Three- Unwinding

What type of people will Gilbert be meeting in the Hereafter...?

Again and again, Gilbert read the scroll - all the while he backed away fervently from the now animated corpse. He was panicking, the evidence was all too clear on his face. But, he would do anything for his sister, right? Especially when she was " literally " in Hell.

So, gathering his courage, he tucked the scroll away in his pocket and swallowed, hard. Then, he glared at the pink-skinned girl; almost with hatred. The knife he had used earlier was still on the floor, he could use that. After it had been dealt with, then he could really go and visit his sister; not that thing he was presented with earlier.

The girl was unbelievably slow and even the slightest movement seemed to pain her. Heat radiated off her body and actually caused steam to develop around her. She wavered slightly and, jaw open, waded towards Gilbert. By now, he made it to the blade and was crouching to retrieve it. His eyes never left her once. Pushing off the ground and to his feet, Gilbert Ayers was ready for attack and-

 

Bzzp!

 

“So friggin’ boring,” a whiny voice announced, the TV screen shutting into blackness shortly after. There came no protests, except from the husky tone behind her, mumbling about how they were “watching that”

There were three of them together in the vast, tiled room. Steam clouded the atmosphere and damped their skin. Before the being responsible for TV was a giant pool of scolding, green water - a mixture of various herbs and rocks from the gardens of Hereafter itself. The cinema sized screen was implanted into the wall; standing close to it was a circular table with various glasses of different concoctions - ranging from fizzy pop to spicy blood. Beside this was a headless, broad shouldered male dressed in a red suit jacket and cream trousers; handing out the occasional drink upon orders to those in the pool.  

“Honestly! Isn’t there anything unpredictable going to happen; I thought he would have done something,” the whiny voice returned and a girl stepped toward the pool, looking at her comrades within. One, a young girl with fire-red hair sat against the wall of the bath with a towel on her head, a few curled strands poking out. Her skin was that of a porcelain doll; pure white and smooth. She stared onward with hazed, cobalt eyes as she lifted a slender arm out of the water and rubbed it idly, cleaning it.

Sat at the opposite side was a woman, appearing to be about in her early twenties. She rested with her arms folded on the edge of the pool and her head nestled amongst them. Her skin was tanned, though had a red tinge to it - making it appear almost orange. Ebony tresses were tied up in two, messy buns on either side of her skull, above a pair of gleaming, curved horns that brushed her cheeks. She had an alluring body; most of which people actually do kill to even try and get. Letting out a sigh, the woman spoke.

“Charissa, would you settle down?” she moaned, her voice deep, “I’m trying to relax here and all I’m doing is listening to that bloody voice of yours”  

At this, Charissa flushed, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. “Pft, like I need to listen to a b***h like you, Mavis!” she declared with confidence, dipping her foot into the water. Forcefully, she held back a pain filled gasp as the boiling water hit her skin. Then, quickly, she sank in until the green fluid was up to her chin.

“I wonder...” the red haired girl spoke up, her voice incredibly distant. The others turned to look at her. “What has become of the boy?”

Mavis snorted and settled into her resting place again, a small smirk on her full lips. “Who knows? One of us doesn’t care anyway”

At this, Charissa shot up, fists clenched by her sides as she glared at the woman. How dare she say that!? Well, of course she didn’t care about the boy’s well-being - none of them did - but she did care about the outcome. It was just that it seemed so predictable.

Gulping, she turned her attention to the girl again. Out of all people to annoy she was definitely someone that Charissa would rather avoid. Lianne continued to gaze into the abyss, but regardless of how frequently this occurred, it was still impossibly unnerving. Quickly, Charissa fell onto her knees and crawled over to her, face dangerously close to pleading. “I-I-I’m sure it isn’t over yet!” she tried with a giggle.

The red-head barely sent the girl a glance as she brushed her shoulder, removing soap from porcelain skin. She hadn’t time for Charissa’s games again tonight; she was not really in the mood either. Although she was just two years younger than Lianne herself, she was too immature for a resident of the Hereafter house.

She had fair skin with pale freckles splashed across her shoulders and her cheeks. Her body was short in stature and slim too; not to mention undeveloped. And this only ever added to her kiddish attitude.

Before looking away, Lianne managed to catch a glimpse of her spiky, chin length hair that was dyed a mixture of snow white and sterling silver. Right now, the blue eyed girl had the fringe pinned back with butterfly clips.

Lianne then met Mavis’s gaze and nodded, standing up in time with the woman. Confused, Charissa looked between the two of them. “What’s up?”

“I am certain that the boy will be finished by now,” Lianne drawled. Giving an excited squeal, Charissa pumped her fists as her eyes twinkled. “Great!” she yelled, “Quick, put the telly on! We can see his ripped, bloody cor-“

“Unfortunately, that is not what I mean,” Lianne interrupted flatly, and all excitement dissolved from Charissa. Mavis snickered, reaching back through the steam and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her curvy body. “So, kidda,” she announced loudly, throwing the pair their own towels, “we need to go and rest up for later!”

Lianne stopped to help Charissa with her towel, who was now looking at Mavis questionably. “I thought we weren’t supposed to let on to Luvenia that we knew she-“

“Oh, we’re not doing out like that. But, she won’t be able to keep the boy contained for long at all " so we all need to look good for ‘im in the morning! How else can we gain his attention?” Mavis explained, pouting her bottom lip at the end.

