Mori's head was spinning, unable to focus on anything in the room.
He saw shapes and colors moving around in a blur every time he regained consciousness.
It was a fleeting moment of sanity in a swirling pool of insanity.
That thing played with his mind, but he wouldn't let it win.
It felt like he was swimming in a whirlpool, constantly trying to get out of it while it constantly pulled him in.
His head would constantly be pulled below the surface, he'd start choking and drowning.
He would flail his arms and struggle with his legs to get his head out of the whirlpool, and whenever he did he would take the biggest breath he could.
He was tired and exhausted, but once he stopped fighting, he would be pulled into the depths.
He could feel it, its twisted nature at the bottom of those depths. It wanted him. It was pulling, he could feel its presence creeping on him.
Mori barely had moments of lucidity, barely making it to the bed, letting himself fall into it.
Nothing in this room mattered, if he ever lost the battle.
He didn't know what to expect, if he did.
Invitations from Aleesia kept coming, but he kept ignoring them.
There's nothing she could do.
Mori closed his eyes, and kept swimming.
—~~~—
Seems you're fine.
Mori opened his eyes to a ceiling he would recognize from any other, just from the way light danced on it.
He slowly sat upright, holding his forehead with his only arm, a headache still ringing through.
He sat on the side of the bed, his feet touching the colder ground.
"How long?" he asked.
"A few days."
Mori's head quickly turned, Aleesia was sitting in front of the fire.
"What? How are you here? Did I not kick you out?"
"You did, then I sent requests until you accepted one."
"I didn't accept any request..."
Mori's face went sideways, slowly going back Aleesia.
Swirling black patterns appeared in his irises, small but noticeable.
She took a step back, as she looked into his eyes.
Mori looked on the ground, where fragments of the cup were sprinkled around the floor, in a pool of tea.
"Listen-" started Mori.
"-No, you listen. You can't make decisions for everyone around you. If you want to truly control me, then put a collar on me and treat me like a dog, otherwise don't bother. Don't pretend you're doing this for me."
Mori was holding his head again, the swirls in his eyes noticeably disappearing.
"I would gladly take care of you when you need it. All you need is ask. Honestly, I'm not even sure you know how to ask. Just the other day, when I made some breakfast while you were sleeping, then you woke up, then I said 'Hey, do you want some?' and then you said 'No,' but then you were clearly hungry, so then I said-"
Mori got up, putting his index fingers on her lips.
"Sh."
She shook her head.
"Oh, now we're embarassed? Yeah, I saw how you looked at my plate. I know you wanted some. But no. You couldn't ask. Asking is above you.
The other day-"
Mori pushing his finger against her lips again.
"Alright. Shush. Enough. Head hurts. Too much noise."
Confused and offended, Aleesia stood there, her eyebrows raised while looking at Mori standing before her.
"I got it. Ask more. Thanks for everything that you did for me."
He cheeks hinted toward pink as she bit her lips.
"See? Not so hard..." she muttered.
"Yes, yes."
Mori let himself fall back onto the bed, his arms extended on both sides.
Aleesia quickly stepped in.
"What is it? What's wrong?"
"I'm just tired. I'll rest a bit more. Take care of me, if you want."
Aleesia's excitement showed through her demeanor. It was as if she had turned into a butterfly, running toward the buckets of water while trying to find the perfect cloth to use on his forehead.
Even her hands looked like they were flapping, weird, but still cute, thought Mori.