...

Vatalla was seated atop the stairway, thin legs crossed together as she leaned against the railings with a shoulder. She was visibly tired, letting out a long sigh and shaking her head. She was a mess. The drain water had long dried, but her tangled white hair was all frizzled, like a overblown mop that had been dragged through the streets. And her bags only grew darker by the second. It could be because she was simply always running off a few hours sleep. But those who knew her better would know she didn't much care about that, nor needed it. She was powered by something else. There was a hint of restlessness muddled within the obvious fatigue. It was as though a stormy cloud formed inside her head. No matter how hard she tried to shake it out, the gray clouds would swirl back to place, clapping thunder. Out of anything, she felt a tinge of regret. All that mouthing off, she really hadn't any right to be doing stuff like that. But she just couldn't help it. When all eyes were on her, she always made an excuse to make off as soon as possible. An excuse not to know people. This is probably why that chair-holder in the club disliked her so much. At times like this, she didn't blame them. She was too chaotic. Too uncooperative. 

She thought of apologizing to Aito the next chance she got. That wasn't a good way of showing her appreciation to him. After allowing her on the club's special little mission, of all things. He trusted her, and this was how she acted. 

"Dammit... why is it so hard...? Just leave me alone, and live your lives peacefully, happily." she muttered to herself, glancing down the descending steps over the railing. 
Though Vatalla had asked the question, she already knew the reason why. 

From all the way at the top, the stairway looked like a twisted mouth that opened. It felt much like the [i]thing[/i] lurking inside her. Each step and turn, a row of teeth, a step-off leading into the unknown. It swallowed everything endlessly. There was no satisfying the monster. Even now she could feel it, the face lurking underneath her skin. The face that awakes every time she closes her eyes. The face that laughs every time she lies. The face that... stared back. 

[i]Help me... Please.[/i]

Opening her eyes, Vatalla darted her body forward with a gasp. The gloomy, filmy memory beginning to form dispersed with the rapid batting of her eyes. Just like that, in the slightest moment of idling, she was almost sucked down into a dark well of buried emotions. But luckily, that moment had been interrupted. The internal [i]ding.[/i] of the Enlil System alerting the user of a new private message had stirred her from the daze enough to retake her mind's throne. She already knew who it was. How ironic for him to accidentally save her. Again.
With a heavy hand, she opened the message. She half-expected Aito to tell her off. To say that she was stupid and overly temperamental, and just a stuck-up brat in general. But like always, he always blamed himself. 

Vatalla clenched her fists. "Yep. You are an idiot... the [i]biggest[/i] fuckin' idiot I know."
Hopping to her feet, she batted away the text box with an angry swipe and started a quick reply: 
[center][hider= For Aito]
[i]Don't worry about it. I'll scout ahead. I know you got a handful down here. I saw... [b]them[/b] coming before I ditched. If I see anything, I'll report back. See you later. - Valla [/i][/hider][/center]
Though her movements were quick and angry initially, exploding with all her rage, once she reached the end, her ringed fingers stalled and her pale eyes glared at the message for a moment. It was like she wanted to say something more. That she must. But even through this superficial medium, she couldn't find the courage to usher her earnest thoughts forth. She could already feel [i]it[/i] laughing at her, knowing the path she would choose before she even made it yet. For being a coward, when being truthful was many times more easy. When it would've made things less painful. With a sigh and curse at herself, Vatalla sent the message and started off down the hall towards the location where Aito had specified.   

She buried her hands in her pockets. Now she [i]really[/i] wanted to punch something 

...