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[polydeukes]

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overflow | the sirens ring out

[polydeukes]

[Starts here.]

Josie keeps her eyes focused on her sister, but she can still see the demons dancing out of the corner of her eyes. It's so hard not to flare up the magic and just let it explode from her, no matter who it hurts in her path.

But that could result in hurting Lizzie. And she has to know that Lizzie is real. Lizzie is real, isn't she?

"How do I know that you're the one who's real and not them?"

[predispositions]

Luckily for both of them, Lizzie is pretty genre saavy and the test comes to mind pretty easily.

"Ask me anything, ask me something only the real Lizzie would know."

They're twins, after all, they have more secrets than most siblings do.

[polydeukes]

It's a tried and true test. But if Lizzie is coming from Josie's brain, does it matter what Lizzie knows as long as Josie knows it? She's not sure if this secret is going to make things better or worse, but Lizzie's reaction will tell her more.

"Who did you write in as your romantic hero for your Star Wars story when you were eleven?"

[predispositions]

The question shocks and confuses Lizzie. Why would Josie even know about that? Did she read it? She doesn't have time to be angry about it, not right now, so she tries to stuff that impulse down even if her voice does sound strained and annoyed as she responds.

"Dak Romo. The bad boy who turns good for the love of the princess. He...he might have been based on someone I had a crush on when I was eleven." She huffs in annoyance because she probably needs to give this too to seal the deal.

"Jed."

[polydeukes]

Josie relaxes some at the confession, before her shoulders droop a little more in an expression that could almost be sheepish. The heavily goth exterior slips as the inky black fades briefly from her hair, revealing her natural brown.

"I read your diary. You were starting to have episodes and I was worried about you." That doesn't make it right, though, and it certainly didn't it right that she read it aloud to other students either, but ... she figures Lizzie would rather have an explanation for how she knows.

[predispositions]

"We're tabling my anger about that for now because that's a total violation of privacy -- but it was also a really clever use of that test."

And that should be acknowledged, that Josie was clever. She thought on her feet and used her mind to make sure for herself this wasn't another one of hell's tricks.

[polydeukes]

Sometimes Josie does happen to have a good idea. But Lizzie is real. She takes another step forward and reaches for her sister's hand, trying to use it to keep her grounded in the face of everything swirling around them.

"I feel like I'm losing my mind. I don't know what to trust."