Chapter Text
A black void, seemingly going on for eternity. Would it ever end? Who knows.
She woke up, leaning against a tree, resting underneath its branches and leaves that swayed along with her fluffy and messy white hair in the gentle summer breeze, her white hair nearly blending in with her pale skin and covered her right side of her face, she lifted a pair of her angel-like wings off of her purple eyes as she looked around to try and figure what was going on.
Where she was, she didn't know. She didn't seem to recall anything other than her surname, her basic ability and what she looked like, but she wasn't completely dumb, she was still able to answer questions. It was suspicious, had her head been bashed against a rock? Or maybe against the tree she was leaning on? Before she started getting worried she collected her thoughts to try and figure it out. She didn't find anything and just decided to make sure she was intact.
'Time is the father of truth...' Is what she thought to herself as she stroked her wings.
Three pairs of big angel-like wings attached to her back and her smaller pair that was attached to the sides of her head and rubbing her black horns that was reminiscent of a ram's, feeling the scratches that had been engraved... She should probably shed them soon and grow a new pair but that took a long time and a lot of energy, besides, she likes the feeling of them. She knew the scratches resembled her going through hard times and overcoming them.
She suddenly had a thought, what if she was a coward? What if she were beaten by utter weaklings? The thought plagued her but she pushed it to the back of her head, she had bigger fish to fry, like where she exactly was. So she got up and brushed off her dress, it was a black dress with bell sleeves, it was decorated with chains as if to symbolise a beast being held down by chains, they were loose but tight enough so it didn't look loose, she also wore tall black boots that went up to her knees also decorated with chains and wore a black choker, an upside down heart with three pairs of cherubim wings attached was attached to the middle front of the choker, a symbol she would carry with her.
Upon looking down at her body to make sure everything was intact she realised her body had many faded scars. Okay... Maybe she didn't entirely remember what she looked like. But that didn't matter, the goal was to figure out where she was and how to get by. She was about to leave upon seeing a figure in the distance, walking towards her. So she stared the figure down, keeping her expression cold and stoic, a piercing and intimidating gaze focusing on the figure, as it got closer she could hear the breathing pattern, the heartbeat and the footsteps.
She realised it was a person and could feel herself frown as a dislike developed in her mind, seems like she didn't like people or perhaps this was an enemy? She kept her guard up. Once the person came closer she could tell what she looked like, a pink haired female with blue eyes and not exactly tan but not pale either and a joyful smile on her face, the figure also seemed to have dog ears and tail. The dog woman wore a white crop top with a blue jacket over it along with jeans and white sneakers.
She let the dog woman, who had seemingly noticed her, approach, paying attention to her surroundings and any foreign scents. When the dog woman approached she finally spoke with a wagging tail.
"Oh my god, hello! You're so pretty! Who are you?! Can we be friends?! Isn't it such a beautiful day?! My name is Poppy!" Those were the first things Poppy said, it annoyed her, the sound of Poppy's voice annoyed her and not to mention how loud she was, and the small talk was even further annoying but she decided to play along.
"Yeesh... one question at a time. No, I am not going to be your friend. Thank you for the compliment. I'm no one important and... Greetings..?" She just wanted to cut this conversation short or get some information, but she couldn't exactly ask straight forwardly like she would like due to the possible consequences.
Poppy's tail stopped wagging and the smile faltered for a moment before she wagged her tail again and broke into an even wider smile, this confused her, why was Poppy smiling? She tilted her head in confusion and curiosity. As Poppy spoke again, she raised her head once more.
"That's okay! But you didn't mention your name. Are you a demon? And wow! Your teeth are so sharp! They're like a shark's, except much prettier! It must be so easy to tear meat and toys apart with teeth as sharp as yours!"
She sighed, she really wasn't escaping giving her name unless she used hostility or rude words and even so, Poppy just seemed to spring back on her feet every time someone said something hurtful, Poppy was probably going to pester her for eternity until she gave up so she scrambled for a name, blurting out the first thing that came to mind
"..."
"Akiko. Akiko Melancholy."
There, Poppy couldn't pester her anymore, at least not about her name but Poppy's excitement only grew. As her tail wagged faster. Akiko realised she was stuck with Poppy and was unhappy about this. Akiko's frown deepened at the thought of being stuck with Poppy of all things.
"Lapis has mentioned you before! You're her grumpy self-isolated cousin! Aren't you?!"
…
'Her what.'
'I am not grumpy- okay maybe I am. A little. But it seems I already have a small piece of information about my previous life and I seem to remember my name. Plus I have a cousin named Lapis huh... I could basically take on whatever demeanour or personality I wanted if I was self-isolated... So I'll just go with being me- wait. What if this is a trick? Trying to lure me into a false sense of security. Don't let her fool you. But then again, she might be speaking the truth plus considering her question of asking to be friends she doesn't cross me as a threat. Just a harmless little bug.'
"Oh really? Where is she anyway?" Akiko was trying to fish for a little more information, if she managed to get a hold of her cousin that most likely didn't exist she could definitely have an easier time figuring everything out.
"Oh right, Lapis never saw you- well she saw you one time through all her visits to your place, although it was quite brief because you were only getting some food but after a few years of visiting she never got an explanation for why you disappeared. Your mother just said you weren't there anymore. Anyways! She's living with me and a bunch of other people if you want to come live. Don't worry, in case you don't have a job you can live rent free until you have money, then you have to start paying."
'Alright so I have a mother and a cousin. I never left my room except after disappearing... Maybe I moved out and have a job? If so, I needed to figure out what it was, before I get fired for disappearing. Or maybe I was murdered considering all the scars on my body and magically reincarnated into my own body? I had to find my mother. Although I probably don't have a job, I could have been gone for years.'
"..."
"May I see Lapis?"
"Of course you can!" Poppy replied, it was surprisingly short.