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Oliver watched Mom leave for work. He held the plush she'd given him tightly- Mom said his name was Drippy. He didn't cry. It was a close thing.
Oliver piled a few books on a chair, placing the doll atop, correcting it when it leaned over so it didn't fall. Once it was balanced, he smiled, sitting in another chair across from the doll. He pushed at the two cups he had set out. He didn't know how to make tea like Mom did, but some leaves from the tree that brushes up against his window when it's windy dropped in a cup of cold water is basically the same thing, right? Right. He sipped at his cup, scrunching up his nose at the taste. He didn't know my Mom liked tea but he didn't want Drippy to think he made him something gross…
"Hi…" he whispered. Drippy didn't respond. Mom always says to be polite when meeting someone new, so even though she had already introduced them, he said, "Um… my name is Oliver, what's yours?"
The doll started leaning again, falling off the chair. It landed on the ground with a thump.
Oliver rushed to his side. "Oh no! Mr. Drippy are you okay?" he asked, picking up the doll and checking it over for any owies.
Oliver held the doll out, bobbing its head up and down like it were talking. "I'm perfectly fine, Ollie!" he giggled to himself, talking loud like Mom did when she introduced him to Drippy. "Let's be best friends! What do best friends do together?"
Oliver thought for a moment, before pulling the doll into his arms and squishing him. "Best friends hug each other!" The knit fabric felt soft and bumpy, and the round buttons on his eyes were cool and smooth. He was very nice to hug. "Come on!" he said, forgetting about the mess on the table, "Let's go play! I can show you my cars and my other toys and my car books too. Can you read Mr. Drippy? It's okay if you can't, I can read to you! Do you like cars Mr. Drippy? I do! I like them because my friend Phil does. Well… we aren't friends yet but we will be! You can be friends with him too!"
Oliver giggles, rushing up to his room. He tries to take the steps two at a time to impress Drippy, and Drippy definitely doesn't notice him stumbling. Nope. He looks very cool and Drippy agrees. Oliver reaches up on his tippy toes to reach his bedroom door handle, closing it behind him like Mom taught him to and sitting on the floor with Drippy in his lap. He shows him his toy cars and other stuffed animals Mom got him, and pulls out a big book he'd asked Mom to save for him instead of getting him a treat at Leila's every Sunday, a big adult book on cars. He can't read all the words, but he does his best to spell out big words like com-bust-i-ble and au-to-mo-bile to Drippy. Drippy doesn't make fun of his talking the way kids at school do. It's nice.
Oliver picks up Drippy. He wants to say something, so Oliver brings him up to his ear so he can whisper. He gasps, "You've never had a best friend before Mr. Drippy?" He pulls Drippy into his chest, whispering back, "Me neither."
The two of them have the best day ever. Oliver doesn't even cry once because Mom is gone! He doesn't even notice her pull into the driveway, or walk upstairs until she's coughing from the doorway. Oliver runs up, NOT crashing into her legs because she said that's rude. She kneels down, pulling Oliver and Drippy into a big hug.
"Did you have a fun time with Drippy, Oliver sweetie?" She asked, and Oliver nodded really big, squishing Drippy to his body.
He goes on his tippy toes and asks her, "Can I tell you a secret?"
"Of course sweetie."
"Mr. Drippy is my best friend. Don't tell anyone though, he's shy."
She smiles, and Oliver doesn't notice, nor would he understand, the slight pain in her eyes when he says that. Suddenly, she grabs him, hoisting him and Drippy up into her arms. Oliver squeals, holding tight to Drippy so he doesn't fall. Mom laughs, wiggling her fingers into his sides just enough he starts to squirm and giggle. "Mom, no!"
She stops, not before giving him a kiss on the forehead. "I'm glad Drippy has a best friend like you, sweetie!"
Oliver nods, and starts babbling about the day he had with his new best friend. He talks well into dinner, only stopping to inhale his food before talking again, telling mom about cars and Mr. Drippy- and did you know they're best friends?
~~~
Oliver is excited. He's turning ten soon! That's double digits. Mom says turning ten is big, and he's the first in his class to have two numbers in his name instead of one! Drippy says he's older than him, but Oliver bets he's lying. Even Mom believes Drippy over him! Oliver would be mad, but is his best friend so it's okay. Mom's going to throw him a party for his birthday. He invited a bunch of kids from his class to come, but none of them could make it. Oliver will be okay though, because Phil is coming! Phil is really cool, and he likes cars! Oliver plays with him sometimes at recess, and sometimes the other kids will let him join in if Phil is there!
