Colin's posts

She saw... something... in his eyes. He looked like he was locked in a mental nightmare, even though he was still awake. Then... as she gently clasped his hand with hers, she saw a brief moment of sheer... abject... terror. Horror. It seemed like, for a fraction of a second, he was reliving a very traumatic past... and it was intense enough, that it seemed like this would cause him to withdraw into himself completely and utterly. Indefinitely.

However, as soon as that came, it was gone, just as instantly. And she saw a look of serenity and calmness overcome him, as his grip on the choker loosened, and he dropped the item into her own hand.

He then looked at her confusedly and concernedly.

"You've had... an eventful past..." he said.

"To understate it." he added.

Lindsay paused for a moment when he heard that, and seemed to become a little withdrawn again.

"O-oh, it's... it's nothing." he said.

"Lindsay, you can ask me anything." Anya told him sincerely. "I won't be offended, and if I don't want to answer, then I'll tell you as such." she assured him further, which seemed to cause him to calm down once more.

"You... have a rift to the infernal realm." he commented.

"Why?" he asked her. "And HOW?"

"...wow..." Lindsay mumbled.

"A rift to the infernal realm?" he asked her. "I heard Mistress talking about the infernal realm and celestial realm before." he said. "...mostly stating she was above them..." he went on.

"But you have a way to the infernal realm here?" he asked, thinking about it.

He then looked like he was going to ask something further, but then stopped himself.

"Anyway, are we heading back upstairs now?" he asked, instead.

Lindsay was silent once more. He had taken in everything Anya had said, and had taken it to heart... however, he could not deny that her last statement had made him extremely curious. But he also knew that curiosity often exacted a hefty told if acted upon... so he decided to do things the safe way. By asking.

"...why?" he asked. "What's in there?" he asked her.

"I'm guessing more spiders?" he inquired.

"...and I'm guessing it has something to do with why I felt a sense of danger and foreboding coming from behind it...?" he then asked further.

She could tell he was NOT about to go in there. He was going to heed her warning. But it still raised questions in his mind. Questions he wanted answers to.

Lindsay was almost mesmerised by Anya's playing, but when she spoke, he snapped back to reality, nodded, and carefully took hold of the violin that he'd been eyeing, as well as the bow.

He then looked around... and at the ceiling.

"...fascinating..." he said.

"Those webs... they're on fire... but they're not burning." he commented.

"They look like they could go forever."

Lindsay, ignoring the 'surface' comment for now, wandered around the room, looking at everything, taking in all the instruments... before stopping where the violins were carefully set.

He found himself drawn to them, looking them up and down, back and forth, until his eyes rested on one specific one.

It was a gorgeous reddish-dark wood, crafted exquisitely, and looked as good as the day it was made.

And it looked to be just his size as well.

"...wow..." he said quietly.

"This looks... really nice." he commented.

"I am all right." Lindsay responded. "For now, anyway." he added, as he accepted the spider, holding it in the palm of his hand. He then looked over towards the open door, and nodded.

"Okay." he said.

With that, he slowly got up, and made his way into the room.

Once he was inside, the spider leaped off of his hand disappeared into the darkness... mere seconds before a copious amount of webbing that was strewn about the ceiling ignited in flames... but curiously didn't burn away.

And when the room was perfectly and fully alight... he noticed musical instruments. And a LOT of them. Drums, violins, guitars, flutes, clarinets, everything.

"...wooooooah..." he said quietly, in sheer awe.

Lindsay shook his head vigorously.

"N-no! No, it's fine!" he insisted, before pausing.

"Really. Really, I... the fact that I know I'm not in the lab, with Mistress, is enough." he told her. "I just... had some bad memories triggered by this." he explained to her further.

"That's all." he said.

"Mistress is not here. She can't hurt me or my brother." he told himself.

"That's enough for me."

Lindsay almost jumped again when she spoke to him, and he looked ready to just fall to the ground and curl up into a fetal position. She saw tears forming in his eyes, as he shivered and shook.

"Forgive me, Mistress!" escaped from his lips as an exclamation, before he then paused, looked around slightly, and then looked at Anya.

"O-oh..." he stammered.

"This... this isn't the lab." he told himself.

"I'm not back there. I'm not back at the lab." he said to himself further, before taking a few breaths.

"S-sorry." he then apologised to Anya, his voice a little more level now.

@totalanimefan: Woke up a few mornings ago with him laying on my chest. I reached up and gave him some pets, and the purr machine kicked into gear.

@sorrowthemad: Yeah, sounds like a plan. And I've seen good groups disband permanently because of some sour grapes, it's disheartening.

Lindsay was still standing at the two doors. And he wasn't moving. Which was to say, his feet weren't moving. He was standing still, shaking slightly, almost quivering, as he started to shrink in on himself slightly.

But when she spoke up, he almost jumped.

"Ah!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he protested, hunching down into an almost-kneeling position, and hugging his legs.

"I'm not a bad boy. I'm nice. I'm good. No punishment. Please." he said in a meek, pathetic tone.

After the little 'exchange' between Lindsay and the spiders, he nodded back.

"Th-thank you." he said to them. He then noticed that the spider that had 'nodded' to him was looking past him, almost as if to tell him that there was now something else that the boy needed to tend to.

Lindsay didn't need to be hinted at again, before turning around and slowly making his way to Anya.

"All right." he said.

"Where are we going now?" he asked her.

Lindsay looked over towards the shelf in question... and saw the spiders resting there. He made his way over towards them, so that he could talk to them in a reasonable volume, and bit his lip slightly.

"Um..." he stammered.

"My... my brother was hurt really badly when he slipped and fell in the water out back." he told them. "And... Miss Anya says he'll be fine, but... I'm probably going to worry, anyway." he said further.

"Would... you mind watching over him to make sure?" he asked.

"If... if it isn't too much trouble?"

Lindsay was silent for a couple of moments, and nodded.

"Yes, please." he said.

"To both." he told her.

"It... it really would make me feel better to have someone looking over him and making sure he's okay." he said further. "Your spiders would be good for that, from what I've seen of them." he continued.

"And I am always wanting to learn new things." he then said.

"What are you meaning in specific?" he asked.