Chapter Text
Dark, darker yet darker... Cold, colder yet colder... Lonely, lonelier yet lonelier, all with the passing of time. The clock ticks forward, never ending, until its arrows show it had already been too late... Or just maybe there's still enough time? Look back at the clock and tell me once more... Oh wait-
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The player was so very helpless against all three: the dark, the cold and the loneliness... Especially now, unable to see, unable to move, unable to think...
Before they'd blacked out, they wished to feel the light of a nicely lit up hearth, the warmth of a nice hot beverage in their hands, the comfort of a loved one sitting near them...
They'd wished to no longer worry about the dark, the cold, and the loneliness in this life anymore...
...Since when did they feel this way?
For a moment their wish came true, but only for a moment. They'd finally felt their hands slowly thaw out - snow and ice melting away bit by bit, beautiful light hitting their eyelids to keep them awake for longer - providing them enough comfort to help them push through despite all the misery they've faced, all because of a certain horseman's pity. Two fiery crows had rested in their lap long enough to keep them alive, bringing the player hope that just maybe, they would be okay. The magical burning fire the two birds radiated contrasted with the low temperature in the atmosphere that stabbed at the player and chilled them to their core...
Thankfully, the wind had no longer affected them as much, all because of EM. RALD, one of Conquest's minions keeping them safely isolated through its sheer size shielding them away from it. Through the help of the two patiently sat birds, the much needed warmth travelled up the player's chest, making sure their heart could still beat, albeit still dangerously slow. Branching off from there, it enveloped their insides in comforting heat, where the smell of winter was replaced by smoke in their lungs.
This alone had a different horseman's eye twitch in irritation, impatiently now having to wait next season until they could hit their target, all because of that stubborn boulder getting in the way...
...Immediately after they got taken away, they felt numb all over their body again. They'd already been exposed to the cold elements for far too long, their condition now worsening while getting carried around by who knows who... until they couldn't handle it anymore. They'd barely felt the person's hold on them tighten when this happened, still hesitating to make another move, like they were lost on what to do. More frost bites had covered their hands and feet already, whereas everywhere else they looked bruised, snow sticking to them again like a second layer of skin. Their clothes had frozen over completely after they'd fallen into that lake.
All the player wanted was to finally pass on to a better place. Somewhere nicer... kinder maybe. Warm...
***
Meanwhile, the autumnal horseman looked around panicked, unsure where to teleport next. Standing high on top of a random building, he eyed the small quaint hotel the mortal would sometimes reside in. Maybe that could be a good place to drop them...?
...But who would watch over them afterwards? It couldn't afford being seen by other mortals in this town, especially since it wasn't their season to be active in... Asking for help directly from one of the citizens was out of the question. The stupid doctor could've been useful...
Unfortunately, there were cameras everywhere (...or so the posters around the town said). Normally such things didn't matter to the horseman, usually prioritising fun over meaningless caution in any normal situation. But with a mortal on the verge of dying in its arms right now, anyone noticing them would immediately cause a massive stirr about it. Plus, the horsemen were supposed to only be known as myths, stories of precaution, fairytales... Not real individuals. The Lord would be disappointed, maybe even angry if it got caught for getting involved in something as useless and risky as this.
The holidays had arrived, which meant the locals were out and about celebrating.
...His colleagues' indifference pinched at the fall being's heart, having left the poor human to struggle for far longer than necessary... It had definitely caught him by surprise once he finally realised it, making them immediately stop in their tracks after passing the cemetary. This... wasn't normal. His immediate reaction to try and help the mortal because of feelings like guilt and pity wasn't normal. He put themselves in this position without a second thought, risking himself like this...
...It made him wonder why it cared so much to begin with. Maybe because the rest didn't? Conquest especially...? Death seemed to only care about killing them on the spot, choosing its job over everything and no longer wanting any "old objectives slipping by", as it would often say. If it caught Famine doing this, he'd never hear the end of it from the rest. War is currently asleep, slumbering in a random cave right now... Too much time would be wasted if it went right now to visit it. And even then... What good would it do, really?
Of all the things they could be feeling in that moment, about making such a dumb decision and ending up their current awful situation... Ironically, it was powerlessness.
A horseman... feeling powerless of all things?
It held the person in its arms even tighter, like it somehow mattered in that moment.
I'm scared..
No... This wasn't right... This doesn't make any SENSE! IT-
It then glaced back down at the mortal even more frustrated, like they were the one who forced him to do it... and immediately its eyes scanned over their frozen expression, how even more snow was layering over their features to the point of almost covering them. Instantly, that same guilt came back ten fold, stabbing him through his chest even further and twisting inside him, reminding him of his very sudden, tricky involvement in all of this.
...He no longer had the heart to ignore it now though it mused. He knew if he continued to argue with himself and be undecisive about it, the individual would not make it.
...
Not like it had better things to do in the meantime anyway...