He is very excited for his birthday party.
So excited that he wants to curl up under the blankets with Mr. Drippy and hide away so he stays nine years old forever. What if Phil was lying about wanting to come? He wouldn't blame him, nobody else at school put up with him. What if he and Drippy didn't get along? What if he just didn't show? What if, what if, what if?
The doorbell rings, and Oliver bolts down the stairs, tossing Drippy on the couch to get to the door and answer it before Mom does. He opens the door slowly, peeking through the crack at first before throwing it open upon seeing a distinctive mop of blonde hair and glasses when he looks up. "PHIL!" he shouts.
"OLLIE!" Phil returns his shout, stepping forward and hugging him. "Happy birthday! What are you now, nine?" And then he grins- that teasing grin that he did when he made a joke he would shout at the other kids for making. It didn't bother Oliver like it would with the other kids.
It still made him mad, though. "I'm ten!"
Phil grinned at him. "Oh yeah? While I'm twelve," he replied with a smirk.
"You're not twelve you're eleven!"
"Eleven and a half is close enough-"
"Eleven," Oliver pouted, poking a finger at Phil's chest. He bats Oliver's hand away as their parents- Phil's dad and Oliver's mom- talked behind them.
"Fine, fine, but I'm still older than you." Oliver rolled his eyes, grabbing Phil's wrist and tugging him to the living room where Oliver had brought out all his car toys and games to play with Phil.
Drippy was on the couch, carelessly tossed aside when Oliver went to get Phil. Oliver quickly scooped him up and put him in his lap, whispering a quick "Sorry!" to him. He noticed Phil looking at Drippy strangely.
"Oh, you got a little dolly? I thought you were ten, not four! Haha…" he laughed, trailing off when Oliver frowned. Oh no, were Phil and Drippy going to hate each other? Oliver paused for a moment to make sure he didn't start crying. He looked away, shy and embarrassed about two of his favorite three people (his most favorite being his mom) getting off on the wrong foot.
"He's my best friend…" he mumbled. Pursing his lips, he wondered if he should tell Phil his name. Would Phil go tell everyone at school that Oliver's best friend was a doll? He'd tried bringing a doll into school once, and some of the big mean kids tore it up. What if they tried to tear up Drippy?
"What?" Phil shouted, and oh no he was angry- "But I wanna be your best friend!"
Oliver blinked. What? Why would Phil want to be his best friend? There were so many other, cooler kids at school… None of them were as cool as Phil, though.
"I'm cooler than a stupid doll, anyway…" and oh. Oh, was Phil jealous? Oliver felt a small grin build on his face and he leaned over, clutching Drippy tightly.
"Oh you are, huh?" he asked, poorly hiding a snicker behind Drippy when Phil pouted. "Well, I happen to think Mr. Drippy is much cooler than you… but we can be best friends too!"
Phil grinned at him. Oliver's mom called the two of them to the kitchen- cake time! After devouring slices of homemade chocolate cake, Oliver, Phil, and Drippy all played games together. If Oliver won every game because Drippy helped him despite Phil's begging to team up against Big Bad Oliver, well… having best friends has its perks.
~~~
Oliver jerked awake in the middle of the night. He looked at the ceiling of the Cat's Cradle he had found himself in. No light poured through the windows, and he could hear rushing water outside. From the river cutting through the kingdom, surely, but… ideas of what it might be wouldn't shake. Another rushing river, here to take Drippy away too-
"Oi!" Oliver heard him call out and, shoot, he'd woken him up, "What are you doing, Ollie-boy? It's flipping midnight, it is!"
"Sorry, Mr. Drippy," Oliver whispered back. "Go back to sleep. I'm fine."
"'I'm fine,' he says, like heck youer fine, mun! You sound fit to burst into tears, you do." He hops up to the bed, right next to where Oliver's head is on the pillow. Leaning over him, the fairy taps Oliver's forehead with his lantern, the latter letting out a wet giggle before being unable to hold back his tears any longer. He sits up, suddenly, shoving his face into his knees. He tries not to wail too loudly, in case he disturbs the other residents. He hears Drippy fussing around him- probably telling him to stop being a crybaby- and only sobs harder. It's harder than he's cried since... right after. Right after the worst mistake of his life that cost him more than he could ever lose again.
It hurt.
