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“Are you okay?” asked a small voice. Jules's head snapped up, wiping tears as her eyes looked for the source.
“W-Who’s there?” she asked, voice small and cracked.
“Down here!” pleaded the voice.
And then Jules screamed bloody murder.
It took Kyubey a full twelve minutes to get Jules to stop running and talk to her. It helped that her boots, while fashionable, weighed her down considerably, so the Incubator caught up with her pretty quickly.
“Okay, okay, holy shit, okay” she said, pacing in front of the picnic table, while Kyubey patiently sat on it, merely observing her.
It was like she was lost in the freeway and the music was on full blast. That's what it felt like: completely sensory overload. Her brain replayed everything and it was like she was choking at dinner with her parents again: she fucked Nate’s dad, Rue kissed her, ShyGuy118 is Nate, Nate can ruin her life, her life is over, there’s-
“Take a deep breath. This is a lot to process” said the Incubator. Jules felt compelled to touch him, seek comfort in it’s soft fur, but knew better and avoided the temptation.
“You want to offer me a wish” said Jules plainly, addressing Kyubey.
“You are pretty late in the development stage. The girls I go after are usually younger. But I feel a strong potential in you” said the creature, closing its bright wide eyes in a pleased, cat like smile.
“I’m not a future President or something am I?” she asked, jokingly.
“I cannot predict the future. I’m just telling you what I sense. And I can offer you a choice”
“Rip out my soul so it winds up a Grief Seed? I know how it works” snapped Jules harshly. She’d almost feel badly for snapping at him. Almost.
“Not if you’re careful. Since I am speaking to an expert, you know full well magical girls fail if their gems aren’t cleaned and looked after properly-”
“You’re opportunistic shit stick and you take advantage of desperation”
“Do you know how some animals play with their food? Make sure it becomes tired enough to be consumed? That’s what your friend Rue Bennett is going through” chirped Kyubey.
That got her undivided attention all right.
“What the fuck are you on about”
“Rue Bennett’s drug problem stems from a witch”
“How-“
“The witch in this area has targeted her, along with a few others. She keeps slipping under its hold because it can sense pain. Rue will never achieve sobriety because the witch will keep going after her. And feed on every crumb of her soul the second the drugs go too far-“
“SHUT UP” screamed Jules, uselessly hurling her backpack at Kyubey. It sailed uselessly high above him, landing a few feet away.
“That is what will happen Jules, but not what has to come to pass. I’m your way out: I can give you the power. To help yourself, Rue, anyone really. You know how to”
Jules clenched her hair, shaking and trembling. She had to be high as ballsacks in the summertime to believe what was happening right now, she was manifesting her obsession into a tangible being to cope, that's it, there-
“There’s no limits to your wish right?” she said, pausing her own train of thought for a minute.
“Depends. I don’t believe your wish will be out of my limit”
“What if, hypothetically, I wished to stop Nate-”
“I’d suggest careful wording. Sure, I can interpret your wish is to prevent Nate from blackmailing you, but when I activate you, it could cause anything from a car crash to stop him or something far nastier”
“Fuck” breathed Jules, running a cold hand through her sweaty forehead.
“I’m really tired” she continued, laying back on the picnic seat. She looked at the sky for a solid five minutes, trying to just slow her breathing at the very least, before she felt calm enough to sit back up
“This is something I need to think over” said Jules in a tone of finality.
“You call for me when you’re ready with your wish” stated the Incubator, bowing its head and walking away.
She got to Rue’s house in a daze. She wasn’t able to really focus on anything because in a matter of hours, her life fell apart and so did reality, as it seemed. She just remembered nodding blankly at her and slipping into her arms, not really saying anything. It was almost childish how badly she wanted to just bawl her eyes on Rue’s shoulder, drown in her scent and warmth and let everything out. So she fought the urge to make a move, keeping still until even Rue slipped out of consciousness.
As she got up to use the bathroom quick, she failed to see Rue’s signature hoodie on the floor and nearly woke the house up as her foot stepped on something clothed but really hard. Shrieking lowly, she controlled her fall on the floor and felt for the hood and lifted it, causing a familiar orange prescription bottle to slip out.
Dread rose in her throat as she looked over the name.
Rue took this from her.
She glided over to her side as the bottle slipped out of her grasp, like a pale ghost and could only look at her. Her fingers combed through Rue’s wild hair and the dagger in her heart twisted hard. She barely made out of the window without sobbing and she wiped tears and makeup away before creeping away.
Her feet were bare and slick with night dew as she crept outside, white tail in sight. Like Alice, she followed the white rabbit (in this case, cat?) to a small clearing. The houses were dark and loomed over, hiding girl and alien from sight. She felt a shiver ripple through her, leaving her with goosebumps.
This felt entirely too similar to another sketchy hook up.
Kyubey cocked its head, ears twitching.
“Jules Vaughn. Do you wish to make a contract with me?”