***
The next thing the player knew, they'd woken up in a bathroom.
Not just any bathroom though, but the one specifically from their hotel room. If the mess on the bathroom shelves where they'd failed to organise their things didn't give it away, then the smell of lavender air freshener certainly reminded them of it at the very least.
Hovering above them was an individual, their features overshadowed from silhouetting the bathroom light. Who the hell..?
The player then moved just slightly, realising they're currently submerged in semi-hot water, with only their head sticking out. Tilting their head to the side, near them sat an electric heater blasting their face with warmth, thankfully far away enough as to not get accidentally splashed with water just in case. This seemed to help them unfreeze even further, bringing back sensation to their facial features. Warmth...
Panic then randomly set in, having felt a strange sense of deja-vu that sent a shiver down their spine from the sound of splashing water, having finally recollected what had previously happened that day. How...?
The player tried to flail their arms and legs, only to be met by limb stiffness combined with pain in their joints. The being hovering above them giggled at their struggle in response.
"Heheehheheehe...."
The player huffed in annoyance, soliciting another chuckle from the stranger, their features still hard to read.
"Whoo... a-aree yoouu-u..?"
"Hehehehhaahahaa... human soup. Strange how you haven't rotten away yet, mortal... heehehe. Already forgotten who I am, stupid? ...it hadn't been that long since-"
Suddently it all clicked in their mind. It was-
"...ffamineee...!!"
"Uhhh... Y-Yup, that's me! Heh... Sure took you awhile to realise... Maybe your human brains didn't fully thaw out yet, hahahhahahhaa!!! Hah..."
"...hhheeeelllppp..."
The being then started hovering further away to the side, seemingly uncomfortable now. In doing so, the player could finally see its face better, the bathroom light finally lighting it up to be visible now, making them shakily sigh out in relief from the simply familiar sight. That same pumpkin-shaped head with big buttons sewn on it to represent its eyes... the same ones they'd always come to recognise and spot observing the town from afar in curiosity and wonder about the people around... healthy greenery trailing down their shoulders over it's brown worn-out long coat and down its sleeves with random pink flower buds peeking out, stripped pants and shirt with branches sticking out through the clothing randomly...
Surely they were still feeling delirious, but the reassurance that someone did look out for them in the end made them feel overwhelmed with emotions, to the point of making their head spin in that moment. That was the last thing they'd expected to happen to them, especially coming from The Soul Harvester itself.
Meanwhile, Famine had slowly planted its feet on the ground and tried stepping out of the bathroom to leave, clearly nervous about something and not wanting to stay any longer than it needed to.
"Uhh... Do you need anything right now by chance? I really need to go, and-"
"...dooonn't leaavveeee... pleaaseee."
"...U-Uhm."
The player couldn't stand the idea of being left alone while in such an awful state, both physically and mentally. Meanwhile, the horseman didn't want to remain much longer, in fear that they'll get caught having sustained a strange mortal's life for seemingly no good reason.
However... the prospect of having a playmate later on, after they'd recover, had them feeling a strange kind of excitement they hadn't felt in a while. In having saved the human's life, this could gurantee him the option of doing whatever he wanted with them just by hanging over the fact it chose to do so out of pity for them... probably... actually, that sounds really messed up to do... sighhh...
The player then raised their head slightly, confusion written all over their face now. On the surface, Famine halted in surprise after they'd called out to him, then stood still as a log by the doorframe for a moment thoughtfully, its scythe-like hands fidgeting against one another nervously.
Quietly sighing, it then silently turned around and slowly hovered over back to the player, its expression showing a higher raise in attentiveness now than it did previously trying to leave, but with a hint of frustration added aswell, if its expressive button-like eyes hadn't given it away already.
It then sighed again in annoyance, begrudgingly deciding last minute to just sit by the tub, its back facing the player now while crossing its arms. Thankfully, it positioned itself in such a way as to not block out the radiated heat that was warming up the player.
"...Ya happy now?"
***
A small murder of crows could be spotted silently watching the two through the nearby window of the player's hotel room. At first it seemed like they'd previously wished to enter inside, but upon Famine opening up the window to let them in, they all ran off 'scared', only to come back moments later to caw at the horseman in amusement.
Famine chalked it up to them having decided to pull a trick on him and somehow succeeding, before refocusing all his attention back to his sick 'patient'.
Said patient was the player, having finally changed themselves into drier, much warmer clothes, now laying cozily under the sheets to bake and recover.
The player chuckled when Famine huffed in annoyance at the playful birds, clearily bored having to behave under the horseman's request. Like owner, like pet they said...
Amongst the many things they were grateful for in that moment, was the fact that they'd rarely buy groceries for themselves... Considering Harvey was now standing in the same room as them, that meant all the food in aproximation would have rotten by now. Whatever snacks the player probably still had around definitely needed to be thrown away now though... Unless they had eaten them all already before going to bed, which was the more likely scenario.
