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After what had happened, Fruhand decided to instantly go to sleep, as he was very emotionally drained. Rattlehorn tried to comfort him, but luckily Jack told him to not bother him right now. He made a mental note to thank Jack in the morning.
Although he was very tired, he just couldn't sleep. He could already feel tears welling up in his eyes and an ache in his chest. He didn't even get to say goodbye to Crusty properly. He sat up, deciding that he can't sleep and won't bother trying anymore. He sits against a tree, staring at the grass when a fox suddenly walks up to him. It's the same fox that Froara was friends with. The fox was holding some type of magical leaves and some paper in it's mouth.
It puts them on the ground in front of Fruhand, then it rolls on the ground and takes a deep breath and exhales, making a puff of misty air in the air. "You want me to roll this in the paper, and smoke it?" said Fruhand. The fox nodded. Well, it's not like I got anything better to do, thought Fruhand. He proceeds to do as the fox says, and smokes the roll of magical leaves. He feels a bit light-headed for a second, and after a minute, his vision fades to black and he drops down on the ground with a thud.
Fruhand wakes up, fluttering his eyes, adjusting his eyes to the sudden brightness. He looked around, he was at a river, with the bright sun out and about. The sound of rushing water fills his ears as he gathered his bearings. He looked around for his party members, finding only one, Crusty. Fruhand rubs his eyes, not believing what he is seeing. Crusty was currently playing with Toaby and Jerry.
He looks up and says, "Oh hey Fru, wanna play with these little guys?". Fruhand approaches, expecting this to be an illusion or a trick. Crusty sees his hesitation and says "Don't worry, Fruhand, it's me. The magical drugs you took allows people to meet the souls of the people they grieve for. Personally, I just like the fact that it's stronger than normal drugs, considering it's magical."
Fruhand flinches, but ultimately slid next to Crusty, playing with Jerry and Toaby. After a moment of silence, Crusty says "So, how are you handling it, Fru?".
"Handling what?"
"Me, my death."
Fruhand cringes at the bluntness of Crusty's question. He looks down, trying to dodge the question. He almost starts to cry when he feels a pair of arms wrapping around him. He looks up, and sees Crusty, looking at him very empathically. Fruhand returns the hug, and lets out all his tears and cries. They stay together like this for what felt like hours.
After Fruhand finally stops crying, he says "Crusty?"
"Yes, Fruhand?"
"Can we do stuff together for a bit before... whatever this is ends?"
"Hell yeah Fru."
Fruhand smiles for the first time that night. Crusty stands up and says "What do we do first?". The next few hours were filled with various activities such as playing catch, tag, trying to catch dragonflies, swimming in the river and many more. Fruhand feels like a weight was removed from his chest every minute he spent with Crusty here. After a while, they laid there side by side, staring at the sky when Crusty stands up and says "Well, I'm sorry Fru, but it's time for me to go.".
Fruhand almost sprained an ankle when he stood up way more faster than needed. He says "Why? Please Crusty, you can't go yet, I still want to spend more time with you."
Crusty lets out a hearty laugh. "Sorry, but if I stay any longer, neither of us can move on."
Crusty spreads his arms as an invitation for a hug. Fruhand hugs him, squeezing tight. He whispers "Goodbye Crusty."
"Goodbye Fruhand."
Crusty lets go and starts heading into the forest, but not before looking back one more time, smiling fondly at Fruhand. After Crusty gets out of sight, Fruhand feels light-headed once again, and drops to the ground.
Waking up with a jolt, he sees the fox again and the unfinished roll of magical leaves in his hand. That whole experience must have taken a lot less time than he thought. He looks at the fox and says "Thank you, I really needed this.". The fox looks at him, very pleased, and runs off. Fruhand looked at the roll, and puts out the flame. He lays back on his bedroll, feeling much more better and able to sleep. His final thoughts drifting to Crusty before falling into peaceful sleep.