You're ten years old, and Rose has taken a strange interest in monsters. It started off with dragons, but quickly evolved into something more. You don't see you cousin much, and Dave was awfully excited to see her this time, so it's disappointing when you turn up with Bro only to see that Rose has locked herself away in her room to read monster books.

You don't know it at the time, but this interest is what seals her fate.

Rose's mom is nowhere near sober enough to understand that her daughter has locked herself away. Or maybe she is, but just doesn't care. You wouldn't be surprised. You know Bro only brought you here out of obligation; because he didn't want to leave you home alone by yourself.

You don't go to see Rose. Being young, you're easily satisfied by the attention that Roxy and Dave give you.

——————————————

You're eleven years old, and Rose is trying to 'psychoanalyse' you. You're not budging, and it's all too fucking funny that she thought you'd talk to her. She seems calm, but you know that one part of her must be annoyed.

You suggest that she go interrogate Dave, or Roxy. Rose shrugs your suggestion off, mentioning something about how annoying they are. And something about Roxy looking like her mom? You're not exactly focused on the conversation.

Surprisingly, though, she does drop the conversation for a second. You nearly forget to keep breathing, you're so surprised. It's unlike her to drop something like that. Instead, she asks you what you know about monsters. Demons.

When you shake your head, explaining that you were always drawn to more sci-fi concepts and know only the bare-basics of monsters, you almost see...excitement? It's there on her face for a moment, but it's gone so quickly that you think you imagine it.

Then she begins to explain concepts to you, framing it as educating. Secretly, though? You think she's excited to just talk about it with you.

——————————————

You're twelve years old, and despite Rose's mom saying that it was just a phase, Rose is still into monsters. She's moved on to darker books, so thick you're surprised that someone of her age would even pick them up. Not to say that *you* wouldn't be able to read a book that thick. You totally could. But why would you want to bother with something that big?

Rose is barely even paying attention to her cousins, in favour of reading that thing. Dave tries poking her, whispering things in her ear to get her attention, but he just gets a push and a demand that he leaves her alone.

You feel like this isn't a phase.

——————————————

You're thirteen years old, and you've stumbled into Rose's room. You were just trying to find the bathroom, you say, but she knows that's a lie. You know that's a lie. That's a lie so fucking blatant that the cat would hiss if you tried that on him.

But the deed is done. You've stumbled into her room, and you're witnessing the horror that is Rose trying to summon a demon. There's an obviously rushed pentagram made of white paint on the floor, candles on the edges, and that damned book in the middle.

You only have a few seconds to take the scene in before Rose snaps at you to get out. You do get out, hesitantly, only stopping to ask her if she's going to come out and talk to people.

There's no answer.

—————————————

You're fourteen years old and everything seems to be better. Maybe it was just a phase, or Rose is actually coming out to talk to people. Either way, this is the first time in ages she's actively participated in a family gathering.

She's not talking much, though, but you can't blame her. You aren't either. Sometimes these gatherings feel suffocating. Too many people, too much talking, but you'll live.

This is the year of change. For the first time in forever, Rose participates. But for the first time ever, people notice that something's wrong with Dave.

—————————————

You're fifteen years old and there's no family gathering this year.

Roxy grips your hand so hard that your fingers turn pale as your bro explains the situation. Not once have you broken your poker face tonight.

Dante tells you that there's been an accident. That Dave fell down the stairs, that he's in hospital. His voice is shaking, and you've never seen him so distressed before.

Where you're silent, Roxy's loud. She makes whimpers, gasps, and at one point, a sob shakes her body. You guess that's how someone should react.

Dante puts a hand on your shoulder, probably more for his own comfort than yours, as he says this is linked to Dave's Bro. He knows it. It has to be, he says.

This news certainly doesn't comfort Roxy.

————————————

You're sixteen years old.

You're sixteen years old, and everyone's acting like everything's normal.

