#.&& the freakish ringmaster | ( paras. )

[winniethepoohx]

fate.

in which the ghost and the boy meet his fate.

2:54 AM.

        WEST HAD BEEN coughing and vomiting up ectoplasm for hours upon hours, his throat raw and his voice hoarse from retching and heaving so much. the same green liquid dripped from his nose, from his own skin. the more h exerted himself the more he turned into the green liquid, and he had to practically force himself not to turn into it completely.

        THERE WERE ECTOPLASMIC footprints scattered around the bathroom and ectoplasmic handprints on the mirror, the sink, the toilet. truthfully, it looked like nothing shy of a crime scene. and, perhaps, it would be exactly that.

         ❝ DON’T WANNA DIE, don’t -- don’t wanna die, i don’t w-wanna die --- ❞ west muttered, repeating it like a mantra, as if that would stop whatever was happening to him from happening. he was cut off by being thrown into another coughing fit, more ectoplasm filling his throat and flooding his mouth before he spit it into the ceramic bowl. a loud, broken sob escaped his lips, echoing throughout the bathroom and he muttered a soft,  ❝ i-i’m so sorry, harlow --- ❞

        HE SAT THERE for a moment, desperately trying to stop sobbing, to finally catch his breath after the hours of not being able to. eventually, he mustered up whatever energy he had to scramble to grab his phone. he held it with shaky hands as he scrolled through his contacts. he stopped when he found felix’s name, thumb hovering over the call button for a few moments before he kept scrolling. he stopped at harlow’s name, as well, contemplating for near a minute before he decide against it. when he finally found the name that he was looking for, he hesitated, though ultimately hit the call button and shakily pressed the phone to his ear.

        ❝ HELLO ? ❞ THE VOICE on the other end of the line spoke up.

        WEST SNIFFLED, WIPING at his nose with his sleeve quickly before he spoke,  ❝ o-otulissa ?  ❞ his voice was quiet, hoarse, nearly inaudible.

         ❝ WEST, HEY, WHAT’S going on ? it’s, like, three in the morning, ❞ she said, and a soft yawn could be heard through the speaker.

        ❝ I-I KNOW, AND i’m sorry th--that it’s so late, i just --- i-i wasn’t sure who else to call and ---  ❞ he cut himself off with a sob, then more coughing.

         ❝ WHOA, HEY, ARE you okay ? no offense or anything, but you sound like you’re dying, ❞ she hummed, feigning absolute confusion ( if only west wasn’t so naive ).

         ❝ I THINK I --- ❞ he coughed, spitting up more ectoplasm.  ❝ i think i am, otulissa, i -- i’ve been throwing up ectoplasm f-for hours. i think --- i think something was wrong w-with the last things you gave me. ❞ because not even he was sure what to call them.

         ❝ WRONG ? WEST, NOTHING was wrong with anything,  ❞ otulissa said, sounding almost offended. before west could say anything else, though, she continued,  ❝ but if you’re so concerned, why don’t i come over and take a look ?  ❞

         ❝ I’M AT MY dorm. p-please hurry --- ❞ he pleaded. he was just glad that his roommate was out, wherever he was.

        WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING else, otulissa hung up the phone, leaving west alone to await her arrival.

3:35 AM.

        A SOFT KNOCK at the door alerted west of otulissa’s eagerly awaited arrival and he quickly scrambled out of the bathroom, as quickly as he could without beginning to turn to the same green liquid that he’d been throwing up, and to the door, pulling it open to allow her inside.

        SHE SAUNTERED INTO the room without a care in the world ( there was even a small smile upon her cherry red lips ).  ❝ so, you think something’s wrong ? ❞

         ❝ I-I KNOW SOMETHING is, otulissa, i feel like i-i’m dying, i think i’m dying --- ❞ he tried to blink back the panicked tears that were, once again, welling in his eyes and the lump in his throat.

         ❝ ECTOPLASM IS THE problem, you said ? ❞ she didn’t wait for him to answer.  ❝ that’s because you’re ghost half is now just as, maybe even more so, prominent than your human half. your human is probably too ... weak to handle it, hence why you were never able to turn into a ghost before. you were just too weak. ❞

        WEST HAD NO idea what to say. he was terrified beyond belief and this new ( false ) information terrified him even more. so, he just sat in silence, waiting for her to continue, to tell him something good; waiting for her to fix him.

