[There's still a lot to go, and, at the very least, it was just all superficial stuff for the time being. Not the hunger, not the roots, not anything quite like that. That's probably the luckiest thing for her.
The contact is pretty soothing, and she just stays there for a little bit, forcing herself to breathe and calm down, even if the tears aren't quite stopping. At least it doesn't seem like there's more to come for now.]
... What am I?
[She manages to say, because she honestly hasn't taken the time to look or consider or think in the midst of everything.]
[The purring does help her calm down a little, though she's not about to move from where she's curled up with Maya, and she leans tiredly on the other girl as she begins to settle down again.]
Plants are nice. I like plants.
[It's said tiredly, but she's already reaching out to try to find the positives in this because she sure as hell doesn't want to think badly. It sucks, yeah, but plants are nice and plants make people happy. It could be worse. She does reach a hand up to pat her new hair, though, a little experimentally because flowers for hair is weird and she almost expects it to hurt, but it doesn't.]
[She's just exceedingly resilient when she needs to be. And she'll cry more later. And she is trying really hard to find good things even though everything feels awful. The mention of the Fog God throws her off just a little though, even if she's tired, because she's not sure what to think of the Fog God just yet. Thankful that she's been taking care of Maya, sure, but here they are a world away from New York with only terrible things happening and the Fog God is seemingly the cause, with her being the reason they're all there in the first place.]
[There are probably better things to believe in than cults, Maya. Probably. Not that Riley completely understands cults or anything with how sheltered she was from the bad things but she gets bad feelings about it.
Her response is a bit hesitant, though, because while she's curious, it'll only confirm that she's not human anymore and she doesn't want to be anything other than human, but here she is. But, she might as well bite the bullet and look. She's determined, after all, to try to make the best of this.]
[Maybe that's because Riley comes from a time when things were starting to pick up for Maya. When someone loved her enough to care about how she dressed, and when someone else thought she was beautiful, or when a teacher was interested in teaching her how to make her art better. This Maya doesn't have that. This one doesn't know what's waiting for her at home. And now that the missing pieces are starting to come here instead, there's less reason than ever to want to reverse things.]
It doesn't look bad at all.
[She pulls Riley's new hair over her shoulder and pulls a flowery vine around the mass, giving her a ponytail that drapes over her side.]
[Well, Riley does intend to change all of that now. Aggressively love Maya to try to make up for her months long absence, though little can be changed about the Maya now. People change people, it's what they were always taught, and she's sure that the people of Ryslig changed Maya a lot too. That would explain so much of the oddities that she'd been met with upon arrival, though she was careful about her questioning so that she didn't upset Maya. A happy Maya always made her happy, but Ryslig... was something. To say the least.
But after Maya does that with her new hair, she pulls away so that she can stand up, steeling herself against whatever she may see in the mirror before walking over.]
[Maya doesn't blame Riley and Farkle for being suspicious. Maya might have suspected things at first too, if she wasn't so sure that she'd somehow deserved punishment. But fondness for Ryslig creeps up slowly. The patient are rewarded. So Maya will be as patient as she needs to be. It's the best way to do these things.
She follows Riley to the mirror, just in case damage control is needed.]
[There's a long moment of staring, as she takes in the girl standing in front of the mirror. It's still recognizably her, but at the same time...
The flowers are all gorgeous, and the vines are pretty, and the green skin and leafy ears a bit weird, but... It could be worse. She still doesn't like it, though. Human her is the real her, and there's a bit of a disconnect she hasn't quite put together... but this is her too, and she knows it.
Her answer is honest, at least, as she looks back to Maya.]
I don't know. It doesn't feel like me, even though I know it is.
[She's been frowning this entire time, but it's hard to keep doing that when Maya is right there, beaming. "It's the you that's always been inside you." throws her off a little, though, because she does largely associate this with monster still, even if it's relatively pretty. She's pretty sure Maya just means how pretty it is, though. She can tell that much even if there's still a huge disconnect right now.]
[For all of the distress Riley feels, she can't... necessarily bring herself to rain on Maya's parade, because Maya is happy, and the most important thing to her is the happiness of others. So she does offer a small smile in return, and she hugs Maya back.]
I'll find a way to make it work.
[Because this is her world now, and everyone she knows would want her to try to make it hers, even if everything is terrible.]
[She's purring again, but this time it isn't a conscious action.]
I'm going to do everything I can to make everything here perfect for you. Just tell me what you want, and it'll happen, no matter what it is. [She'll kill as many people as necessary.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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The contact is pretty soothing, and she just stays there for a little bit, forcing herself to breathe and calm down, even if the tears aren't quite stopping. At least it doesn't seem like there's more to come for now.]
... What am I?
[She manages to say, because she honestly hasn't taken the time to look or consider or think in the midst of everything.]
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Looks like you're gonna be one of the plant people.
[Which means she's not one of the snake people, or the shadow ones, or grow antlers or wings or anything like that.]
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Plants are nice. I like plants.
[It's said tiredly, but she's already reaching out to try to find the positives in this because she sure as hell doesn't want to think badly. It sucks, yeah, but plants are nice and plants make people happy. It could be worse. She does reach a hand up to pat her new hair, though, a little experimentally because flowers for hair is weird and she almost expects it to hurt, but it doesn't.]
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See? I told you the Fog God wouldn't give you anything you couldn't handle. She's just looking out for us.
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... I don't know, Maya...
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[Even if Riley doesn't get it now, she surely will in time. They've spent all that time trying to get Maya to believe in something, why not this?]
But hey. You wanna catch a look in a mirror? I bet you'll feel better when you see how this all looks.
[She's not even a spider or anything.]
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Her response is a bit hesitant, though, because while she's curious, it'll only confirm that she's not human anymore and she doesn't want to be anything other than human, but here she is. But, she might as well bite the bullet and look. She's determined, after all, to try to make the best of this.]
It doesn't look bad, does it?
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It doesn't look bad at all.
[She pulls Riley's new hair over her shoulder and pulls a flowery vine around the mass, giving her a ponytail that drapes over her side.]
In fact, I think you look absolutely beautiful.
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But after Maya does that with her new hair, she pulls away so that she can stand up, steeling herself against whatever she may see in the mirror before walking over.]
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She follows Riley to the mirror, just in case damage control is needed.]
Well? Do you like it?
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The flowers are all gorgeous, and the vines are pretty, and the green skin and leafy ears a bit weird, but... It could be worse. She still doesn't like it, though. Human her is the real her, and there's a bit of a disconnect she hasn't quite put together... but this is her too, and she knows it.
Her answer is honest, at least, as she looks back to Maya.]
I don't know. It doesn't feel like me, even though I know it is.
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You'll get used to it. It's the you that's always been inside you.
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... Do you really think so?
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[And then she's hugging Riley again, shoulders trembling with emotion that never quite manages to manifest itself as tears.
Today is the best day.]
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I'll find a way to make it work.
[Because this is her world now, and everyone she knows would want her to try to make it hers, even if everything is terrible.]
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[She's purring again, but this time it isn't a conscious action.]
I'm going to do everything I can to make everything here perfect for you. Just tell me what you want, and it'll happen, no matter what it is. [She'll kill as many people as necessary.]
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Maya... you don't have to do all of that for me. I'm happy just being with you. You're my best friend.
[And she'd rather not have Maya do everything for her. She knows what Maya wants to do, but she doesn't think it's necessary. IT'S OKAY MAYA.]
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And you're my best friend. That's why -- I don't want you getting mixed up in a lot of what happens here. I need you to stay Riley.
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I am going to stay Riley. [She wants to stay Riley and she's gonna try, but she knows how unpleasant it is.] I won't let anything change who I am.