UH. UHM. I'M DRUNK?

CAN I AT LEAST KICK MY OWN ARSE

..............

............

..... I need my body back so I can kill it

Fuck.

I mean,

how should I have known that

Yes, well. *Now* you are.

.... Perhaps it was a dream-

No you didn't, you're exhausted—

[Cough.]

......

No.

What-

You didn't hear anything.

Moondust....

[doing his most scarily accurate marshall voice]

*What? Is there something on my face?*

No.... I just wanted to say that I love you, Moondust...... that's why I can't stop staring at you-

*Oh. Well. We cannot date, and this is ridiculous, so.*

....Oh.

The image in my head?!?

WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK HOW DID YOU DO THAT

What. is. Wichael Alone. I need an explanation. Please.

I cannot fathom what you're asking of me.

Wichael WHAT

what — i highly doubt that

also ?? because i can't see you ?????

.... you fell ???

are you not supposed to be resting ?

.....

....

...

how did you get on the floor

[The parasite lets a low trill out of the corpse's throat.]

N̷o̶.̵ ̸Y̴o̸u̵ ̵w̴a̷n̷t̶ ̵t̵o̷ ̵l̸u̶r̵e̶ ̷m̷e̸ ̵o̸u̶t̸ ̴s̷o̷ ̸y̶o̶u̸ ̶c̵a̶n̵ ̷k̶i̶l̵l̴ ̴m̵e̸ ̴f̴a̴s̵t̵e̷r̷.̴

[Answering Hershel's request, they gently wrap their nerves around the back, letting arms fall to the side to avoid causing discomfort.]

.. Breathe, Layton.

St-stay calm now, Layton. Don't begin to lose yourself again.

For your sake.

[The 'ground' below them turn into ripples, quaking before massive roots pierce through, crossing the air with sharp edges. Many of them form a protective layer for the corpse— as it screams.]

S̷̜̉̈́̃͐T̶̜̮̀͂̉A̸̲̬͚͘Y̵̝͂ ̵̨̙̼̓̚ͅA̶̡̓̂̂W̶͕͉̳̌̽͆Ǎ̸̛̖̮͎̈͠Y̸͛̈̉͜͝!̶̻̩̬͉͑͋!̶̫̹̰̩͗̀

...

I don't know if it will, but I frankly don't care if it does.

[Descole hisses in pain for a moment, trying to settle.]

If it kills me in the process... so be it. I just don't want *it* to have my body. I want it dead.

of his mind, I ejected myself.

I believe that my body has been affected by some sort of.. foreign thing, apart from that kitten or the hound. Like a parasite.

...

[They hold onto his arm, and loosens the rest of their body. Easy for carrying, should Hershel decide to.]

It's a long story. And it's my fault that it's gotten this.. awful. I lost my body, and hid inside the head of another version of myself.

When I no longer wanted to live in the back +

Wait.. you're...

[Carefully, one of Descole's claws unhooked, trying to find Hershel.]

Yes, I remember..

It... hn. It does hurt, yes. But I've resisted pain like this before. At the very least, the arms I've formed do no harm.

Ah— r-right then..

[The sound startled them, causing them to flinch.]

My eyes are gone, Layton. They're with that... *thing* holding my body hostage. I'm practically a head with a nervous system trailing behind it.

What even brings you here?

W-why do you sound like Layton..? What are you?

. . .

I̵̹̊ ̴̡̣̋͆ȧ̵̟́m̸̪͒ ̴̈́̓͜ņ̴̓o̸͕̔̈t̷̖̊ ̶̮̝̏̎a̴̝͆͗f̶̲͒r̷̟̀͜á̸̧i̵͍͆͐͜d̷͂ͅ .

[Both voices answered. The howling winds that once pushed Descole no longer do so with such strength, but it is still enough to push him if he is not careful.]

I— I'm blinded, at the moment.

Wh.. what... who's there?

[Descole stops dead in their tracks, listening intently. He cannot see.

In turn, the corpse tucked inside the Tree rolls its eyes forward, leaking ink out as crimson pupils stare back at It.

An inhuman voice crackles.]

G̸͇͙͎̀e̷͖̞̎͐̏t̶͉̘̏̑ ̸̨̡͍̎̀̐à̶͚͕͈͝w̸̳̭͌̓a̷̫͇͐͆y̷̪̩̪͛͑̽ ̷͍͈̹̂͌͑f̴̨͛̀r̷̢͈͍̂̔o̴̱̺̎̒m̴͔͓̗͋ ̴̞̗̓̊m̶͔̆̀̕y̸̡͉͝͝ ̶͖̭͕͒b̶̢̲̦̈̚ơ̸̠̓d̵͔͖̳͗ŷ̵̢̑̄͜ .

[Silence. Something else is here.]