by SALSAlys » Sat Oct 30, 2004 10:38 pm
"DAMMIT! Don't know why the hell I keep taking these crazy bets...." Hakaril Tymisonn muttered to himself as he slogged through the rain. If he honestly gave the matter a bit of thought, he would find it quite easy to recall an overimbibement of various alcoholic drinks and some nebulous activity that involved his boxers ending up on his head (though his trousers were still on, oddly enough), bu~ut.... well, he didn't give it much thought.
And thus, he was slogging.
An ominous flash of thunder briefly illuminated the shadows gathered about a large circle of stones, and the boy glanced about with a hint of suspicion before entering.
"Hak, boy, there ain't nothin' to it..." he muttered, then cleared his throat.
"RIGHT! All you spooks an' stuff that ain't here, listen up! BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE, BEETLEJUICE!"
He waited. That was part of the bet; to stay in the circle for three counts after saying that.
Just to stay on the safe side, he counted to five. He didn't want to prove chicken to anyone— even himself— by counting too fast.
Then he relaxed.
"Nothin' to it," he chuckled, grinning as he lifted a foot to step out....
Then his eyes glazed as he stood, foot suspended and eyes fading out of focus for a few seconds. Despite his outer stillness, a new battle was brewing within his own mind.
'Cor! Young whippersnapper, you call THIS a MIND? Youth these day...'
'Sod off gramps! It's MY mind, and who th'hell are you?!'
'You called the ritual and you don't know who I AM?'
'Hey, it was a bet! Just stand in the circle, say a few funny words—'
Then the argument abruptly ceased, and Hakaril's body set its foot down.
"Nothin' to it," the new inhabitant murmured. Then he laughed, the sound splitting into a million razored shards that appeared to hover in the air long after he had left.
He really DID have a rather memorable laugh.
* * *
Ak'zhul was waiting. In the rain. He really didn't like it.
'I'm waiting. In the rain. I really don't like it,' he reflected. 'Now if only Hak will hurry on back. Mom said to check on him, but it's not like he's a little kid any more, even though he acts like it sometimes...'
Just on cue, though, he could make out Hakaril's approach. His brother certainly had a jaunty walk.
"Hey!" he called. "Mom told me to watch out for you."
"Oh. She did? Rockin'," Hak replied, somewhat absently.
'Another young'un. At least his brain seems to be in better shape than yours.'
'SOD OFF AND OUT OF MY HEAD!'
Ak'zhul gave Hakaril an odd look. Something moderately approaching civility? How very odd. He turned, intending to lead.
"Come on, then. You hungry?"
To Ak'zhul's surprise though... he could feel hands about his throat, andthen was jerked backwards into a headlock. Struggling, he called out "DAMMIT HAK! STOP MESSIN' AROUND!"
'Hey, stop messin' around! Only I can beat up my bro!'
'My mission is to take over the world and kill everybody! I WILL START WITH HIM!'
Rather than ask the rather obvious question of what sort of rule his crazy bodysnatching aggressor could have over a bunch of corpses, Hakaril resumed his stream of profanity.
'GET OUTTA MY HEAD YOU DAMN FREAK!'
Ak'zhul twisted his head about, thrashing wildly... already, his vision was starting to blur, and his mouth felt dry. He tried to bite.
'I'M WARNING YOU THAT YOU GET OUTTA MY BODY AND LEGGO OF HIM! Are you waitin' for me to say "PLEASE GET OUTTA MY BODY—"' railed Hak.
At that moment though.... well, legions of mothers all over the world and in various parallel universes had drilled "please is the magic word" into the heads of their numerous progeny, and when something has been repeated that much, it does gain its own sort of power...
In short, Hak felt a pop in his ears. The crazy voice was gone, and... he was still gripping Ak'zhul.
He kept his grip a bit longer. Scrapping was always fun.
Then he released.
"...yeah, I'm hungry," he said with a bright, wide smile.
Akky choked a bit, recovering his breath. He peered suspiciously at Hak for a bit. Hak looked innocent— or as innocent as he could try. On a 1 to 10 scale of innocence, he was still about 1.2, but he was trying.
And thus, the brothers continued their night, Akky never suspecting that Hak had been briefly taken over by a mysterious entity (TM), and Hakaril never realizing the magical and miraculous release being due to the power of 'please'. This may be a parable.