-| U.M.I.R.A. |-

[SHIVERS]

E v e r y t h i n g   i s   s t i l l .

You do your best to be patient.












The VHS tape floats a few inches off the ground and begins to glow.





A strange feeling bubbles up inside you.





The fur on the back of your neck stands on end.





A deafening spark of thunder rings in the air.



You shut your eyes in surprise.




















When you open them,





your proxy is standing before you.



They are... at least a foot taller than you, their new body towering over yours.

You - disappointingly - can't help but find it intimidating, especially considering their appearance.


The first thing that strikes you is their head.
It's massive, resembling an old CRT TV in its shape, but it's empty - no screen or electronics on the inside.
Instead, there's a floating ball that moves about and changes its shape, acting as an eye.

Atop their head are old 'rabbit ear' antennae, though they're shaped oddly, looking like horns more than ears.
They seem to twitch on occasion.



Their arms stand out as their most... horror-adjacent feature.
They are... leeches, as best you can tell. 
These 'creatures' look similar to those featured in the Leech Lake films, unsurprisingly, but seeing them in person is... much more terrifying.
Their fleshy, segmented lengths stretch and pulse akin to REAL leeches, and they even come equipped with toothy protrusions from their... 'mouths'.
Which... you can only guess function - morbidly - as hands.

You have no idea how that works, and frankly, you don't want to think about it.
So, you move on.



Their body is mostly covered in a peculiar substance that resembles television noise.
It moves about rather liquidly, but somehow you don't think it would feel like a liquid, if you were to touch it.
Wedged in the middle of the static 'slime' is an oversized VHS tape.
Its bottom is open, the substance seeming to flow out of it.

At the center of their upper torso is an open cavity, within which you can see a beating heart.
The experience of viewing it is unnerving in some respects, but with its cartoonish shape, it almost feels... sweet, somehow.







All in all, your proxy is more than a little daunting to behold.
But, them being frightening only makes them more effective in battle, you assume, should worst come to worst.

You try to focus on that, instead. 
Not your own fear, or that unfamiliar sensation from before growing stronger, gnawing at you.



Currently, their arms are outstretched, 'eye'... closed, you think.

... They're feeling the rain.







You push past your intimidation to speak.
"...'Sup."

Their eye opens, but it takes them a moment to turn in your direction.
Your skin crawls from the motion.

Their arm raises, giving you a little wave.
"...Hello."

"You uh... look..."
You gesture at them.
Words fail to manifest immediately, lagging behind.

"...cool."

"Yes, I... I like it, too."
They stretch out, flexing their body in mildly distressing movements.
"...It's perfect.
And you couldn't have picked a better spot for this.
Maria's garden is always nice this time of year..."
One of the leeches gently touches a nearby flower.

You try to reply, but vision begins to blur.
"...um..." 

Your lips open wordlessly, 

as the world falls away.



"...Herr e  r     a      ?"












































Blearily, your eyes open.

Your head feels swimmy.

You're laying on your loveseat. There's a towel over your head.
The TV's on in front of you. You must've left it on.
Some ghost dating show.
The paranormal network's never got anything good on anymore.

You rub your head.
Why is your head wet again?

It's raining.



"Morning."
The distorted voice comes from next to you.

Your head whips sideways.
A monstrosity overshadows you, right by your face.
You yelp - humiliated that you could make such a noise - and have half a moment of trying to get the blanket off before you realize.

Your proxy stares, looking... mildly offended.
"...Hello to you, too."

You try to sit up, but your head still hurts, so you lay back against the loveseat.
That feeling from before is still present, but seems to be fading slowly.

"God...

...you didn't hear that noise.
For the record."
"You mean you squeaking in horror?
No. Definitely didn't hear that."
"Listen--"
They snicker.



You shake your head.
"Mov-Moving on,
uh..."

Springtide is next to you, sitting in the folding chair you keep in the closet.
A towel is draped over their back.

...They are on your laptop.

