Chapter Text
at some point whilst pondering and petting, friend had blinked at her.
so, naturally, she blinked back.
they blinked at her, she blinked back, and this cycle continues for quite some time, until dess speaks up.
"i'll be so real, i kind of forgot that i was supposed to be thinking about the soul thing once we started blinking."
it leans into her hand, so she gives more pets coated in abstraction. '''a-cat's Lot ,is To_Distract''' they flop onto the hooves of said hand. '''does-The voice-Of-understanding ring ?clear'''
sighing, she tilts her head back, resting it against the ground. "from what i remember about the mythos of souls, monster souls are white whilst humans have like. six colours? there was supposedly a seventh, but sources conflict. they have different rotations, but they were blurry so i don't know if that's the case. the purple soul was being... drained? siphoned? something along those lines, by the white soul." her other hand rubs her eyes as she lets out a sigh tinged with frustration. "and the only human's soul it could reasonably be... is kris.
"did they... sacri-"
'''.no ;Something-has ,intervened and_now They have The .chassis-of-soul'''
"okay." there is a moment. "okay. so they're still alive. good. angel, this fucking place flip-flops between funny bits and disturbing shit." she boops it on the nose, eliciting a vrrrp. "at least you're consistently trying to help.
"to make sure i'm getting this right: my soul is feeding off of kris', probably to keep me alive post getting fucking ran over, and kris has a replacement soul. no idea how that works, but that seems like a pattern. i doubt it'll end well for me if i try to give them their soul back."
'''.ah .right about :that Their soul will-want To return to-(Their)-body ,so if You get-too (...)close'''
she looks at them for a few seconds. "bruuuh. that sucks." with furrowed brow, she thinks for a small bit, before letting her hand fall from her eye. "oh forget it, change of topic. was there another thing you wanted to show me before we set off."
''':3'''
"right, the funky sound thing you do. did you figure out how you do so?"
'''(aim-to) speak like A Cat, and (fall_just) a-bit .ahead ;the Dark-handles (.the rest)'''
"wild, but it tracks. so, like 'nyah'?"
'''bit/more, make-(sure to) .fall'''
she rolls her wrist, lightly distracted and lightly purring. ":3" rearing back, she blinks. "oh wow that felt strange."
'''so ;that's-what It Sounds...like'''
"can i just like. :3 ;3 <3 =3 hell yeah, voiceline spam, bring ruin to the concept of the spoken word."
it boops her, bringing a mrrrp forth. '''.boat-time?'''
she blinks, receiving a blink back, but before they can fall back into that cycle she gasps. "right, i literally just brought that up, how did i forget?" standing up with them in her hand. "boat time."
rubbing its face against her hand once more, friend hops down. eye contact is maintained once more, although not for as long before this other form shows. placing a hand on its latticed not-wood, she climbs aboard. there is a seat near to friend's face, so she sits next to them as a thought comes to mind. "wait, how are you going to get to the river bit if you don't move under your own power as a boat?"
'''the Waves (don't)-end at_Island's.edge'''
she elects to not question this, and is provided explanation regardless when friend starts bobbing up and down as if on a calm river. it ebbs close to the edge, and she finds herself holding a breath just before passing the boundary between island and shadow goop.
she opens her eyes, not quite remembering when she closed them, to the sound of their voice and not one hint of present static. '''it Does-!work !(delightful)!'''
letting out the breath, she slumps against friend. "thank fuck. i wouldn't complain if we never went back there."
'''not-sure if That's ,possible but if You (do end) Up back_there (i will) come get You.'''
petting the unwooden structure of a friend, she giggles. "aww. such a good friend, friend ;3"
a laughter, a chorus' repetition, comes forth. '''You (are_going_to) cause So many Problems ;with ,that i (can't)-wait.'''
languidly, she stretches. "that, i will. if i'm good for one thing, it's making problems."
'''.hey'''
"hmm?"
'''.none-of-that''' its face wraps and warps around the lattice, finding an angle to look right at her with a smile not born of rest. '''You've adapted-well to A_place that's (strange ,even) by Dark ,standards after (meeting) a-Violent-.fate You figured out (quite_a_lot) without Direct instruction ;about A place that doesn't-make-full-sense to .Lightners You helped Your-Friend when i needed-it and didn't_realise. if i ,(am kind) then you .(are too) i'm glad we're .friends'''
'''also Your_music is .good ;don't-.Forget'''
taking a moment to mull on friend's words, she chuckles, looking aside. "...really throwing my own words back at me, huh?"
'''they Are (good_words) ,spoken by A .(good-soul)'''
friend's face shifts back to the front, presumably, and she hums. "do you know how long we'll be drifting like this?"
'''not A .clue'''
"dang. lemme see if i can..." 'holding out her hand, she wills, and makes her guitar form once more. "sweet. got any song requests?"
'''i shall-enjoy Anything You .play'''
"pfft, really? how about this?" she flicks her hand twice along the strings, playing a half-dozen of no notes in particular. somehow more musical than what was produced by her guitar, they laugh again, prompting her to laugh in turn.
'''delightful-!Discordancy'''
her laughter flows into a sigh. "here's an actual song."
it's a slower tune than when she first brought out this guitar, and isn't quite complete with only one instrument. but, a slow song she made for her sister doesn't need to be album-ready in every rendition, and she hopes that noelle would like it all the same. she always enjoyed this type of music, whether it was by her sister or her sibling - and even if the title was a little rib at how she played games like she was lost, she quickly grew to like it.
although, the title veers quite close to applying to the one playing now, doesn't it? even with friend to help guide her, there's still so much about the dark that she isn't privy to, isn't going to be able to handle at first glance; the multitudes of mental turmoils she's been through this past however-long-it's-been (hours? months? days? could be any or none, and she'd be entirely unaware) is evidence enough of that.
but, it's hard to say that she's fully lost. there is still some precious few facets of the dark that make sense. she isn't alone - and thank all the stars for that - and her companion, her friend, is willing to help.
this entire bloody place is wack, but she's not alone.
she might have replayed the song a few times, partly because it wasn't the longest melody and partly because she was busy thinking, but friend speaks up once her hooves still. ''',hey (so-new) development :We're (much_further) away than We .should-be.'''
"wait, what?"
'''Your music made (the_waves) (much-shorter) ,more of .A-current.'''
looking backwards, the island is much, much smaller than before. barely noticeable, really, and she's glad to see it as such. "huh. neato." she thinks of a great many songs, and lands on a shanty that she would not be able to sing in the presence of her mother if she wasn't ready to bolt. "let's find out how this works."