Make Believe And Real Life (September AH)

   Wendi sat quietly and glanced up at the stars. The small one eyed girl sat atop a ship, a very strange one. In a way, you could hardly call it a ship. In essence, it was a massive turtle that swam across the surface of the ocean, and on it’s shell were grass, trees, and other constructions like dorms, a map room a shop, and even a captain’s head quarters. Too many people it would look like a floating island village, as the turtle’s head and limbs were usually obscured by the water. Strangely enough, the captain was able to control the ship in spite of it being a living creature.

  None of this seemed strange at all to Wendi. This was her life, this was her home, the people she sailed with were her friends. The girl stood up at stretched, making her way to a little wooden dock that hung over the ocean waves at the edge of the vessel. A lantern glowed dimly where it hung against the railing, and her dear friends Lulu and Joey stood there, watching the horizon. Wendi paused, not wanting to disturb the two. Lulu had reddish brown hair that reached her shoulders, and wore a red shirt, a pink knee length skirt, and a little yellow scarf. It looked like the kind of outfit you might see a rag doll wear. Lulu in general looked very much like a doll, what with her rose cheeks, and her round face and eyes. Then there was Joey. He had a wild mess of light brown hair, and goggles pushed up on his forehead. He wore a blue and white shirt, a large red scarf, and brown shorts. The two of them were very doll like in many ways, and to Wendi, they were the cutest people in the world. She was sure they were lovers, they had to be. They often held hands when they thought no one was looking, and Wendi had heard the tender way they spoke to each other sometimes.

  “Lulu,” Joey said, looking over at the girl, “Do you remember the promise jar? From back at the Water Town.”

“Of course,” Lulu nodded, “I saw to it mayor Daphne had it disposed of. It’s a terribly dangerous thing…”

“…I have it.”

“W-what?”

  Joey produced the lilac colored glass jar from his satchel and held it up. This jar… it really was a strange object. One would whisper a promise into it, and if they failed to keep it, they would never be able to speak again. If the user took the promise back before they broke it, the punishment wouldn't reach them. But Wendi had seen the thing used. The opera ghost back in water town had gotten the mayor to promise she’d win the contest, and then kept the jar away from her. No way for her to take it back then.

“Joey, why would you keep that? If it fell into the hands of some of the rascals on board, they could cause a lot of trouble!” Lulu exclaimed.

“Because I need to do this…” Joey said. He held the jar up and took a breath.

“I promise to keep Lulu safe,” he whispered into it.

“Joey stop—”
He threw the jar into the sea, and it disappeared.

  Wendy gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth. Why would he do that? Now if anything happened to her… he wouldn't be able to speak another word for the rest of his life. Who knew how sensitive the thing was too… if Lulu scraped her knee would it count that as Joey breaking his promise.

“I will keep you safe, Lulu,” Joey promised, “You’ll see. So you don’t have to worry about me. Have a little faith.”

“You know I trust you Joey… but that was such a stupid thing to do,” Lulu sighed.

“Heh,” he scratched the back of his head, “Most of the stupid stuff I do is for your sake, y’know?”

  Wendi turned and headed away from the two so that they could have their privacy. While Joey’s actions were foolish, she couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to have someone that cared for her enough to do something like that. Whether it be a lover or a family member. She had no experience with romance, but she had plenty of family. Unfortunately, she didn’t get much love or compassion from them. Her older sister Velour had made her life a living hell since they had been dumped off at their cousins estate, and Vance was always too busy to talk to her. Vivian was probably her favorite, but the others seemed to hate her… and she was gone now. Wendi doubted she’d ever see them again.


  The next day, the crew and passengers were shocked to discover one of their friends ‘Book’ had been someone else entirely. Through some kind of clever magic, the one who’d destroyed the rabbit folks home in the first place and sent them on this terrible journey had hidden himself among them. It seemed he had gotten to Lulu’s head as well. When Wendi spoke to Joey later, he explained that Lulu had cast their guiding pendant into the sea, and then disappeared with Ignis. It was sad, but Wendi felt she understood. Lulu wanted to carry on the legacy of her father as a good mayor that could protect her village, and she now seemed to see a deeper meaning behind Ignis’s actions. Perhaps Ignis was right, and the Creator, was wrong. Perhaps that was what she thought.

“You haven't seen what I’ve seen!” Lulu had shouted, “I’m doing this to protect you all!”

  But how could stranding them all at sea with no direction be protecting them? What could the woman that everyone had trusted so much up until this day have been thinking? Was her mind being controlled? This couldn't be real.
Real… what did that mean? The line that divided make believe and real-life… what was it made of? Was any of this real? Wendi reached out and touched the grass, she felt the water droplets spray her cheeks, and the wind toss her violet hair. It had to be real. Dreams didn’t feel like this. They were dark, and vague. Hard to remember or make sense of. This was real life. This was real life…

  The next day the passengers of the ship set foot on what might be the final island they’d visit in their quest to restore their world. Wendi didn’t live in their village and didn’t have much to offer in the quest. She just followed them and gave words of encouragement whenever possible. This final island. It appeared to be one big un-holy mashup of every place they’d been along the way. The next few hours went be fast. Each crew member was torn away into a black void. Soon it was just Wendi and Joey in front of Ignis’s house.