        OTULISSA TURNED HER attention to the bag that hung on her arm.  ❝ luckily for you, i have a solution, ❞ she hummed, much to west’s relief. after a moment, she took out a pair of sleek, metallic gloves ( or, perhaps, gauntlets was a better word for them ) and slid them onto her hands.  ❝ now, you have to trust me, okay ? it’s going to hurt at first, but ... we’ll definitely be able to soothe the pain right after.  ❞ she offered a soft ( though sort of sinister ) smile to him.

        SOME PART OF west was absolutely and entirely off-put by the entire thing --- the smile, the gauntlets, all of it --- yet he didn’t say anything. in fact, he simply nodded, agreeing to trust her.

         ❝ CLOSE YOUR EYES, ❞ she instructed. when west hesitated to do so, she continued,  ❝ it’ll make it less scary. just close your eyes. ❞

        SO, HE DID. he closed his eyes, made himself completely and utterly vulnerable to whatever otulissa was about to do.

        SHE JUST WATCHED him for a moment before letting out a soft, nearly inaudible laugh. then, she raised her hands, the gauntlets glowing neon green as long, sharp claws emerged from the fingertips. without a second though, she swung her hands forward, claws tearing into the boy.

        AN EAR-SPLITTING scream filled the room, followed by loud, broken sobs.

        OTULISSA PULLED THE claws out of the boy, a satisfied smile coming to her lips when her gaze fell upon wesley’s ghost half right in front of her, claws still well into his chest.

        WEST SAT STILL on the floor ( or, the human half of him did, anyway ), a horrified look on his face as he stared up at the other half of himself above him.

        RIPPING THE CLAWS from the ghost’s chest, otulissa retracted said claws, removed the gauntlets from her hands, and tucked them back into her bag. she then reached for the pendant of the necklace she wore --- a miniature crystal ball that glowed a deep, sinister red. she held it up in front of the ghost and watched its eyes turn that same colour. then, without a second though, she uttered a soft,  ❝ kill your human self. ❞

        THE GHOST, WEST’S own self, under the control of what was the last remaining piece of freakshow’s infamous crystal ball, lunged forward at his human half to do just as as its ringmaster had instructed.

1:13 AM.

        AVALON WOKE WITH a jolt, a scream. a panicked, horrified look upon her features as she scrambled to get herself out of her bed, heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.  ❝ oh, my god. oh, my god --- ❞ she breathed out, struggling to bring herself to her feet with how much she was shaking.  ❝ i -- i have to tell someone. oh, my god, i have to tell someone --- ❞ her eyes stung as they welled with tears and she made her way to her desk.  ❝ i have to ... i have to tell someone before it happens ... ❞

        A SOFT SOB escaped her lips as she grabbed a pad of paper and pencil, letting herself fall to sit on the floor.  ❝ what --- what were the names, what were the names ... ❞ she muttered to herself, impatiently tapping the eraser end of her pencil against her paper.  ❝ west was --- he was the boy. he was the one who --- ❞ another sob escaped her lips. she couldn’t bring herself to say it.  ❝ a-and there was ... otulissa. there was otulissa. she was the -- the one who --- oh, my god --- ❞ she desperately wiped at her eyes, vision blurry from her tears.  ❝ and the other two ... there were two more, in -- in his contacts. come on, avalon, think.  ❞

        A SOFT SNAP could be heard as her pencil snapped in half from her gripping it too hard.  ❝ felix !  ❞ she cried into the darkness of her room, quickly jotting the name down.  ❝ and one more. one more. come on, it --- it was ... oh, my god, it was ---  ❞ she pressed her eyes tightly shut and gripped her pencil hard again, uncaring if she got splintered from the broken end, as she desperately tried to picture the boy’s list of contacts, to remember the dream that she so wished to forget.

        AFTER A FEW minutes, her eyes flew open as she shouted,  ❝ harlow ! that was her, that was --- that was the name, it was --- ❞ she wrote the name down as fast as she could. then, she tore the page from her notepad and scrambled to her feet.  ❝ i have to find them. i have to find them and tell them and --- ❞ she scrambled to her feet, running into her desk as she did so, and rushed toward the door.

        IT WAS NEARLY two in the morning, she knew that. she also knew that her dream had taken place at near three in the morning, though she had no clue what day. it could happen that same night, tomorrow, a week from then, even a year from then. and that was why she couldn’t wait to find out who these people were, that was why she couldn’t wait even a second to find them and warn them of this boy’s fate.

