nights passed, and she felt more comfortable in her skin again. \par
# 4\par
\tab ** Chandrakant thinks he is just preying on a random girl, but he has some weird desire to return to her night after night. He usually could care less about his victims once he got the burst of life energy he needed from them, but he observed Cassarah from the spiritual dimension as he troubledly thought over this. Virgins are the freshest and most desirable source, so he never returns to a victim. Cassarah is his first repeat victim. He spent a long time trying to talk himself out of visiting her again while he visited her neighbors and friends. He is a little superstitious that he may be falling in love or just fell into some unintelligible fetish or compulsive behavior. Either way, he is confused and frustrated with this change in his approach to his prey, whom he viewed no more as food that can be played with - similar to the way a cat approaches its prey. **\par
\tab "I've watched you these past nights. You've been looking everywhere for me."\par
\tab Cassarah's eyes shot open. He had returned - leaning over her bed. She screamed, but it was all the same as the first night. She couldn't move; she couldn't breathe!\par
\tab "Don't struggle. Have you not realized you're paralyzed yet? You look relaxed to outsiders looking in. No one would understand the torment you go through to see me. I don't understand how you call me so strongly. I enjoyed our last visit, but let's be honest - you are nothing special."\par
\tab He looked troubled for a minute. \par
\tab "My name is Chandrakant.\par
\tab "So who do you think I am, I wonder. You haven't reported me, so you must not take it very seriously. You must have turned the blame inward, calling it a wet dream or hallucination. Or have you been scared of me? Did you think I would come after you? You are lucky either way, saving yourself the embarrassment. No one can find me unless I let them."\par
\tab He pulled off her cover and popped the snaps off her gown, one by one. \par
\tab "You've been a wreck this week. There isn't a need for it. Just relax and enjoy. I'll take it slow this time and make you like it. I don't think I can stay away."\par
\tab ** Chandrakant is an incubus who needs life energy extracted through intercourse. Funwa is a baku who needs dream energy to live. Dreams manifest as dreams, ideas, thoughts. Funwa can hollow a person out, leaving them without drive or social capacity. He, too, was drawn to Cassarah's burning light of life energy and passion. However, when he finds an incubus, essentially a rival at the watering hole, he immediately challenges him. Funwa wants Cassarah to himself. He doesn't think deeply on how peculiar her energy signature is until later. For now, she seems to be in an easy position to be sweettalked into letting him stay and hollow her out. Only until she has noticeably hollowed him out will he realize the dual nature of her enticement and ability to destry, like a sweet honey venus flytrap. **\par
\tab "Back off, demon!" \par
\tab The man froze in place. The voice emerged from the dark. Cassarah saw no one in the dark but couldn't turn her head to look better. His form was unknown, but the voice was silly like a clown who was trying to sound theatrically brave and strong for his audience.\par
\tab "You're right to fear me. I can erase every mark you've made on the earth."\par
\tab He whipped around to face some invisible foe then jumped back.\par
\tab "Baku? You eat dreams, not spirits. If anything, you would aide me by removing this girl's memory of us. What more can a baku do than make people forget?"\par
\tab "I'm not a dream-eater anymore; I eat malevolent spirits now. Cross me, and I'll devour you, too. I'll hunt every last one of you night demons to extinction. Making people forget is powerful."\par
\tab Chandrakant screamed and threw his whole body into a punch, ending with a weighty thud. After regaining his balance, he stomped down hard on the ground. Cassarah's eyes were adjusting, and she caught a glimpse of Chandrakant's broad, dark shoulders and a second, smaller figure. And with a flash, Chandrakant was on the ground, howling and scrambling. \par
\tab "You castrated me!"\par
\tab ** Chandrakant has become the castrated incubus. He essentially lost his ability to eat and will starve at the present moment, growing weaker and weaker until death. He is going to have to go to the spirit hospital and hope for a transplant or IV. Taking Cassarah's sexual energy was perfect for preventing her growing until she eclipses society. Funwa can't take her sexual energy without a special penis, so he's in danger the longer he stays around her. **\par
\tab Cassarah's heart lunged. The baku was not playing around. \par
\tab "Yet you live! Be gone and redeem yourself."\par
