nighttime strolls (hyper)

@"hyperhurricane"

"Okay, okay, I think it's safe now..."

Jaya whispered to herself, staring at the open window in her room. The moon was high and the sky was cloudy, perfect for an evening adventure. Just to be sure, she left her laptop on, The Ink Spots playing in the background to mask her little breakout. Her blue turtleneck was on, her hair brushed away from her face; everything was ready. She even chose to wear sneakers instead of her usual boots, as they would have made too much noise. A tinderbox peeked out of her left back pocket.

"I dooon't want to set the wooorld on fiiii - iiire -" the speakers sang, as Jaya went about glancing left and right, and to the door. There was nothing out of the ordinary. A shelf full of almost nothing stood there, with only three titles still on it - All Roads, a math textbook, and a copy of Twilight that she received and could not, no matter how hard she tried, give to anyone else - no one would accept it.

Her bed was set up, the blanket wrapped loosely around her spare pillows. By her desk was a slightly tilted chair, tilted to signify that she didn't have energy to properly put it away. Paper and pen left askew on the desk, and one drawer was left slightly open. Everything was set up precisely for that "exhausted flop to bed" look.

Jaya put one foot on her windowsill, taking a long, deep breath. It had been ages since she last had a drink and an out of body experience, so to speak and the urge to have one rose more and more. Normally, she'd have headed to Persephone - Percy, as she called her - as only Percy was patient enough to help properly, but right now she was out.

"This is all Percy's fault, going to her friends instead of spending time with me..." she muttered, vaguely aware of the obsession overtones of her words. Still, it wasn't like there was anyone to hear.

Now both feet were outside the house, and she was sitting on the window, measuring her jump. It was a fair distance away, but manageable. She'd been through worse. She braced herself - and then heard her door creak open.

Her insides fell like a lead brick in her stomach. It was Terrance, the worst possible person to see her right now.

"Heeeey Terrance what are you still doing up? It's late," she nervously asked, knowing that there was no sensible way to escape except for jumping down blind - and even that might not work considering who it was standing in the way between her and freedom.

Jaya sighed. She was on the floor, all tied up - and not in a way she quite liked. While she didn't always enjoy being bound, sometimes she did, and the very suggestion that she did never failed to get on Terrance's nerves. Spite was her best option now. Terrance's ropes were no doubt game over, and she cursed under her breath.

"I was doing it mainly to get you to tie me up, actually. I'd think I did just fine there. Floor's nice and cold, and you have gotten way better at tying me down, dear brother of mine," she said with enough sarcasm to start a career in comedy.

There she was, all dressed up with nowhere to go, bound too early in the night. She could probably force Terrance away if she wanted to, but the cost simply wasn't worth it. She would have had to hit him with so much bad luck to repel him that she would also be saddled with the worst possible day in existence.

For now her goal was to keep damage minimal. If they found out that she was sneaking out with a box hiding a packet of Peruvian marching powder, she would never hear the end of it. She'd be put through horrible, horrible things - maybe kept at home. The very thought made her shudder uncontrollably.

"Okay. Honestly, though... could you, maybe, I don't know, let me move? There's not enough mood lighting and scented candlelight for me to fully enjoy being tied up and on the goddamned floor."

Jaya almost flinched at the mention of Percy. She was the only one she ever held in any esteem among this current "family", and her name was like a word of power over Jaya, an invocation that made her snap to attention. A bit more hostility seeped into her voice as she said "See, the difference between you and her is that she actually gives a shit. Now maybe, if any of you other people did the same, maybe I'd care."

She rolled onto her belly and then struggled to push herself back up to a standing position, and then plopping herself onto the bed with a sigh, still tied up. She could still feel the tinderbox against her buttocks, safe and secure, still unnoticed. That was the thing she could absolutely not reveal - not because she'd get punished, but because word of it would reach Persephone and she would be disappointed.

The night was going to be a bit longer now. She lay herself down on the bed and sighed loudly and spitefully, with a glare at Terrance. "If you must know, I was going to go out for a walk. A very, very long walk. Now, unless you have a bit of a problem with me going out for a walk, I don't really see why you'd be tying me up here."

"Fine then. Walk me. You already have a leash for it anyway," she spat in response. Deep down, she knew that Terrance actually meant well, but god did he get on her nerves. Always proper, always in control. Always the good child, and Jaya never did well with being the good child. No, she had enough of being that.

Then she tried to think about it. Maybe if Terrance was a bit less uppity, they might actually get along - they were probably the ones most desperate for a family, but approaching it in different ways. She actually never really had any serious talk with him before outside arguing. The very thought made her blood boil.

But then again... there was always that very faint bit of satisfaction arguing with him brought her. It was perhaps - no, no, it was something spiteful. Malicious, even. It couldn't possibly be anything else. She so enjoyed those moments when she could seize control over his head and keep him down, helpless.

Jaya grinned maliciously and saw an opportunity to do just that. Unlike Terrance, she actually had experience on both ends of the rope - experience that would wrest dominance from Terrance. She turned herself to face him, and in one swift motion pulled the bindings with her legs, throwing him down to the bed face first. Then in her follow-up she put her left knee below his arm and pushed over, rolling him face-up and getting herself mounted upon his torso.

Triumphantly, she began to mock him, leaning in close, her face inches from his. "Didn't see that coming, did you? Sneaky, sneaky, nice and easy. What was that you were saying about not being allowed out alone? We're together right now! Come on then! I can't go out alone... now I don't think dear mother and father would mind if we're to - ge - ther."

@"hyperhurricane"

Knowing she had complete control at the moment, Jaya took the time to savor her minor victory against Terrance, who stood for everything she didn't like. This man who had the guts to tie her up without her say-so, had the guts to keep her down. Her contempt for authority began to get the best of her, keeping her focus on Terrance, thinking of how much she wanted to do unspeakable things to him. No, wrong word, she thought to herself.

Her control was slipping. Not over Terrance - in fact, as her legs unconsciously squeezed and interlocked behind his back, digging into the bed, she had a tighter grip on him than before. It was her control over herself that deteriorated the more she stayed atop her "brother". His heated stare into her own eyes pushed her mind and her feelings into overdrive, in a way she couldn't quite properly comprehend.

She had to seize control again. From herself, this time. And then she had to get Terrance to let her out. No offense to the house - okay, perhaps a little - but even if there was decent Internet there and enough food, she was suffocating in there with no one but Percy to talk to, and she wasn't always around. Every time she stepped out of the room she couldn't help but feel that she was being judged. It was sickening and a feeling she was tired of.

An idea came to her, which was most likely not going to work, but it would buy her a bit of time to recover her calm. Her hips slid lower down Terrance's body as she lowered her face again, and now they were chest to chest, almost face to face.

"How about a game, Terrance?" she whispered with a sly grin. "If I win, you let me out - and I'll even let you come with me... you said last week that you couldn't understand me, right? Just think of it as a learning experience. If you win - well... you think of something you want."