Chapter Text
The next day Ortho was back to his short self. He still wasn’t sure if “he didn’t like being tall” was the right explanation, but he decided to accept it for now.
He was on his way to the cafeteria when he heard very loud arguing. He wanted to avoid the fight, but it turned out he couldn’t, as the two making so much noise were standing right in his way, in the middle of the hall, somehow taking up all of it.
It was Sebek and a ghost Ortho didn’t know very well. What could possibly be a matter so pressing that would require shouting at a ghost? In the middle of the hallway especially?
“Hey! Move this somewhere else!” Ortho shouted, not seeing any point in being polite. “You’re blocking the whole corridor!!”
The ghost looked at him, shocked silent and apologetic - Sebek though. Sebek turned his mysterious anger to Ortho.
“I CANNOT MOVE FROM THE WAY UNTIL HE APOLOGIZES TO LORD MALLEUS! DO NOT INTERFERE!”
What was his deal? This man… Ortho suddenly regretted not being tall anymore, but quickly remembered he could just float up to be taller. From above he said again:
“I will use my beam if I have to, you muppet!”
The ghost reached for Sebek to whisper something, which resulted in Sebek getting even angrier.
The commotion got so bad that a group of students started to gather. At this rate it would eat up their whole lunch break… Ortho has had enough. He fired a warning shot right above Sebek’s pointy hair.
“Sebek, I swear to the Wishing Star…”
He didn’t get to finish though - the both of them got encased in magical bubbles. All the noise alerted the faculty - they could say goodbye forever to their lunch break…
The lecture from Crowley was long, convoluted, and ultimately pointless, but both of them kept their heads low in regret - even if the only thing they regretted was getting caught.
For some reason the ghost (his name was Skully, Ortho learned) stayed with them for the lecture and way after it, when they were made to fix the stained glass window they had accidentally destroyed apparently (neither of them noticed, they were too absorbed in their argument).
The lecture sucked the will to fight from all of them, but as they worked together they started to bicker again.
“You would not be able to survive a second in Briar Valley!”
“Nothing is sacred to people like you!”
“I can easily bring up all the times my family easily destroyed your precious Malleus in mind games and in combat, but you’re not ready for that conversation!”
As they got louder and louder with every circle their pointless squabble made, they kind of… chilled. Ortho couldn’t find correct words to describe what happened, but he was happier with less shouting so he just accepted it.
He never imagined he could become friends with a ghost this way.
Their squabbling turned into debates, their shouting turned into actual philosophical discussion - by the time the stained glass window was back to its glory all three of them arrived at a weird agreement. They absolutely didn’t agree on most things! But that was fine. It made the conversation interesting.
So interesting in fact, that they moved to the courtyard to continue said conversation - and stayed there for the rest of the evening.
Sebek went back first, citing Malleus’s bedtime as the reason.
“Seriously?” Ortho looked at him in disapproval. “You should think more for yourself, I swear…”
“You’re one to talk!” was Sebek’s reply - but he didn’t stop to elaborate, hurrying back to Diasomnia.
Ortho knew exactly what he meant though.
And it hurt again.
“Ortho?” Skully was still floating next to him, not having a curfew as a ghost. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you if you don’t mind?”
Ortho was already bracing himself for what he knew his new friend wanted to ask. His mood was soured anyway though.
“Shoot.” he said, not looking at Skully.
“You… ah, how to phrase it so it’s not rude?” Skully sounded genuine enough, but there was no polite way this could be asked really. “You… aren’t dead, are you?”
This was actually the opposite of what Ortho was bracing himself for.
He looked at Skully with wide eyes, not saying anything, waiting for him to elaborate.
“Ah, I’m sorry!” Skully waved his hand apologetically. “You are offended, aren’t you? You don’t have to forgive me, but in my defence - I am a man of my time!”
Ortho knew Skully meant that he died a long time ago, so he knows nothing about computers (or some changes in social norms for that matter…) but that did not help in understanding his logic.
“I’m not a ghost exactly if that’s what you’re asking…”
“Ah! So I was right! You are alive!” Skully was suddenly all smiles again. “But you know death, don’t you? I mean in a way…”
Skully sounded like he wanted to be cool but lost his confidence in the middle of a sentence, which resulted in his hands waving apologetically yet again.
He looked so much like Idia at that moment, Ortho had to laugh.
“I do, actually.” he said finally. “I visited the Underworld on a few occasions now…”
“Like literally?”
“Yes?”
Skully clearly didn’t know how to respond and Ortho didn’t know how to f
eel about him not responding - so they stayed there in awkward silence for a moment.