        SO, PAPER IN hand, she turned into a wisp and rushed, as quickly as she could, out of the building. she had no idea how she was going to find out where ( or who, for that matter ) these people were, but she wasn’t going to sleep until she did.

        AS INDECISIVE AS she could be, this was one decision that she could make with ease: she was not about to let this dream come true. as prophetic as it was supposed to be, she refused to let it happen.

TL;DR

it was a dream yeet

[winniethepoohx]

ecstasy. part three.

maybe inducing happiness is unhealthy, but, god, is it addictive.

draco squinted at the small slip of paper that west had written otulissa’s address on, then looked at the address plastered above the door to the tiny, rundown apartment. they matched up --- unless wesley had the worst handwriting in the world and he had managed to misread it entirely, he assumed he had found himself at the ringmaster girl’s home.

he knocked once. twice. three times. then, he stood back and waited for the door to swing open.

when it did, he was met with the friendly smile of otulissa, though he had seen such a smile enough times to know just how fake and deceiving it could be.

“oh, a jabberwocky stands at my doorstep, what a surprise,” she hummed, though her tone wasn’t one of surprise at all. “to what do i owe the pleasure of this visit?”

“cut the crap, otulissa,” he was quick to spat at her, as much venom as he could muster lacing with his words. “i am fairly certain that we both know exactly why i am here.”

“what ever do you mean, dear jabberwocky? i don’t believe you’ve ever been here before. to be entirely honest, i don’t even have any idea how you found where i live.” she brushed her hair back over her shoulder, then examined her nails, nonchalant. “are you stalking me, jabberwocky?” a small, knowing smirk took place upon her blood red lips.

“stop calling me that,” draco said between clenched teeth.

“you seem tense, draco,” she hummed, lifting her gaze to look at him as she dropped her hand back at her side. “sober already?”

“why else would i be here? it’s not like i’m fond of your company, at all.” his hands clenched into tight fists, dull fingernails turning to sharp claws and digging into the soft skin of his palms.

“oh, you always have been the funniest little thing, haven’t you, draco?” she asked, smirk twisting into a sickeningly sweet smile. “--- besides, who’s to say that i even have what you are so ... desperately ... seeking, dear jabberwocky? i mean, why come to me? of all people in auradon?”

a soft scoff from plush lips, a roll of mismatched eyes, and an irritated: “we both know you were the one at the club, showenhower. i may have been drunk, but i wasn’t fucking blind.”

"hmm.” she hummed, hands on her hips. “you’re cute when you’re irritated.”

“can we cut the small talk and get to the point so i can leave?” draco asked, letting out a small, annoyed sigh. “look. i just came here to see if you could give me more of ... whatever you gave me the other night.”

“ecstasy,” the ringmaster stated. “it was ecstasy and you know it was ecstasy ---”

“stop fucking saying it,” the jabberwock spat, pressing his eyes closed for a brief moment. “just ... do you still have any?”

“well, duh. and i’m assuming you want some more?” she asked, one eyebrow raised. “that’s why you’re here, i mean. i would ask what i should give it to you, what you did to deserve my help, blah, blah, blah --- but you honestly look like a fucking train wreck and, while it is the funniest thing i have ever witnessed, i’m here to help, i guess.” she shrugged, stepping further into her apartment. “follow me.”

she lead him to her room and he followed hesitantly, trailing a few steps behind her. her apartment wasn’t big and, while the complex itself was fairly trashy, she seemed to have kept it nice enough --- as nice as an isle kid can keep an apartment, anyway.

“okay, so, literally, the ecstasy i gave you last time was weak as fuck,” she started, walking to her dresser and pulling open a drawer. “i mean, the pills were tiny. itty bitty. pathetic. that being said, do you want something a bit ... more this time? or were those fine?”

draco hesitated. every time he had taken the damn things, he’d gotten sick, and every logical part of him left was telling him not to take any more of it at all. emotions outweighed logic, though. so, he spluttered out a quick, “something more.”

“alrighty. something more, it is.” she nodded, then going about with putting something ( he assumed the pills ) into a small container. “i mean, we want your happiness to reach its fullest potential, don’t we, dear draco?” she grinned --- a grin that made the jabberwock uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything of it.

he was silent for what was probably a moment too long, then only muttering a soft, “yeah. sure, i guess ---”

“--- here you go!” she chirped, holding the small container out to him. “your happiness lies within this bottle, dear jabberwocky. use them wisely. or don’t. i don’t really care what happens to you.” her smile turned into a smirk.

draco gave a roll of his eyes. “i could say the same about you,” he retorted, then paused briefly. “... but thanks. do i owe you anything?”

otulissa's smile turned a bit sinister again and she hummed softly. “only a small favour in the future. nothing to worry about right now.” then, before he could say anything else, she added: “now, go. it’s late and you have happiness to induce.” she ushered him out of her room and to the front door. “farewell, jabberwocky. til’ we meet again.”

draco slid out of the apartment and into the cool, spring air. he stared at the bottle in his hands, let out a soft sigh, and tucked it in his jacket pocket before he made his way back to the university.

[winniethepoohx]

the ringmaster and her act.

truthfully, otulissa hadn’t expected to find the ghost boy passed out outside of the prep school’s art room. sure, she had been at the school to with the sole purpose of finding him, but she hadn’t expected --- well, that. she couldn’t say it wasn’t a pleasant surprise, though, because it was. a definite pleasant surprise.

“wesley?” she hummed, voice soft and light as she tried to gently shake him awake. “wesley, hey. you awake? you good?” a slight, almost smug of smile sat upon her cherry red lips.

that same smile was the very first thing west saw when he blinked his eyes open.

“hey there, wesley! you okay? you know where you are?” she asked, reaching out to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“i, uh --- not ... not really? i ...” he managed to get out, and with shaky arms, he pushed himself to a sitting position. he lifted one hand to rub at his eyes, the other placed firmly on the ground to keep him upright. “i was paint --- i was painting and then i felt s-sick, but ... a-are we ---” he turned his head to look up at the building being him. “okay ... right. i think ... i remember now, yeah.” he gave a slight nod of his head.

“alright. good, good. that’s good,” she murmured, though the disappointment in her voice was evident, though probably not to him. “here. how about you come back to my place, yeah? it’s kind of late and you still don’t look too well, so how about we get you fed and i’ll look after you for the night? just until morning. then, you can go and talk to your sister about what happened, yeah? maybe see the nurse or a doctor to make sure you’re all good.”

the ghost boy hesitated for a moment, unsure. part of him just wanted to back to his dorm and sleep, ignore whatever had happened and assume that he had just gotten too tired, but then he looked down and saw the green goo that was puddled on the concrete in front of him. the green goo that he had vomited and coughed up just a while earlier. he stared at it for a minute, just blinking, before his mind went to his aunt dani --- and how she melted when she became unstable.

“y-yeah, that’d be nice. th-thank you ...” he said softly, offering the smallest of smiles before attempting to bring himself to a standing.

otulissa was quick to help him stand, letting him hold onto her for support if he so wished. though, even if he didn’t want to, there was really no way he would be able to make it from the prep school to the otulissa’s place if he hadn’t held onto her.

he appreciated her help, really, even if he was a bit awkward when it came to accepting it.

“you feeling any better? ate a little bit, drank some water? we feeling good?” otulissa hummed as she walked back into the room where west sat on the old and worn couch, a small cup in her hands.

“yeah. i’m feeling a --- feeling a bit better? i just ... can i ask y-you a question?” his voice was smaller than he would have liked, really, but he didn’t dwell on that too much.

“of course! you can ask me anything,” she went to sit in the seat beside him, a warm smile on her face.

“o-okay, well ... you --- you know a lot about ghosts, right?” he asked, to which otulissa hummed a confirmation. “g-good. okay, well ... i just ... l-last night, when i got sick or something, i ... i threw up this --- green goo. and i’ve seen it --- i’ve seen it before, except not being thrown up. it ... my aunt. her ghost form is unstable and --- and sometimes she melts. sh-she turns into that same green goo and i just ---”

“yeah, i did notice that goo on the floor. ectoplasm, it might be called? i had only assumed it had come from you, but now that you’ve confirmed it ...” she offered him the glass she had been holding onto. “here. drink this. it should stabilise you, should you be unstable.”

carefully, he took the glass in his hands, peering into the cup. “wh-what is it?”