Everyone's acting like everything's normal, but that's far from the truth. You can see it. Everyone tiptoes around Dave like he's thin glass, but you don't think that's actually helping him. Even Rose has toned down the attempts at psychoanalysis, which is weird as fuck.

You'd think that she'd only want to do it more, after what he's been through.

You're the only one who treats him like a real person today, though you don't understand why he flinches from your touch. He can't both not want to be treated like glass and not want to be touched, right?

No matter, you catch Rose trying to sneak off again. She's normally pretty sneaky, but with your Strider skills, you managed to spot her. Rather than alerting anyone else, like you should, you just follow her.

It'll be satisfying to catch her in the act and send her back, you think.

Unfortunately, you catch her in the act of doing something you hadn't expected.

When you follow her into her room, you certainly expected it to be goth-like. You know, the usual shit - messy room, lights off, stuff everywhere, but no. No, this is something else. If seems even darker than usual.
Maybe that's because of the candles. The candles, and the suspicious looking symbol on the floor.

When Rose notices that you've followed her, she doesn't snap at you. She doesn't even ask you to leave. Quite the opposite, actually. She invites you to join her. She pats her bed, inviting you to sit as long as you lock the door behind you, which you do.

You ask her what the fuck she's doing, but she only responds by telling you that it's obvious. Which...yeah, she's right, she's obviously trying to fucking summon a demon. Again.

You ask her if she thinks it'll actually work this time, but she doesn't answer. The only response you get is the slight whistling of the wind outside.

After convincing yourself that you're only staying for a moment out of curiosity, you wait and watch as she sets herself up. You're kind of surprised that she hasn't learned her lesson by now. She's smart, like you, but she's still trying to do this?

You take a moment to smell the candles. They're scented; lavender. Huh. An unusual choice.

It's only when Rose starts speaking again that you start to pay more attention to her. You open your mouth to ask what's up, only to realise.

She's not talking to you.

She's not even talking in fucking English, at this point, but rather some other bullshit. Maybe Latin? Or something else? You don't fucking know. What you do note is how weird it sounds, and how perfectly Rose is able to make those noises. She rolls her tongue as syllables come to her, she clicks as words come out, she makes deep, hissing noises in her throat as she reads. It's surreal.

You don't break your poker face the entire time. Nope.

Not even as Rose's words become more non-human, and not even as the weirdest sense of  dread settles in your stomach.

Not even as the candles increase and decrease in brightness inconsistently, like a creature that breathes irregularly.

Not even as a cold breeze ruffles your hair and pinches your skin, despite the fact that you're inside.

Not even as Rose's eyes turn pitch black.

You barely have time to make sense of it all as there's a flash. You feel your stomach drop, and you feel startled as the ground drops beneath you. This doesn't make sense. This doesn't make fucking sense.

The air suddenly feels suffocating, coldness taking over your now violently shivering body. You want to be sick and pass out at the same time, and you barely have the strength to even ask what's going on.

You can't be sure of what's happening, 'sub jalu jinj on'sr self going down mmph t't depth't yi on'sr reward't. On'sr heart. On'sr desire't on'sr fear't on'sr past on'sr future on'sr life.

