Stranger in a Monster World (Wingshadow x Vertigo)

[Vertigo]

It was a normal kind of day. Well, for about thirty minutes.

Marc woke up at 8:00 AM when his alarm went off. He slapped the nightstand by his bed until he struck the OFF button. The twenty-one year old crawled out, stumbled upright and went to his dresser to pick out boxers and a t-shirt. He grabbed both, went to his bathroom, took a quick shower and brushed his teeth.

Everything was normal when he stepped out of the shower. He was faintly olive skinned, his eyes were still hazel, his hair was still auburn, his face was still lean with an easy smile. Marc still looked like he worked out every day--which he did, whether it be running or sparring--though he was not disturbingly muscle bound or greyhound lithe either and he was altogether human.

By 8:30 AM he was heading downstairs, hair still slick from the shower, and rounding the corner into the kitchen when he let out an inarticulate shriek. "AAAAAAAAAH!" Nate leaped backwards, slammed his shoulder blades against the stair railing, rubbed his eyes.

There was absolutely no way he saw what he just saw.

His sister--his normal, everyday, occasionally intensely annoying sister--was floating above the ground. More than that, her hair fluttered as though in a breeze and she was a sort of blue-green color This was insane. Meanwhile, he was just standing around in red boxers and a tight white t-shirt looking for breakfast. What was he supposed to do?

Only one thing occurred to him: wake up.

Marc tried his hardest to wake up. He pinched himself. Jumped up and down. Went back upstairs and into bed. Made the alarm on his phone go off.

One terrible possibility occurred to him: this may not be a dream. In this case he was likely going mad and it would be best to hide it. With that in mind he put on pants and bravely went downstairs to confront his complete hallucination.

"Hey, sis... Um, did you brew any coffee?" He asked once he rounded the kitchen and was once again presented with the floating woman.

 

[Wingshadow]

"What's up with you today?" the floating woman reached over to the coffee pot, pouring a cup into a mug before setting it down onto the counter, "Is that any way to react to seeing your adorable sister first thing in the morning?" She placed her hands onto her hips and gave him an annoyed look like she often did when she gave him a hard time about something. Her hair continued to gently sway and float along with her, but nothing about her own body or appearance seemed the least bit off, to herself at least.

"I even woke up early to make you some breakfast, and that's all the thanks I get, hm?" she stuck the tip of her little pink tongue out at him. Susan was always a bit irritating while she grew up, but she had never been particularly unusual in the sense that she generally didn't float or color her hair green. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at him, as if he were solely responsible for her mood turning sour.

"I mean, you don't have to pay me any compliments if you don't feel like it, but you don't need to stare at me as if lobsters are crawling out of my ears," she huffed.

Pretty much everything about her demeanor and speech were identical to the way Marc remembered her, other than her appearance. Had he fell and bumped his head? Had his sister decided to play a terribly-convincing joke on her brother that morning? The truth of the matter continued to evade him as the cup of coffee she had poured for him remained steaming on the counter.

 

[Vertigo]

Throughout Susan's--no, the hallucination that claimed to be Susan--tirade Marc's eyes slowly climbed upwards in a mixture of shock, disbelief and horror until his face was strained. "Uuuuh.

"Yes.

"Coffee." He managed to school his face and narrowed his eyes. This could be something other than a complete mental collapse. Some terrible sort of... Prank, yes, prank! To mess with him! Involving drugs. Someone had put drugs in his coffee and was messing with him.

Armed with this new foresight he quickly snatched the mug off of the table and peered suspiciously into it, then at her face. It didn't smell weird. But would having psychotropics put in your coffee have a scent? It probably depended on the substance in question.

Wait. That didn't make any sense. He hadn't had any coffee yet since he had just gotten up.

"... Will lobsters come out of your ears?" He asked without thinking, then waved his hand. "Whatever. I, uh, definitely need to get to class. Like right now. I am going to class right now."

The man hurriedly put the potentially drugged coffee down on the table, cast it the suspicious glance one typically reserves for a rabid animal, and then went back to his room to change. He got into jeans, put on his shoes and a coat, threw his messenger bag on and all but ran out the door.

That was done with. Perhaps the hallucinations would be passing? This was just a fluke. When he slipped into his political science it was just about to get started. With a happy sigh he removed his book and his binder, flipping to a fresh page to take notes with for the lecture and discussion.

What ruined that was a crawling feeling under his skin when he looked up to see...