Lord knows how long he'd sat there on the edge of his bed, staring at it. It was a curious object, to be sure. A fleshy, mottled red lump, pierced by the long leather lanyard that he held in his grasp. Even as it dangled there in front of him it seemed to beat and throb ever so slightly, such that it was difficult to tell whether it was alive, or merely his eyes playing tricks on him. "The Lemur's Heart," he muttered under his breath, still almost unable to believe that he'd come into possession of one. It had cost him dearly, but the price was well worth it for an item that was immediately the new centerpiece of his collection of magical artifacts.
It was definitely an odd hobby for a young man barely into his twenties, but he'd never really grown out of the goth phase he entered in middle school, instead falling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of the occult. Endless shelves lined the walls of his room, burdened with all manner of exotic herbs, bones, tonics, trinkets and obscure books on witchcraft. Glancing back down at the heavy, aging volume that was open in his lap, his eyes wandered back to the entry on his latest acquisition. "... a rare artifact, originating with the shamans of the Antandroy tribes of Madagascar. It is said to be immensely powerful, able to change the world around it, but anyone who comes into possession of one should be wary, as it is a fickle object. Wishes may not be made directly, but will instead stem from the deepest, unconscious desires of the wielder..."
"Ryan!" The sudden sound of his sister's sing-song voice startled him, interrupting his train of thought. "Ryan!," she called again from her bedroom down the hallway. "I'm going to order take-out, do you want Chinese food?" He sighed, closed the dusty old tome on his lap, set it and his new amulet down on his bed, and made the short commute down the hallway to his sister's room. It was a far cry from his own. LED strip lighting everywhere bathed the tastefully-decorated space in rosy pink tones, making an environment that was almost obnoxiously feminine. Wall decorations were hung perfect and straight, flower arrangements added a little bit of life, and a massive, carefully arranged pile of stuffed animals dominated her bed. Cara spun around in her outrageously expensive gaming chair as he entered, her wireless headset pulled off one ear and a tired smile on her face.
"Done streaming for the day?" He probably didn't need to ask. She'd already been live for almost an hour when he left for the flea market early that afternoon, and it'd been dark for several hours now. "Yeah," she sighed, roughly pulling her headset off and messing up her carefully styled hair. "I know it's hard to build a following, but I don't know when I'm gonna get my break. I do everything perfectly and still can't even break 250 peak viewers." Ryan gave her a warm smile as he leaned against the doorframe. "Hey, look up, sis. You've got what it takes. You're up a little bit every week. You just have to keep at it, and you'll get there, don't worry." He fully understood what worried her, though. She'd sunk every last bit of her savings into kickstarting her career as a streamer. Her rig, her room... her...
He felt a little twinge of guilt as his subconscious finished his thought. Her body. Sister or not, he couldn't deny it. She'd put a lot of work in on self-improvement since high school. Yoga and regular exercise kept her limber, toned, and trim. She might be otherwise average - only 5'6", and a modest B-cup, but she made it look good. And done up like she was... she was beautiful. A head of fiery red hair framed those big green eyes of hers, and the light regime of makeup she used made her freckles and cute little nose really pop. "Thanks, Ryan," she smiled, standing up and throwing her arms over her head in a big stretch, which did nothing to help his wandering imagination. "I know, I can't expect it to happen overnight. I just feel bad that I can't cover my own expenses. I hate feeling like I'm leeching off of you." He huffed, waving an arm dismissively. "Don't worry about it. If it makes you feel any better, you can always pay me back once you get really big. Chinese sounds great to me, by the way..."
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