Nonetheless, the player still enjoyed the company. These distractions offered them a small break from the painful memories that would circle back and plague their conscience frequently, including the painful damages done to their body that will probably disappear the moment they pass on to a better place after the day ends...
Until then, they would chatter with the horseman for awhile, thus getting to know each other more. One thing had the player wondering though... why?
"...Why what?"
"Why did you save me...?"
Famine then scratched the back of its head, glancing to the side.
"... I dunno... just felt like the right thing to do I guess."
The added sincerity in its tone caught the player offguard, meanwhile Harvey sat there apprehensively, like it didn't really seem to know the full answer to that question just yet. Like it had already been wondering the exact same thing and dreaded answering it out loud, like someone else could be potentially watching them right now...
"T-Thank you... so much for, uhm... for everything, Harvey."
That seemed to have snapped the horseman out of its train of thoughts, who then twisted its ankle in rotation a few times, seemingly feeling a bit bashful upon hearing the player's words of gratitude towards it... a gesture that didn't seem like conscious doing as it idly stood by the window from across their bedroom.
"Sheesh... No need for all that, friend... hehe..."
"Friend..?"
"!!!"
As if caught by surprise by its own vulnerabilty and choice of words, it then swiftly turned around to stare back at the window and did an exagerated cough, metaphorical sweat slowly having formed on its forehead.
"UHHM... I-I meant idiot! Yeah, yeah idiot... cough..."
The player, not buying it one bit, decided to push back a little more just to get another reaction out of the horseman.
"Awwhh... I had no idea you wanted to be my friend...!"
The player cooed back, unfrozen hand cradling one of their own cheeks to act out admiration, making Famine turn around to stare back at them dumbfounded, button-eyes wide open in embarrassement.
"N-NO, THAT'S NOT TRUE!"
"... Oohh... You meant something else then?... Interesting."
"... CEASE WITH YOUR LIES!!"
This drew out a chuckle from the player, their hand sliding to cover their own mouth to stiffle the sound more.
"You little tease... How dare you poke fun at the mighty Soul Harvester!?! Y-You..."
...This had the "mighty" Famine accusingly point back one of its scythes at the "tease" in indignation, embarrassement prevalent in its body language and tone of voice.
Noticing this, the player calmed down and tried a much gentler approach, sensing that things might be going a little far off and not wanting to cause an argument over a simple joke.
"...Sorry, I was just playing with you buddy. Look, I-I'll stop if you come sit beside me and chatter a little more. How about that?"
"...Mngh... "
The horseman thought it over a little more as it squinted its eyes back at the mortal in suspicion, gears metaphorically turning in its head, before stopping altogether and dropping its shoulders in defeat. Dramatically sighing, it drug its feet on the ground while making its way to them, then promptly turned over on its back to hover near the bed, avoiding eye contact all together with the mortal.
Funny, the player thought. And... weirdly cute. They could get used to this, now having been given another chance at things. The human then glanced around for a bit, feeling like something's missing...
"Hey, quick question...Where are the two flamey crows b-by the way?"
"...Huh? You mean Pyre and Wisp?"
He then finally turned around to face the player, then pointed to a nearby cushion sitting on the ground where the two birds were silently resting on top of.
"Aww... Cuties."
"...hmph, only I get to call my babies that..."
"... Alright, well now you're just being silly... Pfft-"
Famine then scoffed, but didn't say anything else, both arms crossed over to show its annoyance. The player only warmly smiled back, finding its attitude and gestures oddly endearing, given the context of this situation.
The two then enjoyed the silence for a bit, until the mortal finally yawned, their head subconsciously tilting back to rest on the pillow. The player then complained under their breath as they slowly turned around to lay on their stomach instead.
"... Mmhh... I'm exhausted..."
Famine silently watched the mortal finally slide under the covers properly, heavy eyelids slowly blinking. They yawned again, this time into their pillow, tears slowly forming in the corners of their eyes before wiping them away with their own sleeve. The human looked back up at Harvey with fondness in their gaze, before lazily closing their eyes...
"...hmm... good night..."
...Then, the player was at last soundly asleep.
***
The mortal seems to be in much better shape now than before, it noted. As it silently observed them for awhile, Harvey thought for a moment. Strangely, it started to ponder just how fragile life can be in this world sometimes. It didn't get why some people's time to pass came sooner than others, what was the full plan the Lord had in mind in keeping the order of things in such a way. It was never wise to ever question the Lord's way though, unfortunately...
Weirdly, for the very first time, none of that seemed to matter in that moment.
Slowly retracting its scythes back into its wrists for what had seemed like it'd been ages, it gently pulled the covers slightly higher over the human with normal hands, and then patted their head affectionately in slow, long motions, such an act coming from a place of new-found fondness and liking for them it seemed.
...Then, the mighty Harvey turned around and vanished without a trace, taking the two crows alongside with them.