A Learning Experience (Open)

"Gas prices. The suicide rate in America. Birds and planes and things. And either a very angry floating man or a monster made of spaghetti.... I haven't decided which, yet."

They spoke without missing a beat, almost as if they expected the question all along... as if this were all part of some grand script, and they already knew what was going to happen. It was almost eerie... until they stood up and looked over at Janiya with their wide, bright eyes filled with... Well. Nothing.

They tilted their head as they waited for her response, an almost too wide smile stretching their face.

"Nope!" They clapped their hands together slightly and gave a single shake of their head, back and forth. They turned their attention back to the shelves nearest to them, scanning the titles of the books with sudden great interest.

"I just like it here."

"Nope!" Again, their response was almost instant, as if they were just waiting for her to ask. Turning to face her once more, they glanced to the book she held before meeting her gaze, unflinching.

"I probably did, but I don't remember anything, really. So even if I have read it, I won't remember it, and it will be like reading it for the first time all over again!"

"Hmm..." Pippin's head tilted slowly to one side as they contemplated that question. What was actually wrong with them? Was it short term memory loss? Some form of amnesia? Something else entirely? They realized that they hadn't actually thought about that, too much.

"Dunno!" They closed their eyes, head jerking upright, as they clasped their hands together in glee. "I guess I never really questioned it before!"

Was somebody looking after them? Well....

"Which world?" They asked the question so suddenly, so quickly, and so insistently, that it was almost as if THAT question was.., it. The thing they had been waiting for, the entire reason for this encounter... There was a sudden heaviness to their question, like a thick blanket of importance draped along every word. When they moved, they did so with the suddenness of a snake striking. They were, in the blink of an eye, facing Janiya completely, leaning close to them with wide, burning eyes, as if the answer to this question would change the course of their entire life.

If Janiya looked closely enough, if she could see around their suddenly-way-too-close face, she would notice something quite strange indeed... and if she couldn't see it, maybe she would be able to feel it. Or, rather, not feel it.

Pippin stood there, almost nose to nose with this woman, and they weren't breathing. The length of time they held their breath was almost disturbing, and the fact that they did so without gasping the moment they inhaled was... startling. In between questions, there was that determined, maintained hallow in their chest, the press of their lips together, and the stillness of their nostrils. When they would go to speak, they'd breathe in deeply, fill their lungs, and by the time they were done with whatever they had to say.... They had used up all of their air.

Still, Pippin remained close to Janiya, and if she attempted to step back before answering the question, they would step forward in almost perfect unison, maintaining their closeness as long as they possibly could... at least until they got their answer.

They continued to stare at her for a long, silent moment, letting it drag on for what felt like forever. The silence was consuming, eating up the casual day to day sounds until there was nothing left but the oppressive silence and the gleaming brightness of their eyes... a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of colors. Staring too long, being too close, had a strange effect on people. It was as if they were the only thing in the world... At least the world was beautiful.

And then, after enough time had passed that the numbness would have comfortably set in, just as suddenly as they slipped into Janiya's face.... they were sitting right back on an overstuffed, plush chair. Whether that had been there a few moments before or not was up for debate, but the way they collapsed back into it without even looking indicated that, if nothing else, they were VERY well aware of its presence. And exact location. They threw their booted feet up onto a matching ottoman and relaxed into the seat, arms tossed over the arms of the chair as they gazed up at their new friend. 

That unearthly, hypnotic kaleidoscope was gone from their eyes. They looked... Well, as normal as somebody like them could ever look, anyway. They gazed up at the woman and reached up to twirl a colored lock of hair. 

"The afterlife? Do you ever go to visit your sibling there?" they asked with a curious tilt of their head. 

"Oooo, on his way heeeeere you say..." Pippin mimed holding a pipe, so realistically it was almost as if they were actually holding an invisible pipe. They even went as far as to tap the invisible end of it against the cheek thoughtfully, like it was some great mystery and they were Sherlock Holmes. They crossed one long leg over the other, setting their foot down to make an odd triangle with their legs, and turned their gaze upwards. "Now, what on earth could they be visiting you for?"

It was a simple question asked by an obviously mad child, but there was something... almost innocent in their question. Their madness was a wild force, a power that - if left unharnessed could easily cause serious damage... if not outright destroy the world as people knew it. That madness, however, was often overlooked in favor of the way they asked questions, the childlike wonder and glee they got whenever somebody actually answered them. The rapid back and forth between monster and child was whiplash inducing... and simultaneously so natural, so RIGHT, so much so a part of them as a person... that it rarely raised any red flags.

They turned their bright gaze back to Janiya, dropping the pretense of their invisible pipe so they could lean forward, pressing their thin chest against their thigh and wrapping both arms around one leg. They rested their cheek against their knee to stare at her, almost affectionately. "It must be something pretty dang important. It's super easy for somebody from here to go there. Like, easier than getting a passport. But for one of them to come allllll the way here... that's like summer vay-cay to the Islands level of booked in advance, hassle travel, and all for a kinda 2 star experience... Not much of a vacation for them to come topside..."

Pippin couldn't help but giggle, raising a hand to hide their laughter behind long, spindly fingers. They looked a bit disproportionate in that moment, as if their limbs were longer than they were supposed to be... longer than they looked. When somebody was talking to Pippin, it wasn't particularly uncommon for their vision to begin to shrink and expand, to change the world around them as if they were looking into a mirror in a funhouse. It was a strange, subtle change that happened over the length of an entire conversation, or multiple, and lingered for a couple of hours after.... but even as it was happening, it was easy enough to understand that SOMETHING was weird, something was strange, but that was all. After some time, the effects just felt... normal.

They leaned forward slightly, the imagined pipe no longer held in their hand, and rested their arms against their knees. "This place, it's got stuff," they whispered, their eyes widening with the intensity of the secret they shared. They held up one hand to hide their lips from whatever onlookers may dare to be anywhere near them, in that moment. "Secret stuff... Stuffy stuff, you know?... Thaaaat kind of stuff."

The serious expression they wore made it obvious that whatever it was they were saying, it was actually very, wildly important, possibly the most important thing that Janiya would learn in her entire lifetime... or, perhaps it just seemed that way to the little child. They glanced from side to side, one lip twitching over their teeth, before leaning back to gaze over at Janiya again.

"It makes leaving here difficult. You'd have to have someone super strong, and even then, I dunno if the stuff would let them leave forever. Death, she's pretty strong. Super strong, even, like I was sayin'. But even Death can't keep people that are from here. Not for long." They shook their head from side to side to emphasize their point. "Then again... Maybe she will be able to when she grows up. She's just a little girl right now."

Pippin seemed totally content to let this stranger fall, slowly but consistently, into the gentle, loving embrace of insanity. They said paranoia is the first sign, that those that are losing their minds tend to start to turn things around in strange, unusual ways so they could blame something, suspect something, and have evidence that they were right. They had seen it, time and time again, as people spent more time around them. It was like a fun little journey that she got to go on, and they were invited along for the ride! It was so exciting.

They looked like they were about to start giggling as they realized where, exactly, this stranger's mind had gone.... until it hit them. All glee and excitement slowly began to melt off their face, leaving behind a sick sort nothing. It was an obvious mask, but what lie beneath it was a total mystery. It could be anything, especially given their personality.

Very, very quietly, they whispered, "Did... you just try to say... that I'm a little girl?"