Side Note

"Oi, wake up! Madeleine, now is not the time to sleep!" Mmm… what nice rocking… "Argh… Leviathan, spray water on her." Suddenly, water. I instantly sat up and saw Merry completely frozen, holding onto my blanket and a weird tiny snake floating above her shoulder. Not as cute as the dragon, but I'd still pet it. You know what, I'll just pet it now. It's floating there, completely frozen in the air. Prime opportunity to pet it. Pet pet. 

Also, why are Merry and the weird tiny snake frozen? Is this some weird, elaborate prank? Maybe if I pull off Merry's horns, she'll unfreeze. Come on, Merry, I'm pulling as hard as I can, no need to… what the fuck is that outside my window?

It's… something. It looks human, but something inside me tells me it isn't. That eternal grin, those sharp teeth, the lack of eyes, the… holy shit, are those trees growing on its back? That's so cool. There are also little creatures on the tree. Aww… one of them went on its head. Huh, maybe this isn't as bad as I thought. Minus all the black goop seeping through the window and door. I really want to touch it, though. Time to get out of bed, then.

Ooh… it's so cold and slimy. I like it. I could play in this for the whole day. I've got to thank the stranger. Oh, they're no longer outside my window. I guess I'll search outside my room. I walked through my door to see Mel across the hallway, frozen like Merry. She didn't seem that concerned, though, frozen mid-yawn. A tiny black tentacle made out of the black goop was next to her, trying to put a hat on her. I turned to my side to see a rare sight. Merida is being carried by Speedy. Looks like Speedy was frozen mid-run. Speedy looks confused, but Merida, that's a face filled with fear. Huh, so she can feel fear. Noted.

She's pointed at something at the other end of the hallway. I wonder what it is. I looked and saw the strange thing that was outside my window earlier. Ooh… the lack of lighting sure is making them ominous. Wait, I'm supposed to be scared, aren't I? Oh well.

I've noticed they don't have a tree on their back anymore. Actually, now that I can see them in full view, body and all, they're dressed very dapperly. Reminds me of those nervous noble folks back in Hamblin whenever they were invited over for dinners or balls. Such immaculate suits. This thing, though, it's wearing quite the eye-popping suit. Bright red with darker red stripes. Red on red action, I like it. 

Speaking of whatever it is, I've just noticed it is walking closer. I wonder if it has a gift. Oh no, what if it asks for a gift back? What do I have on me right now? Some daggers, a maid dress, and my old deactivated slave bracelet. I should really take it off sometime.

Oh man, it's really close now. I can see the black goop coming from it and that it also has an adorable hamster in its chest pocket. How cute. I wonder if it'll talk.

"Hello there, mysterious stranger. What are you here for?"

It stood there, staring for a bit, before snapping its fingers. To its side appeared a man, who looked around dazed and confused. Extra hands made out of black goop rose from the floor and grabbed the man's head, holding it still. The figure then turned towards the man, reaching for his face, before finally pulling out his eyes. That… was unexpected. Fortunately, no blood was splattered all over… oh, the man is now leaking out black goop. I guess this is happening now. The stranger took the eyes and put them in a glass jar, then handed the jar over to me. It did come here to give me a gift… but do I really want this gift? I looked at the eyes in the jar when suddenly:

I guess I'm taking the jar. As soon as I looked up from the jar, which was somehow in my hands, the figure, the man, and all the black goop were gone. Speedy ran past before quickly turning around, dropping Merida next to me.

"Madeleine! Are you okay?"

"Okay? I'm alright. Why?"

"Did that thing give you that?" She pointed at the jar with the eyes.

"Uh… yeah."

"Speedy, throw it over the edge at Hamblin."

"On it!" Speedy grabbed the jar and ran off.

"Hey, my jar!"

"Damnit, it had to be that out of all the unknowns. Fuck." Merida walked off with a complicated look on her face as if she was thinking about something I couldn't understand. I'm curious about it, but it's probably too hard for me to understand.

I heard a yawn in front of me and looked at Mel, who clearly just woke up. "It's too early for this shit… so what's for breakfast?"

"Hmm… I'll cook something up." And to the kitchen, we went.

Character profile: Robert Phroom

Sacred power: Butterfly Effect

Deal made: To give his eyes to someone who would actually want them.

Description: A man who made a deal with someone unnatural, even by Mendass standards. He lived a paranoid life, always knowing what small actions he'd do that would lead to significant disasters later in his life, until one day he came across a thing in an alleyway he didn't remember walking down. It approached him, and offered him a deal. He took the deal, despite his Sacred Power being unable to tell a thing. The hands were shook, the deal was made, and now the man walks around blind but surprisingly content. 

Chapter namesake: Who's That Creepin'? by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy