#it'd fit in the bureau files tbh

[catsafarithewriter]

"Who did this to you" Haru and Baron

At Baron’s question, Haru’s hand hesitated at the door handle. She glanced back at her companion, a weak smile on her lips.

“Did what?”

“Changed you into someone you’re not.” Baron rounded on her, knocking the door shut before she could make a run for it. “The Haru I know wouldn’t turn her back on people in need - she’d want to help, she’d want to fight. She’d care.”

Haru looked to the window, where she could see the creatures terrorising the small town. She offered a halfhearted, lopsided smile. “Have you seen what kind of monsters we’re dealing with here? I mean, harpies, really? We can’t fight them.”

“That’s never stopped us before.”

“Well then, you’re a fool. And so am I apparently. I’m getting out of here.” She tugged at the door, but Baron held it tightly shut. “You can’t keep me here forever, Baron.”

“What’s happened to you?” Bright green eyes searched dark brown, grasping for an answer. “What are you? Are you a copy, a fake? Or has something changed you?”

The screeching of the harpies drew closer, and Haru dropped back from the doorway impatiently. “We don’t have time for this. We have to go.”

“Where is the Haru I know? What have you done to her?”

“Geez, you’re really hung up on this, aren’t you?”

“I’ve had enough of doppelgängers and duplicates to last my long lifetime,” Baron hissed. “Where. Is. She?”

Haru sighed, rolling her head back in an exasperated, uncharacteristic motion. “She’s right here, you doofus. Well, physically, anyway.”

Baron looked at his companion with new eyes. “You’re a body snatcher?”

“That’s a crude way of looking at it-”

“What’s happened to the real Haru?”

The snatcher looked faintly insulted. “I’m just as real as she is, you know. I have all her memories, all her thoughts…” It tapped it’s head with a smirk. “Everything is still locked up here, but, oh… well, mostly. She’s keeping a few things hidden, but that won’t last long.”

“Get out of her.”

“And go where? My kind cannot survive long outside a host-”

“Maybe you should have considered that before stealing Haru’s body.”

“My previous host was killed by the harpies,” it protested hotly. “And then there was Haru, a living body when my current one was dying. What else should I have done?”

“You shouldn’t have stolen another person’s life in lieu of your own!” Baron roared. “You don’t get to choose for someone else to take your place when death comes. Now get out of her.”

“And risk death? I think not.”

“You’re crushing her,” Baron snapped. “The human body cannot withstand two souls - your forced stay will literally be smothering her.”

“All this for a single human,” the snatcher muttered. It eyed Baron. “You’re really not going to let me leave until I’m out of this body, are you?”

“No.”

“Fine. But I’m not giving up to death so easily.”

With a shuddering gasp, the snatcher’s soul poured out of Haru’s mouth and smothered Baron. Green eyes clouded.He buckled over in a fit of coughing, and when he straightened, the eyes were bright green again.

Clutching her head, Haru peered at her companion. “Baron?”

A lopsided grin. “Try again, lady.”

“Get out of him.”

The snatcher huffed. “You two are like a broken record.” It stretched, easing into the feel of the new body with unconcerned ease. “So, this is a Creation, huh? I can’t say it lives up to all the hype - but if it’s true about the no-aging, then I’m not going to complain.” It paused, cocking its head to one side. “Oh, come on, Baron; there’s no need to be like that. I’ve left her, haven’t I? No agreement technically broken.”

Haru grabbed the cane off the snatcher and bared it at the creature. “Let him go.”

“You wouldn’t attack a friend, would you?” the snatcher asked. “I’ve been inside your head, lady; I know just how deeply your feelings run...”

“You know nothing about me.”

“I beg to differ. I’ve rootled round in your head and, oh, the confusion you have in your mind is a beauty to behold. I mean, falling for a Creation? He’s a figurine, a puppet - you’re not even sure he is capable of love-”

“That’s a lie!”

“Oh, you don’t think it often, but that thought is there. Quiet. Niggling. Insistent. Not all love, obviously, but just perhaps the love you’re hoping for.” The snatcher leant towards Haru, who prodded it in the chest with the cane to keep it from coming any closer. “And what if I told you that you were right? He really is nothing more than a hollow shell, an imitation of life. Oh, a convincing one, but a sham nonetheless.”

“Then I would call you a liar.”

“He’s a performer dancing on strings, a strange little Creation who likes to think he’s real - and what’s worse, you fell for it.” Painfully familiar green eyes bore into hers, tainted by a cruelty that she had never seen before. “He would never be able to truly love you.”