"Woahwoah, Springtide you--"
"I'd rather you didn't call me that."
"...what?
Springtide Jurisdiction is your name, cause I named you."
"Ah, ah. That." They point. "Right there."

"What?"
"You named me.
You picked that name for me, practically before I even existed."
"...So?"
"So, I didn't get a say in it.
So, I chose my own this time."



"...but it's such a cool name..." you lament.
"Herrera."
"Fiiine, fine. 
Okay.
Fair enough."
"You can always use it for something else."
"Yeah, yeah..."



"...Plan on filling me in?"



"...Vigil."

They clench their claws.

"Do you... like it?

For me, I mean.
Does it suit me?

...Obviously, it's my say.
Ultimately.
 
But... humor me."

"Suits you fine.
You picked it, so... I'd say that's, about as personal as it gets."

"...Not nearly as cool as Springtide Jurisdiction,"
you embellish the title as much as you're able.
"...but uh... good second. I guess."

They... smile, you're pretty sure. 
As close as their expressions can muster, at least.

"I looked up names, and it seemed to fit.
...You know, it's harder to type with these than I imagined."
It raises one of the leech maws near your face.
You flinch on instinct.

They shrink back, pulling their arm away.
"...I don't look that scary, do I...?"
You're quick to swoop in with a response.
"Apfft, scary? What? You--
You're not--
It's cause you're... t... taall." You clear your throat.

It's not convincing in the slightest.

They look away from you.



Things go quiet.
Rain pours down the window.







You toss out some thoughts, desperate to fill the awkward silence.

"Sooo... why are you like... still here?"
"Oh.
I tried to leave - just to test things - but I didn't make it too far out of the building before my body started to dissipate.
Not a pleasant feeling.
Seems there's a limit to your range. 
Worth testing more later."

"...I meant--
Why haven't you... uh... dismissed?
Un... summoned.
Whatever the word is."

"Why would I do that?"
"Cause, I mean.
S'not like I'm fighting right now." You shrug.
"And it's not like I want to stop existing right now."

"Okay but--
Fair. Fair.
But y'know... I'm the one... keeping you here, right?
Isn't it ...bad for you to just stick around however long this is?
Aren't I like... draining...
uh...
energy?
Or... something."

"No. 
Doubt it.
I looked it up, and supposedly you should be perfectly fine.
If problems were going to arise, they would've already."

They lift a claw and close their eye, as if lecturing in front of a class.

"Typically, proxies can only manifest as long as the summoner can handle the strain, or as long as certain conditions are met.
With certain conditions, they can last indefinitely.
Ours seem to be the latter, considering you were unconscious and I've been here the whole time."

"I guess I can always dismiss you myself, then."
"Let's not do that, how about, thank you."





"What, so we're--
So, we're just like... roommates now?
Or... how does this..." You scratch your head, thinking harder than you'd care to.

"...I have nowhere else to go.
I have no money,
I don't know anyone else but you,
and I can't move more than a certain radius away from you, or I disappear."

Their eye starts to grow more liquid-like as they talk, their voice growing somewhat shaky.

are they...
starting to cry?

"You know!
How 'bout we just... don't worry about any of that, right this second?
Yeah?
Let's uh...
...do something."

"...Yes. That sounds good.
I think I'd like to do something."
They sit up a little, smiling and raising their arms in a pronounced shrug. 
"I've never done things...!" 
Their expression fades before they finish.

You can tell that this was their attempt at a joke, but even they seemed to realize part-way through that the statement came off much more somber than humorous.
"...Er... but... 

Yes, let's do that.

I'm eager to try things.

Do you have ideas? I'm still ...overwhelmed."







You'd like to try to cheer them up, you think.

This experience is WELL beyond strange, and there's a lot you don't want to sort out yet.
But they could probably use a distraction, too.

Maybe you could suggest you both go out to the mall. 
It's still open at the moment, even though it's raining.
Lots of things to do and see, and maybe you could pick them up something while you're there.

Or, you could probably think of something just staying in. 
Maybe some board games? 
You're sure you've got some lying around...