Jalu jalu ylu jalu ylu jalu

jalu on'sr self on'sr self

on'sr self on'sr self

on'sr futing on'sr futing on'sr futing

futing on'sr futing on'sr futing

futing on'sr futing

̷̡̟̘͚̼̮̣̺̗̠̎̔͐͑̇̇̿̎ö̸̻̬̞̩̳͚́̒́͌̇͆̈́̅͘͠ṉ̵̨̜̙͍̼͈̑̐͆͋͐̊'̸͈͊́s̷̢̰͈̩̭̩̤̳̞̮̃̋͌̏̌̍̀̈́͌̅̑̎̋̑̆͜r̴̛̘̘̼̦͓̘̠̬̥͔͌͂̐͗̾̄̄̈̈́ͅ ̷̟̅̈́͒̅̍̆͂́̇͒̎̆̂̚͝f̶̧̨̠̮͎͍͓̤̺͔̹̦̻̙̍͗̍̀̽͐̐͝ͅủ̴̫̅̇͂̽̄́͛̑̌̉͛t̸̬̩̲͔͖̬̪͍͙̮̳̥̥̀̑͑̑͆̊̀̈́̐̈́̄̚͠i̶̺̹͚͔̺̝̝̾̐̈ṋ̵̢͈̻̟͚͈̩̹̣̙̲̂̓̇͒͂g̶̹̥̰͚̟͓̠̫̺͈̗̜̭̰̙͛̈̂̋ ̶̧̡̛̼̥̗̤̗̉̂́̈́͂̆̈́͝o̴̺̝͔̣̳̜̩͆̎͋ͅn̵̜̄̂̕'̴̢̼̦́̄̍̇͗̀́̈̆̐̊̅͒͒͝s̶̨͉͇͔͇̤̱̔͗̊̾̆͌͘͝ͅṟ̵̼̣͕̹̹̙̬͎̉̊͆͠ ̴̢̤͍̣͙͎̝̻̖̙̩̯̖̅̒̈͛͋f̶̱̫̯͛̔̆͋͌u̶̳͒͐̅̉̉͘t̸͉̦̭͕̲̥̺̫̳͓̜̺̩̱̤̃́̎͝į̶̪͇̯̞̖̲̙̟͓̤͍̈́̏͊̏͋̊́͊͋̾̌̊ņ̸̠̼̥͈̻̜̹́̓̅̒͊͠ͅg̶͕̗̭̘̘̜̺̝̤̪̼̺͓̈̅͝ͅ ̸̱̗̳̼̖͈̫̞̦͍͇͓́̒́͐̕o̷̭̳͗̽̚n̴̩͛̓̓͆̐̃̈́̒̿̀́͘̚'̸̧̢̥̮͙͙̖͎̬͆͗ͅs̶͉̻͎͎̲̗̹̱̎̌͆ŕ̷̨̨̧͈̻̜̝̙̻̪͇̦̪̄͊́ ̶̢̨̙̺̘̝͓̦̖͍̦̖̩̆̒̊̽̏̂̂̉͆̎̕f̵̨̀̚ȗ̴̡̡̮̖̥͕̤̹͓̠͎̺̣̳̣̿͛̔̿̄̄͆̿͝͠͠t̶͙͈̳̰̣̩̟̟̞̙̙̐̈̑̾i̶̧͔̦̇̑n̶̨͚̰̫̽̅̂̑̓̽̍͒̿̾̊ģ̶̝̝̮̯̩͉͎̫́͂̎̚͜͠ͅ ̶̢̗̣͎̣̰̻̘̠͕̱̯̜̳͌͑͆̎́
̴̨̙̘̹͉͇̏͊̅́̄̎͛̎̽̂̀͐̇͝͝ͅ
̴͈̮͈̫͕͛̏̿ ̵̨̧͙̺͚̩̪̞̾f̷͉͕͎̫̦̖̼̮͍͋̑͐̌͐͗̈́̅͗͆̏̊͊͘͘ͅṷ̷̡̡̿̓̌͌͗͌̿ţ̷̡͉̣̯̗͖̯̹̖͉̠̇̎̑͋͂ḯ̸̛͍̫͓͍̭͖́͒̔̈́͌̋̆̒̾͋͊̀͑n̶̞̠͚̾̓̀̋̽̓̉̃̉ͅḡ̵͈̫̩̝͑̏̋͘͝͠ ̵̨̛̖͈͚͕̺͕̘̲͕͋̊̃̿͗͑̕͘͠͠o̶̩̲̬̲̟͍̪̘͍̤̳̲͉̯̽͒̈̓͂͠͠ň̷̛̛̗̯͖̐̈́̇͑̿͛̆̓̈́̃̚͜'̵̢̖̪̙͙͎̮̫̩̐̎̒͐̅̊͛͘͠ŝ̴͈̦̈́͊̌͂̓̚̚͜r̴̙̰̲̺̲͍̹̪͓̥̱̀ͅ ̴̬̬̮̥̗̩̘̟̝̂͐̔̾̈́̊́͊̍̉̕͘f̴̖̦̽̃͝ų̸̢̝͖͇̈͌͛́̓̓̕͜͝͝ṯ̵̨̨̢͈̫͖̣͆̓͌̆́i̵̩̓̇̀̈́n̶͇̤̥̰͚̖͓̭͍͋̀̈́͘̚͜͠͝ĝ̴̢̛̰͙̜̈͑͑͘ ̵̙̦̗̬̜̳͈̹̈́̋̐͒́͒ȯ̵̻̮̂̊̋̉̊͂̐́͛̀̚̚͠n̷̹͇͚̈́͑̐'̵̢̡̫͓̞̱̜̺̾̔͂̉̽̈́̿̕͜ͅs̴͚̻̫͓̯̗͎̹̗̱̪̭̥̀̈́̈́̒̒͛̀̀̈͐͜ͅŗ̶̧̠̺͎̳̻̗͉͓̭͇̄̉̿ ̷̧̼̗̖̄̇͐̂̌̈͊̚͠͝͠ͅf̴̡̠̙̪̱̻͖̠̞̖̙͎͈̏̅̈̒͋̐̐̎̒͋͜͝ų̷͙̈̋̌̾̔̀͝ẗ̶̨̡̘͖̏̽͆͋̓̈́̿̕͝į̶̞̭̖̖̹̯͐̀̉̐͌͠n̴̗̱̯̺̹̟̭̞͈̬͇̮̪̜̍̂g̷̢͉̣̗͓͍͚͘͠ ̴̖̃͋̔͌̿͑̏̐͒͐̊̓́͠
̴̛̳̳͍̻̟̊̄̆͋́̽͆͒̍̈̇̚͘͝
̵̞͉̈́̂́̋̌́͐̓̌̕ ̸̧̮̹̝̪̲̲̣̹̪̳͍͓͖̆͆̌̀̋͋̄̌͌f̶̧̛͙͇͔̱͉͕͒̌̏̈̅̆̿̕u̸̹̳͕͔̔͜t̶͓̭͈͔̖̙͉̟̲̗͌̈͘į̸̟͍͚̬̩̲͋̊͐͐̒ṉ̷̱̝͉̆̃ͅg̶̡̧̡̛̥̫͚̗̘͇̳͓̞͂̒̏̈̓͝ͅ ̵̢̡̮̭̠̳̲̭̖̠̰̪͖̙͆̾̊̉̃̆ơ̵̜͈̻͗͂̑͊̊̅̏̃̊̈́͑̂̕ņ̵̨̡̖̯̖͎͚̯̳̞̞̤͐̌͂ͅ'̴̛̹̭̤̍̆̊̊̿̽̃̇͐̂͘͠s̶̢̨̨̱͙̰̗̟͇̬̥̮͌̀͐̍͑̈̚r̴̳̝̤̟̼̫̍̋̃ ̷̧̪̫̰̩̰͇̥̱̅̏̒̐̓̏̐͗f̴̛̛̫̪̟̟͉͖̮͖̯͚̻̀̈́͒́̋̆̏͊̽̈̂͋̚͜͜͜u̴̖̬͓̥̟̦̝͙͎̳̜͙̓̃̇ͅţ̵̡̧̮͇̫̜͚͍̬̥̝͗͂̐̕͜͜i̷̛͚̪̙̟͖͛̀͗̒̅̓̕͜͝n̸̘̲̯̠͛̃͛͐̓̏́́̇͜g̵̥̪̻͎̯͓̔̒̒͑͑̑̽͋̌̍̄̐̇̾

Then.

Suddenly.

You understand a lot.

Then.

Suddenly.

You're back on Rose's bed.

She's still sitting, in her graceful position, not even looking panicked about this. The only thing that's wildly different is the almost feverish look on her face, excitement dancing in her eyes.

She turns to you.

"I did it," she says.