“oh, a friend of mine made it! her and i worked together to make it, just in case something like this were to happen. it’s nothing bad, i promise! guess it’s your lucky day that i had it with me, huh?” she smiled over at him.

she wasn’t entirely lying. her and venice had worked together to make it. only, she and venice weren’t exactly friends and she didn’t exactly tell venice what she was using it for. all the little alchemist knew was that it was for a project otulissa was working on, and the ringmaster had sworn that it was nothing serious. and she knew that the alchemist was always willing to shed some light on her alchemy, to try and prove that it wasn’t dangerous --- and that was why she couldn’t find out that otulissa was using it for something that was exactly that: dangerous.

oh, and the potion wasn’t exactly made to stabilise unstable ghosts, but west needed to think that it was.

he sipped at the drink, then paused to make a face of distaste. it was unpleasant, to say the least.

“you can always just drink it in one go. get it over with?” she suggested, gently urging him on.

again, he hesitated, but ultimately obliged. tilting his head back, he let the thick, bitter liquid slide down his throat.

it wasn’t even a minute later that his mind went hazy and he felt almost too tired to even think.

“now, since i don’t have my family’s crystal ball,” the ringmaster hummed, moving to stand in front of the boy, “since your father destroyed it ... this is how it’s going to go. you’re going to keep drinking those drinks and i’m going to maintain control. you’re under my control now, dear west. got that? i’m the ringmaster. you’re just a part of my act and, from now on, that is all you will ever be.”

blinking slowly, west gave a slight nod of his head. it was all he could manage, truly.

“welcome to circus gothica, phantom.”

[winniethepoohx]

like father, like daughter.

tricking naive ghosts runs in the family — though, this time, without a magic crystal ball to help.

the one conversation she’d had at the ball was what really brought the ghost boy to otulissa’s attention. of course, it was the ghost girl she had spoken to, and who was originally going to be her target for this mission. the more she saw the girl around, though, the more she realised just how tough luring her in would be — she was popular, to say the least, always seemingly holding a certain air of confidence to her. now that just wouldn’t do. no, the ringmaster needed something quick, something easy.

that was where the ghost boy came into the picture.

she’d found out from a few reliable sources that the ghost girl she’d spoken to at the ball had a twin brother, so, without any hesitation, she had begun watching keeping a close eye on the boy, which proved far easier than keeping an eye on his sister.

the boy, who she’d discovered was named wesley, was far less popular than his twin sister. he spent most of his time alone, in fact, unless he was at the university’s theater. he’d been easy enough to keep an eye on. he had a certain routine — classes, theatre, art room, back to his dorm. he went through through this routine most days, unless something sudden came up.

still, she couldn’t get close enough to him to get to know him. sure, he seemed more vulnerable than that sister of his, but was he really? maybe he just wasn’t a big fan of people, and that was why he was alone so often. maybe he kept his ghost identity a secret, and that was why she had never seen him go ghost. she couldn’t be sure.

so, she went to an expert — and, of course, showenhowers only ever work with some form ghosts.

no-face too had not had a single snack upon her arrival in auradon and she was getting desperate. she would even take the feelings of a fly, if she could, but the colder it got, the less the flies came out. she was starving.

sitting up against the edge of a building, floating a few feet in the air, the spirit girl wasn’t hard to spot as she squinted at the people passing by. the ringmaster found her with ease.

“kaonashi too,” otulissa greeted, a light smile upon her lips.

“mm,” no-face too responded. pausing briefly, she then gave a small sigh and added: “kaonashi too, that’s me, that’s me. yes?”

“i thought it was, glad to know i got it right,” she hummed, leaning against the wall the girl sat floated against. “you look frustrated, upset … hungry, even.”

no-face too’s eyes lit up at the word and she finally gave the other girl her full attention. “how did you know?” she gasped softly, genuinely curious.

otulissa gave a soft laugh. “i used to see you around on the isle. you always looked hungry then, too,” she admitted. “i must say, though, it seems … stronger now. must be because you’re powers aren’t restricted by the magic barrier anymore … you must be starving, kaonashi too.”

the kaonashi pouted childishly and nodded her head slowly. “oh, i am! i am starving. i haven’t been able to find a single feeling to eat … do you know where i can find one?” she looked to the other girl with hopeful eyes.

“ah, i don’t know where you can find one now, but …” the ringmaster looked down at her perfectly manicured nails. “… but i know someone with the potential of being snack-worthy for you.” she spoke again before no-face too could say anything: “that is, if you don’t mind playing with your food a bit.”

“oh, i don’t mind at all! i do it all the time, or else her does it for me, but either way … how will i play with them? who am i playing with?” a pause. “who are you?”

