No Sleep Until Clear-1
Story by TikTikKobold on SoFurry
This is the fourth entry of the "Music Story" project I'm doing with I.Hykok and ShortConcepts In this chapter, Arya's Uncle comes for a visit and sews the seeds of doubt into her mind.
I realize I don't usually talk about the songs that I use. You can tell which ones they are by the titles of the pieces, but this one was particularly a challenge for I.Hykok and I, because I randomly selected a song about playing Mega Man 1 over and over again, with the player determined to get past just one stage, so it might seem this is unrelated, but I figured that we could really introduce Arya's main obstacle, the wall she has to go up against, and see her frustrations in life first hand.
There's also the art for this one. I hope ShortConcepts uploads the full version, because I really like the power/vulnerability dynamic of this one. While I imagined them dressed up as I wrote, the art here really shows the difference in these two and dynamic going on.
The song in this one is a Mega Man fan song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN-YHyDrCdc
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Arya slides her way onto her front porch the morning after the most wonderful night of her life. After that great evening with Jay at the Case de Cockatoo, she finally peeled back the false human disguise to show him the real her, scales and all. Just remembering how lovingly he held her after she had exposed the truth to him sends a twitterpating shiver down to the tip of her tail. How could she have ever hidden herself from him for so long in the first place? It doesn't matter, because now, the two of them are going to have happiness moving forward. No hiding from the truth, no screwing people over in corporate espionage, and—most importantly—no overbearing males to ever make her do what she doesn't want ever again. She wants the glow of the morning to never end, but also knows she had to get home and take care of a few things first.
When she stops and reaches for her keys, however, she notes her door is slightly ajar. Her heart beats like the drums from the club as she stares at the sign of intrusion. Her hand trembles as she reaches out for it, her forked tongue licking over her fangs, prepping them to defend herself against any intruders.
The door swings wide open before she has a chance to even touch the handle, only to reveal the massive snake on the other side.
Her uncle easily dwarfs Arya. Easily a foot longer than she is, he has the build of a snake who has enforced the laws of organized crime through sheer force. His gaze cows her into lowering herself. Though he only has half the capacity to harm with his glare ever since he lost his right eye, he has more power in that one eye than she ever think she will have in hers.
“Ah, my beautiful little girl," he hisses, holding his arms out wide. “Welcome home."
Arya slides right up into his arms, feeling the familiar embrace of the man who practically raised her. He pulls her inside, letting his tail slam the door behind her. “Ah, It's been so long since we've had a real heart-to-heart in person."
I'm sorry. I've been so busy lately," she says. “Can I get you something to drink, Uncle?"
“Ah, yes, water will be fine," he says, letting her go as he glides over towards a set of cushions to rest upon. He coils up, leaning back against the seat, the tip of his tail draping over the side. “How have you been? How's the love life going?"
Arya freezes with her hand on her freezer door. She tries to quickly second guess what her uncle knew but takes a quick, deep breath and closes her eyes. “It's… it's fine. Thank you for asking."
“Just fine, eh? Sure it's not going well? After all, you bought that nice dress just to impress your new boyfriend, right?"
She shudders, but pulls the door open, getting the ice before she heads over to the sink. “I bought it because I thought I would get something nice for me with the money I earned."
As turns the knob on the faucet, his hand grabs the glass. She squeaks at his sudden lunge, but he holds the cup under it as he responds. “You know you can ask me for anything that you need. New dresses, money, even a boyfriend, if you want. I know plenty of eligible bachelors who'd love to coil up with a lover on a cold winter's day.
“N… no, that's fine. I can't rely on you forever, Uncle, it's
not fair to you," she says, heading out of the kitchen so as not to be cornered.
“Not fair?" He booms, shutting the sink off and then following her with his mad speed “Not fair?" His hands grasp her shoulders, squeezing her just a bit too much. “What do you know about 'not fair?' Have you ever lived on the street with no one to care for you? Have you ever had to do something for someone you love that made you stay awake for months at a time? Have you ever had to sacrifice something?" he asks, pointing to his eye patch.
“I'm sorry, Uncle, I just… thought you'd want me to be my own woman."
“Baby girl," he coos, slithering around her, his tail encircling her. “We're family, and family looks out for each other. When family looks out for each other, family survives in this cold, hard world. It's because of family I got off with only losing my eye. It's because of family that I took you in when you were thrown out on the street. It's because of family that I decided to even consider helping the daughter of the no good rattlesnake who took my sister's dignity. I've sacrificed much for family, but family has had my back all the way, from pickpocketing all the way to the top of the organization."
“But I don't want to be a part of that," she says.
“You don't care about your family?" He asks, his fangs glistening.
“No,"
“No?"
“No, I mean I do, I just. I don't want to be a burden to you, Uncle. I want to forge my own path and let you run your life without me in the way."
He sighs and pats her on the shoulder. “Baby girl, baby girl…" he says, shaking his head. “I'm sorry I snapped at you, but you know how much I value loyalty. It's because of your loyalty that you're able to have this nice apartment and this lovely dress and choose to date whoever you want, but remember, with loyalty, you can have so much more. So, really, consider this offer. Dump whatever street slime you've picked up and get a really nice family man. You never know if someone outside of our organization may seek to betray us, especially if they know who you are. You don't want to be like your mother, corrupted by the honeyed words of a treacherous dog. You know just what happens to those who listen to people like your… sire."
Arya's tongue slips out. The tip of her tail twitches as the palpable intensity of the question sinks through to her very core. Nothing seems to be able to break his intense, one-eyed gaze. But the phone rings and she finally breaks away, if only to lead to more intense quiet.
The silence between them continues for agonizing eternities before he finally speaks with a quick “You gonna get that?"