"For who could love a monster?" // One-On-One // CLOSED

They blinked. "I've seen monsters, and trust me: you aren't one. You might look different, but you aren't a monster."

"Ok, you're lying," Lys huffed, walking back into the water. "My parents said that…and then they cast me out. Disowned me. Hated me. Wanted me dead. Just like everyone else."

"Right, well. Lemme ask you: have you ever hurt someone? Have you ever dragged someone into your bed and paid them afterwards, as if their body was something that could be bought and sold like they were a commodity?"

"No? And no! That's gross! I'm not into that! What the fuck?!" He moved away a little, slightly scared of this new person. "Well, since it seems like you're not leaving, my name is Lys."

"That's what I've seen monsters do, so if you haven't done that, then it doesn't matter what you look like. The real monsters are the ones that look like everyone else until they're doing things they should never do." they replied with a shrug. "And I'm Casey."

"Ok…but I'm still confused as to why you're here. Like I said, I live kilometers away from the outskirts of the closest town. I just don't get it."

"I already told you. I wanted to get out of the city for a while." They replied, eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"But why did you come this way?" Lys began to walk out of the river, heading towards his shack.

"I…I don't know. I just wanted to, I suppose." they didn't really understand this line of questioning, but answered honestly to each one.

Lys walked inside his shack. When Casey didn't follow him, he stuck his head back out and looked at the other person. "Well, are you gonna come inside?"

Casey blinked, and then followed Lys inside. "Alright." he was cautious, but didn't seem scared.

(sorry for the late reply, i was really distracted yesterday)

"I think we're already agreed that I'm not gonna attack you." Lys' shack was filled with paintings, some abstract, some landscapes. With years of isolation, he'd been able to perfect his skills. Or at least get better.

(it's fine!)

They shrugged a little, then moved to looking at the paintings, eyes flickering over them carefully.

Lys saw Casey staring at his paintings. "I can only do so much when I'm bu myself, right? And paints are easy to make if you know how to use natural ingredients. None of them are of people. I kinda gave up on that."

Casey nodded. "They look really great." He said, looking over at Lys.

"Really?! You think they're OK?" Lys was in shock. "I've never been told that. I mean, of course I haven't, I don't go near anyone. But still. That…that makes me happy."

They looked over at the other. "Yeah. They look great." they replied with a smile, looking around the shack quietly.

The shack was single storied, but quite large and high-roofed. A glance in a few directions would make it clear that many of the rooms were filled with paintings.

They didn't go any further in, not wanting to encroach on the other's personal space.

"If you're at least here and unlikely to leave, you might as well come in. I have food and stuff. There's leftover cake from my last trip to the market. I don't go very often because people stare at me, so I rarely get that kind of stuff. But I went only a couple days ago, so it's pretty fresh."

They nodded a little. "I…I'm not really hungry, so there's no need for me to take your food."

"Is there anything else then? I have tea, or milk. And of course they're the water in the river - it's fresh water, so I get all my water supply from there." Lys paused and swung around, his wings narrowly avoiding hitting a painting. His red eyes moved over Casey, and he blew his pink hair out of his face. "You don't talk much, do you?"

Casey looked up, and shook their head a little bit. "I'm good. And no, I…really don't."

(hey sorry, i've been really busy lately)

"You should talk more then," Lys said, his wings flicking. They felt heavy, since he had just been in the water. That was the worst part about having wings. "Are you really not afraid of me?"

(it's fine!)

Casey shook their head again. "I'm not, no." they replied, looking over at Lys. "I just…I guess I judge people by what they do rather than what they look like."

"You're the first person who has said that to me. I mean look at me. I have blue skin and red eyes. I have horns and this dumb pink hair. And then I have these huge wings. I'm a monster."

"You aren't a monster. Trust me. I've seen monsters, and you don't have their hands or their smile." Casey replied, eyes flickering a little as they shook their head.

"I want to accept that, but some part of me doesn't believe it." Lys sighed. "It's not cause I don't want to. I've just been told so much that I'm a monster. It's hard to think otherwise."

Casey shook ther head again. "You aren't."

"Find that hard to believe." He shoveled down a piece of cake. "Funny thing is, I'm just as human as you. Just…my genes are all wack. I don't know. But my parents are human, and they look normal."