Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder // Masky x OC

1

1872

"Dammit, Absinthe, why can't you get this right?!"

"Look, I'm sorry, math isn't my strong point."

"And what IS your strong point? Art? Choir?"

"Yeah, actually, you prick."

"What did you say?"

"U u U uU u did I mother fucking stutter?" The brunette felt herself get slapped across the face by her teacher, the other students in class snickering. "You will NOT talk to me like that!"

"I think I just DID-" before the man could hit Absinthe again, an alarm went off. The students ran out of the classroom, smelling smoke, and the teacher grabbed Absinthe by the hair, threw her to the floor and kicked her in stomach. "If they find you, they'll say the fire did it." The man ran out of the classroom and locked the door behind him, Absinthe groaning as she passed out from both pain and smoke.

~|~|~
2017

The man slipped into the burned down building, lighting a cigarette and sliding his mask to the side to take a deep breath. He had never been to this part of the forest before and wanted to mark this building with the Operator's symbol. His footsteps echoed through the concrete and wood as he peeked through the empty, charred rooms, getting a feel of the schools' layout. When he got to the end of the hallway, he stopped when he saw a face poking out of the dirt.

He tilted his head and walked cautiously into the room, eyes widening when he saw a fully nude girl - maybe 18, 19 - engulfed in vines and dirt. The man knelt down and put his fingers to the woman's throat, saying, "Oh shit, she's alive." The man stood up and pulled a walkie talkie out of his coat pocket, pressing down the talk button. "Hoodie, get Toby and get down here. There's a woman here that's completely covered in dirt. She's still alive."

"Roger that."

The man slid the device back into his pocket and ran a hand through his hair, taking another puff of his cigarette. "How long has she been here?"

Minutes later, another man in a similar hoodie and frowning mask came in with a teen in a mask holding hatchets. "Y-yo, how o-o-o-old do y-you think s-s-she is?"

"I'd say your age, maybe. What should we do with her." The first man knelt down and said, "We should take her to Slender." The man poked the woman's eye and moved up her eyelid, standing up and taking a step back, his hands flying away from the woman. "Tim, what's wrong?"

"Look at her eyes..." the second man knelt down and stared at the woman's pupils, eyes widening under his mask. "That's so weird... she kind of reminds me of LJ. Oh, or Kagekao."

"Yeah... Toby, help us."

"Y-yeah, yeah. Woo!" Toby ticced again and knelt down with the other two men, each tearing vines and clearing dirt from the woman's body. "There's mold under her nails..."

"Yeah, how long has she been here?"

"My thoughts exactly..." The first man, Tim, took off his jacket and draped it across the woman, picking her up bridal style and leaving the burnt husk of a building with the two other men.

~|~|~

"Hello? Are you awake?" The tall, faceless man put a hand to the woman's forehead as another woman in a blue dress with no eyes washed the mold and dirt from the woman's skin. "Slender, why isn't she waking up?"

"Hmm... she could be hibernating. The school the boys found her in burned down in 1872. We've seen this before."

"Oh, yeah, with... what was him name?"

"Azrail. We'll use the same method we used to wake him."

"Sir, is that safe?"

"Completely. If she doesn't wake up, I will revive her and we will try again."

"Alright..."

~|~|~

The woman gasped for breath and her eyes widened as she realized she was submerged in water, clawing at the glass walls of her cage to be released. She panicked as she couldn't breathe, lungs filling with water as two strong arms pulled her up from the water and laid her on the floor. Her chest was pressed down and water came up from her throat, making it sore and drenching her face and hair further. She opened her eyes again and saw three men and a strange entity looming over her. She sat up and crawled backwards away from them, eyes wider than a deer in headlights.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. We're not gonna hurt you." The strange entity walked closer to her and squatted down, tilting his head. "I am Slender. These are Brian, Toby, and Tim."
Slender motioned to the other men, a woman coming into the room with a towel and new set of clothes. The scared woman only just realized she was nude, curling up as the new woman came and stood in front of Slender and the others, holding a towel in front of the woman. "You guys should know better than to look at a girl undressed. Now go." The room cleared and the two women were left alone.

"My name is LuLu. I'm sorry we had to do all of that. You have been asleep for years and drowning is the only known way we can wake someone like you from hibernation. What is your name?"

"My name...? Um... Absinthe Alwit. I would say it's a pleasure, but..." the woman dropped off as she looked into LuLu's... eyes? The blue-clad woman had no eyes, but could still somehow see. "LuLu... where are your eyes...?"

"They were stolen long ago. Now Absinthe, what year do you think it is?"

"1872." LuLu's eyes widened and she sighed, saying, "Oh boy..."

"What is it?"

"Well... it's not... exactly... the 1800's anymore..."

"What do you mean...?"

"Miss Absinthe... the year is 2017." Absinthe had no negative reaction, simply nodding as if she had already accepted this fact. "I see..."

"You're not surprised or in disbelief?"

"No. It feels like it's 2017. I've always been able to tell the date. I don't understand, though, how I was asleep for so long. How could I have possibly survived?"

"We're not sure yet. For now, let's get you dressed.

~~~~~
Words: 1049