“ah, i’m otulissa, and the snack you are to be playing with is wesley fenton. do you know him?”

“can’t say that i do, can’t say that i do … but i can find him out!” she paused again. “how am i going to play with him, otulissa?”

“as of now, i just need you to find out a bit about him for me … his vulnerabilities, insecurities … simple stuff like that,” otulissa explained. “that’s your specialty, is it not? gathering negative feelings from people?”

“yep, yep! it’s my specialty and it’s what i’m best at! the negative feelings taste the best too, you know — oh! and will i get to eat wesley fenton’s negative feelings after i find them out? do i get to gobble them all up?” no-face too asked, looking to otulissa with hopeful eyes.

humming, the ringmaster made a bit of a face and tapped her chin in thought. “well, i’m gonna need to play with him a bit too … i have a few tasks for him to do — that is, if you can get him to do them —”

“— i can!”

“and then, after i am finished with him, he shall be a full course meal for you, dear kaonashi.”

“too.”

“whatever.” a pause. “what are you waiting for, then? begin prepping your meal. go.”

with that, no-face too turned into the faceless spirit that she was born to be, and she was gone.

otulissa returned to her dorm. she had circus gothica to plan, after all.

[winniethepoohx]

plans.

no-face too hadn’t spoken with otulissa in a while, so she was a bit surprised when the ringmaster girl had asked her to meet in town. still, she did it, no questions asked.

of course, never having been punctual in her life, tootoo was late --- only by about fifteen minutes, and she quickly apologised as soon as she arrived at the cafe that they were to meet at.

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry!” the faceless spirit cried, drawing attention first to herself, and then to otulissa when she ran to the table that the other girl sat at. “i was on my way and then i got hungry, otty, i really did. so, i stopped for a snack! i stopped for a snack and i ---”

“that’s not important, kaonashi,” the ringmaster girl cut in, holding her hand up to silence the other. “whether you are late or not is irrelevant, we have more important matters to discuss.”

kaonashi too let out a small, soft gasp. “is this about the ...” she lowered her voice to a whisper. “... ghost boy?”

otulissa simply nodded, lifting her cup to take a sip of her drink before she set it back down on the table with a soft clink.  “indeed it is,” she hummed. “as you know, i have been ... working with the ghost boy. helping him with his powers and all that, yes?”

“yep! yes. and since i helped you, you said that i could have a snack when the time is right for me to!” tootoo exclaimed, excited. “is the time right now, otty? is that why you called me here? is the ghost boy ready to be a snack?”

“don’t get excited, kaonashi,” again, otulissa hushed the faceless spirit. “the ghost boy isn’t quite ready as a snack, but i called you here to let you know the plan for when he is ready.”

tootoo just nodded, listening intently.

“any day now, any moment now, the ghost half of the ghost boy should become far more prominent than the human half of him, ultimately switching their roles --- instead of struggling with his ghost half, he will struggle with his human half, you see,” she explained. “when this happens, i plan to tear the ghost half of the boy out of himself. rip it straight from his body. so the two will be two, separate beings.”

“and ... what are you going to do with the ghost half of him?” tootoo asked, a light frown upon her lips. some part of this felt wrong, but she didn’t want to offend otulissa.

“well, my father had a ghost servant,” the ringmaster girl hummed. “so, who says that i can’t, as well? he can do my bidding, get more people like himself for me to help, take over the ghost zone and then the human world --- or maybe he’ll just become a simple part of my circus act. truly, what happens to the ghost half of him is none of yours or anyone else’s concern, kaonashi. don’t you worry about that. just know that i’ll ensure that his future is a ... good one.”

still, even as the words fell from otulissa’s crimson red lips, no-face too couldn’t help but ask another question: “... and to the human half of him?”

“that’s where your snack comes in, dear no-face too,” otulissa hummed, smiling softly and sipping at her drink once more. “you eat his feelings up, one by one, and then, once whatever is left of him is left ... well, to put it simply, he won’t be anyone’s problem ever again. but we can figure out how to dispose of him when that time comes, can we not?. i am sure one of your ... friends would have a few ideas, no?”

and tootoo knew that they would. she could probably ask any one of them and they would give her some sort of answer on how to dispose of --- on how to kill the ghost boy.

“does this sound like a plan, kaonashi?”

the faceless spirit was silent for a moment longer before nodding slowly.

“yes, otty.”