\tab Chandrakant slinked away, out of Cassarah's line of sight. In his place, the smaller man came over to her.\par
\tab He looked over her nakedness, dazed for a second. She was able to catch a glimpse of his pointy little face and narrow shoulders. Then she woke up, alone once again.\par
\tab "What can be done about these nightmares?" \par
\tab She had woken up clothed again in her gown and tucked into the sheets. He must have done this.\par
# 5\par
\tab "I want to talk to you."\par
\tab Cassarah slowly woke up to yet another man leaning over her bed.\par
\tab "Good, you're not scared. Uh, I'm Funwa. I'm the guy from, you know--earlier."\par
\tab Cassarah sat up against her headboard.\par
\tab "Hello, Funwa. I'm Cassarah."\par
\tab "Nice! So that guy was an incubus. You were in a lot of danger, a lot more than your chastity. I don't think he'll be able to come after you anymore, but I can't guarantee he's the only one hunting you."\par
\tab "What do you mean? I've never seen anything like this before. What do they want?"\par
\tab Funwa paused before answering.\par
\tab "I don't understand them very well. I scouted all night and found one more to send back to hell."\par
\tab "Why have you come here? What do you want?"\par
\tab "I hunt demons. I hunt anything that poses a threat to humans. I have something to ask, though."\par
\tab "What is it?"\par
\tab "Can I stay with you?"\par
\tab "What?"\par
\tab Funwa sat down criss-cross on her rug.\par
\tab "I don't think it's safe for you. You need someone to protect you. You draw those demons like a magnet, so it would make it far easier on me to hunt them down."\par
\tab "There really will be more?"\par
\tab "I think so."\par
\tab "Why are you doing this?"\par
\tab "I'm a slayer. Please assist me. This benefits everyone."\par
\tab "I'm not sure. How exactly would you stay here?"\par
\tab "I'm a baku. I don't need anything. I want to bind to this area to ambush demons."\par
\tab "Maybe." \par
\tab "It's for the best. I'll leave once it's safe for the community. You don't just draw incubi to yourself but to those close to you, too. It's sick and needs to end now."\par
\tab Cassarah drifted back to sleep.\par
\tab ** She wakes up to find Funwa, a little tapir curled in the corner, snoring and cooing adorably. Cassarah's apartment does not allow pets over 50 pounds, and she was pretty sure whatever he is must be exotic and probably illegal in her state. Having a guy staying in her apartment would probably be harder to explain, though, to her family and friends. **\par
\tab She woke up again, alone, not immediately remembering the previous night. Every muscle in her body was completely relaxed, allowing her to sink into the mattress in a way she usually is too tense to imagine. The light trickled in through the window in soft gentle mist. She lay there taking it in. She grabbed her phone from the charging tray and checked her messages. None, as always. If only she could get up and return to this perfect state of serenity when she lay back down because she needed some coffee. Resigned to her fate, she turned to get up and jumped on top of the mattress. Her foot brushed fur. \par
\tab Peering back down, she let out a gentle gasp. Before her, wrapped into a fat leathery ball was a massive pig with a stark white back and deformed, overly elongated face. It stirred, blinking then looking up.\par
\tab "Oh, you're up. It's just me - Funwa."\par
\tab "You're who? So you shapeshift?"\par
\tab "Yes, but into nothing else."\par
\tab "You're a--tapir. Right?"\par
\tab "Of course. I told you I'm a baku."\par
\tab Cassarah was slightly troubled by this. Her realtor only allowed pets under 50 pounds. On top of that, tapirs probably fall under some heavily regulated exotic pet classification which was probably illegal pretty much anywhere in America. Of course, a strange man living with her would be just about as hard to explain if anyone she actually knew found out. \par
\tab "You thinking about something, Cassarah? Tell me how you're feeling."\par
\tab "I don't know how you could get away with 'binding here' or whatever. I'm sorry, but there are so many rules about pets and roommates here."\par
\tab "Is that so?" Funwa's voice was confusingly dismissive. He seems amused by her concern. "As part of my work, I enter homes all the time without notice."\par
\tab ** Funwa, Chandrakant, and all spirits are invisible to humans. Funwa and Chandrakant both are a little shocked and unnerved that Cassarah can see them with apparent clarity (as opposed to 'just the wind' or 'strange creaking hall' or 'moving shadow'). Chandrakant doesn't think too heavily as his needs are simple and unburdened. Funwa is a little concerned, though, that she may be some kind of spirit entity or otherwise special person gifted with an unintelligible ability. If it goes deeper than 'better perception than usually possible for humans,' (prophets and artists sometimes can see directly into the spiritual dimension) then she may pose a threat. He is afraid to let her out of his sight but unsure what to do in case of new developments. He feels an uneasy anxiety but is capable of maintaining his clownish demeanor for now. **\par