Did the creator really intend to destroy all that he’d built?

  Wendi saw white. Was it a ceiling? She splayed her fingers and reached out to feel sheets, then lifting her arm so to see an IV drip attached to her arm. She was in a hospital room. The right half of her face hurt terribly… and she realized she couldn't see a thing from her right eye. She lifted her hand to feel the material covering it. Pushing aside the eye patch, she realized she still couldn't see anything from it.

  Oh right… she’d lost it in a previous accident… Seems she’d gotten into another one since she was lying in a hospital bed again. She allowed the eye patch to fall back over her eye and tried to control her breathing. The girl turned her head to see two stuffed animals sitting on a stool near her bed. They looked just like Lulu and Joey, leaning on each other. What…?

This was real life.

  No… the place she had been moments ago was real life. How did she get here then? Was it a dream? It felt to real as well. Her thoughts flew back to the terrified faces of the village people, how they were doomed to die, and how she failed to do anything about it. Pain wracked her body. Anxiety clouded her mind. Tears streamed from Wendi’s eye, and she let out a soft pathetic sob. Nothing made sense. The line between dream in reality was bleeding. She couldn't understand.

So Wendi cried. My god, did she cry, for the people who never existed.

  Once her thoughts finally strayed away from them she thought back to her family which awakened a fresh wave of tears. Were they alright? Were was Vivian? What was Velour doing right now? Was Vance in the hospital too? Hopefully the syndicate didn't suffer too much damage. She couldn't recall much of the disaster but had a feeling it would probably cause them to have to relocate. This could mean a new chapter in their lives. Maybe this one would hurt less?

“Why’re you crying, Valentine?” rang a familiar voice.

“My names… Wendigo…” she croaked, trying to choke back her tears.

  Wendi turned her head to see Velour sitting next to the bed, half of her face wrapped in bandages. Wendi wondered why she wasn't off somewhere in a hospital bed herself.

“Your parents named you Valentine. Don’t lie to yourself, love,” she smiled, “You’ve been asleep for a two weeks.”

“Oh my god…” Wendi covered her face with her hands.

“We’re alive, though right?” Velour grinned

Wendi glanced back up at the ceiling.

“…What about Vivian?”

“Push’n up daises,” Velour sucked her teeth.

“Why do you hate her so much?”

“Why did I hate her so much,” Velour said pointedly.

“She’s not dead. Vivian doesn't just die,” Wendi insisted.

“You have way more faith in that girl than you should.”

“If anyone deserves my faith, it’s her.”

“You’re hopeless.”

“Maybe.”

  The two girls continued to talk, and Wendi couldn’t help but wish Velour would leave. She just wanted to be alone, and wanted to cry all she needed to. She really felt like she needed to cry, too. It was like an unbearable pressure was building up in her chest and threatening to cause her to rupture. She couldn’t stand lying in this bed for much longer. The walls seemed to be closing in. Velour’s voice hurt her ears. The stuffed animals gave her terrible anxiety. Was she going to die in here?

  The girl, all though she was intelligent and that’s why she was of use to the syndicate in the first place, had such a fragile mental state. Sure she could operate machines and did exceptionally well in school, but she was like a vase at the edge of a table. So close to being tipped off and shattered. Now she wavered and wobbled, unable to make sense of things. It was only a matter of time before she was entirely broken.

  Wendigo loved her sister Vivian, and couldn't accept her death. And if she was dead, it would be Velour’s fault. Forgiving as Wendigo was, that was something she couldn't dismiss. Who would kill their own sister? What would possess someone to do that? Vivian had been a bit of a problem child for their parents but she never did anything to deserve the punishments that were inflicted on her. At least, that’s how Wendigo saw it. She just had a tendency to do things in unconventional ways. Sometimes causing trouble, sometimes making things better in the long run.

“…so I thought I’d come in here to see what you know about the matter,” Velour finished. Wendi hadn't been listening.

“I don’t—” she swallowed, “I can’t… stay in here!”

“What’re you talk’n about, Val?” Velour cocked an eye brow.

  Wendi ripped the IV out of her arm, causing blood to seep down her arm and leaped off from the bed, almost immediately tripping and falling to the ground. Blood oozed from the spot her IV was connected to her, the stream pulsating with her heart beat

“Valentine what the hell are you doing!?”

“I can’t stay…!” she gasped, scrambling to her feet and running toward the window. She began thrashing against it, but it wouldn’t give.

  “Valentine stop.” Velour grabbed the girls arms and muscled her back to the bed, where the girl screamed and thrashed, tears streaming from her eyes and blood staining her sheets.
“Just stop…”

  Medical help eventually came and put Wendi into a medically induced coma for her own safety. Once again she was thrown back into another world.

(ooc: Hoping 4 some CT's plz)