Then, Charissa stuck her tongue out in disgust. “I’m not making effort for a human!”

Lianne suddenly dug her nails into the girl’s skin, making her flinch and bound a few steps from her. For the first time in a while, Lianne gave a small smile. Then, stubbornly, Charissa folded her arms and agreed. But, this meant a stupidly early night for her and hours of preparation in the morning. Something that Charissa did love - but not for a human...

 

What happened? Gilbert wondered, his eyes closed and body relaxed. It was strange, he felt as though he was floating on water, yet he did not feel any around him. A dream? He was not sure, and to be fair he could not quite recall what occurred only moments before he arrived in this abyss. In fact, there were many things he couldn’t remember. Right now, there was only one thing on his mind; Jillian. He couldn’t think of how or why he knew, but he was aware that she was in trouble and that he was on his way to rescue her.

No matter what would occur and what obstacles he would face, he would help rescue his baby sister and bring her home. To the place where she belongs...

 

“You should take better care of your hair, you know?” Lianne mumbled, running the comb through Charissa’s locks. Knitting her brows together, the girl reached up and brushed the ends; dead from too much dying, straightening and drying. On the other hand, she was well aware that Lianne has luscious locks - she did take a lot of pride in her appearance, truly.

The pair shared a room together, naturally, since they were never ever apart. Always they remained together. Where one would leave the other would follow. It was how they worked, both as a team in the house of the Hereafter, but they were emotionally attached also.

Their room was almost as vast as the bathroom, decorated with a variety of colours at a constant war with one another. Lianne preferred darker, more refined things. Charissa loved all things pink and girly. A true contrast. Baby pink wallpaper was tackled with gothic paintings in dark frames. Navy blue carpeting was coated with various plush toys. Books adorned the shelves nailed to the walls at one side of the room. Toys were perched on wooden, polished shelves at the other. And so the battle continued with wardrobes, dressers and even the tea sets perched on little tables.

The only spot untouched by colour was their giant, four poster, bed at the heart of everything. It was left white, and the only colour that would ever touch it was one of Charissa’s toys and Lianne’s books; and of course the girls themselves.

They were sat on top of the sheets, legs folded neatly beneath them as Lianne worked at the knots in Charissa’s hair. Both of them were dressed in plain nightshirts, but brought in their shade with pink and black stockings. “What is Luvenia up to anyway?” Charissa quizzed after a while, and Lianne stopped combing.

Then, she continued. “I do not know, but it certainly has something to do with the Succession. It is too much of a coincidence for her to drag down a human, already linked to us through his sibling, at such a time,” she paused to give her companion’s hair a final, firm tug, “Done”

Charissa sighed and leant back into the girl’s chest, staring up towards the ceiling, decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars. “Well...” she grinned.

Lianne smirked and wrapped one arm around the girl, resting her weight on the other. She, too, stared at the stars. “Well...”

The pair giggled and spoke in unison. “We certainly will not lose”

 

Mavis let out a moan as skeletal hands ran along her back, rubbing her shoulders and releasing the tension in her muscles. It was so relaxing there, in her little space, so unwinding. The place where her most devious plans were thought up. Then, there came a rapping at her door and she called the affirmative.

Gingerly, a girl poked her head into the room, her skin tanned and hair turquoise. The delivery girl. She was still dressed in red and white as she entered Mavis’s relaxation spa. Awkwardly, her gaze met the woman’s as she lay on her stomach, towel covering her from her tailbone down her thighs as a skeleton massaged her back. She opened an eye and smirked. “I was being to wonder when you’d turn up, have fun delivering that parcel to the boy?” she remarked dryly.

The delivery girl was on edge. “Look, I only did my job, she told me to send the ritual and so I-“

Clap!

Suddenly, the girl found herself on the ground as Mavis - scarcely - covered by a towel, stood over her, hand still held in the air after the slap. “You are to not do such a thing again without my permission; understand!?” she roared, “You are my tool - don’t act on your own next time!”

Slowly, the girl lifted herself up and bowed her head loyally, though her face was full of rage. “Yes, Mistress. It won’t happen again”

Mavis scoffed as she returned to her relaxation session. “See that it doesn’t either, I don’t want anything in my way to winning the Succession - and I especially don’t want to lose to that fool... to Luvenia”

Author's Note

Checked this briefly. I had a lot of fun writing about these characters; good crack, indeed. Anyway, enjoy~

Reviews

[Aly Jones]

I was a little confused at first as to who's who, but as the chapter continued, I figured it out.

It more focuses on Mavis, Charissa, and Lianne (love the names, by the way), and a mystery character---Luvenia.

I love how well-developed your characters are! I also love the bold use of foreshadowing.

[StarNinja]

You did a great job fleshing out these characters. I can't wait to learn more about this Hereafter of yours. I take it these are the antagonists? Anyways, Keep up the good work!

[Priyankaabhilaashi]

Admirable Job..!!!

[Cynthia]

I have fun reading your characters as well, this is so interesitng! Oh, I got to the very end of what you have written till now, but thats worse! I cant wait to read the next one! I need to read the next chapter, and no worries, I am under control, just over excited.

[Jūdan FyreHeart]

A great continuation with solid personalities, great job XD

[Cynically]

I love your way of writing, and giving great insights into the characters' personalities. This was good! Keep it up.

[halflives]

o.O Great. i love this muches. I can't wait for what you have to dish out next!!