\tab "No one ever sees you?"\par
\tab "No," Funwa chirped. "I work in secret."\par
\tab "Why do you come out in the open for me, then?"\par
\tab Funwa hummed. "Why did that demon come out in the open for you? He left me with few choices which would have allowed me to live without guilt."\par
\tab "They don't usually?"\par
\tab "No, incubi don't. Have you never read myths or urban legends about women being raped by dark shadows or evil mist? The most physical accounts are usually so surreal and deformed that they barely qualify."\par
\tab "So incubi usually look like that? Just...like a human, I guess."\par
\tab "Are you disappointed? We all share the same Maker."\par
\tab "...God?"\par
\tab "Yeah...Well...Don't you have classes or something?"\par
\tab "It's the break. You know about school?"\par
\tab "Of course I do. I hunt incubi, so my work intersects with daily human life very often."\par
\tab Cassarah was intrigued by her new roommate. Not only does she get to hang out with this supernatural being, but she has such an open and communicable one at that!\par
\tab "I want to ask you so many questions...That's probably rude."\par
\tab "I want to stay here," Funwa grinned. "That's probably rude. Can we not trade rudeness?"\par
\tab Cassarah went over to her kitchen and started brewing her coffee. Do baku drink coffee? Cassarah was intrigued. Funwa came up behind her in human form.\par
\tab "Do you want some?"\par
\tab "I might..."\par
\tab Cassarah's eyes widened. \par
\tab "What kind do you want?" She asked with wide eyes.\par
\tab "Something astringent. A darker roast."\par
\tab She giggled.\par
\tab "I just have a chocolate blend."\par
\tab They both laughed then Funwa said that was fine. She made two cups and poured his into her guest mug - she maybe only used it three times before. They both sat down at her little table with their mugs on coasters. Cassarah did not touch her coffee yet. She stared at Funwa, curious at how he would drink her coffee and receive it. With anticipation building in Cassarah, he cupped his hands around the hot mug, raised it to his nose, and breathed in the aroma.\par
\tab "Any sugar or milk?"\par
\tab "No..."\par
\tab Funwa blew over the ripping surface then took a sip. His face wrinkled up, and he spit it out.\par
\tab "It's terrible? Oh no! I'm so sorry, Funwa. Do you want something else?"\par
\tab "No no! It's...I didn't expect it. Why do you stare like that?"\par
\tab "It's interesting! You drink coffee."\par
\tab "I am just learning. I've never actually had coffee. I've just watched others."\par
\tab "Oh. I did that, too, my first time. Coffee is an acquired taste, you know? I guess you just need a lot of coffee then. Sugar and milk makes it easier to drink. Here," she pushed over a tray of sugar cubes and a little carafe of milk.\par
\tab This time, it went down much easier. As he was thoughtfully sipping the coffee, she ventured a more serious question.\par
\tab "...Do you really eat spirits, or is that an expression?"\par
\tab "I do."\line\tab Funwa did not feel like explaining further, so he deemed two words enough. This silly person in front of her has killed persons who seem conscious, possessive of free will, and in command of their personality. Cassarah nodded. She has accepted quite a hardened character into her home. It seemed he was not so open as she thought. What secrets could this guy be hiding and was he a danger to her? If he is a threat, how could she get him to leave? He already forced his way here. He probably will continue not to take no for an answer. The best she could do is be cautious.\par
\tab "Don't make that face! I was just kidding. Bakus don't eat dreams, either. We just help you forget them--the bad dreams, of course."\line\tab ** People need nightmares and scary stories like the Grimm Tales, don't they? What if baku were like the Undertale mom and don't allow humans to come into danger, foolishly hurting them but with the best of intentions? **\par
\tab "You bit off his penis."\par
\tab "Oh-oh, no, that's right. I do eat spirits. The bad ones, of course. I'm not a monster."\par
\tab Cassarah just watched him.\par
\tab "To preserve justice, you have to be a little monstrous. St. George beheaded a dragon, but he did so to save a girl. I will do anything it takes."\par
\tab Cassarah was beginning to wonder how many speeches she would have to hear about justice.\par
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