Oliver hiccuped, wiping his sleeves over the trails of tears. Sniffling, he whimpered out apologies to Drippy for crying. He picked up the thick blanket that now only half-covered him and put it up over his head, blocking out the world so it was just him. It had always comforted him, to make the world so small. Nothing could get to him, underneath the blanket. Usually he… wasn't alone, like this. When he needed the world to be small, for everything to be less loud and bright and overwhelming, he always had his favorite plushie, his best friend right there with him. Drippy was a foot away, outside the blanket. Oliver was alone. He never liked being alone. Was Drippy even his best friend anymore? He didn't seem to know much of what happened when he was a doll. He didn't recognize Mom without seeing a picture, but he also knew Oliver was so sad. Even though he was alive now, even though he was so different from what Oliver thought he was, Oliver loved him. He loved him with his whole heart. He was Oliver's best friend… even if he didn't want Oliver to even be his friend anymore.
"Oi," he heard, whispered from outside the blanket when his sniffling had slowed down, "knock knock."
"Go away."
"..." A few seconds of silence, before, "Knock knock."
He shoved the blanket down and immediately regretted it. The rushing water outside was loud. It hurt his ears. Crossing his arms, he tried to muster up a glare at Drippy, but found himself looking away. "What."
"What's wrong, Ollie-boy?"
"Nothing," he said. Too quickly. Drippy just stared, for a moment before Oliver couldn't help himself and asked, "Are we friends?"
Drippy recoiled at that, and Oliver tried not to flinch. He failed. "Oi! Who do you think I am? I'm flipping Drippy, Lord High Lord of the Fairies! I wouldn't be caught dead adventuring with someone I didn't care for."
Oliver blinked. "Oh." He didn't say anything when Drippy climbed into his lap, curling up. He was bigger, now that he wasn't a toy. Oliver was bigger, too. He had grown. Drippy fit right into his lap. Right where Oliver always put him at night. Oliver picked the blanket back up, draping it this time over both himself and Drippy. This time it felt better.
"Can…" Oliver tried, losing his courage nearly instantly. Drippy leaned up, wordlessly for once, and tapped his chin with his nose. "Can you still be my best friend? Please?"
Drippy was silent for a moment, but Oliver felt him lean into him, pressing up against his chest. "Of course, mun."
Oliver wrapped his arms around Drippy. It felt good again, like he had his best friend in his arms. He did have his best friend in his arms. It might not feel like it all the time, but maybe Oliver wasn't alone in this after all.
~~~
Oliver wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Again. Good thing they stocked up on coffee beforehand, right? He didn't understand how the crew could get any rest, how Esther or Swaine or Drippy could, either. Not with the creaking of old wood and the sloshing of waves against the side of the ship. Not with the threat of falling off and drowning above deck, not with the threat of sinking and drowning below. Oliver couldn't stop shaking. Hopefully nobody could see. That would be embarrassing. He didn't want anyone to see him scared. He was supposed to be strong, supposed to be pure-hearted and have the power to end all evils, and nothing, not Shadar, not any monster in the entire world could scare him as much as the very thing that surrounded him now, on all sides and he was drowning again, he couldn't breath-
Drippy is in his lap again. Silently, like that day in the inn so long ago. No teasing mockery this time, just a small body settled in his arms and a comforting light swaying slightly. It doesn't remind Oliver that he's on a boat. Not when he can see Drippy's near constant movement being the cause. Drippy is humming. It sounds a lot like the tune Mom would humm to him when he was little. Oliver holds Drippy in his arms, tight, but the fairy makes no noise of complaint. Maybe Oliver would get some sleep after all.
Oliver stirs slowly. There's something big and warm and comfortable in his arms, and despite the hushed whispers he can hear, he just wants to sleep.
A giggle from above him is the final straw.
He cracks an eye open. Swaine is sitting a few feet away, half-lying down in one of the ship's hammocks and grinning at him and Drippy. Esther stands closer, covering her mouth with her hands and snickering. Oliver can hear Drippy before him, whispering, but through the sleepiness that envelops him Oliver can't- and doesn't care to- try and make out what he's saying. He lets out a groan, cuddling closer into Drippy and curling around him. "Go back to bed…" he whines, shoving his face into Drippys back. He hears Esther coo above them. His eyes snap open, and he glares up at her, scrunching his face up in rage- but that only makes her grin harder. "What?" He tries to snap, but it comes out mumbled and groggy. He shifts Drippy in his arms, ignoring his squawk of agitation as he's nestled under Oliver's chin.
"You're cuddling!" Esther points out, like it isn't blatantly clear.
"Oi! You need to get youer eyes checked, mun, there's no cuddling happening here!"
Oliver blinks down at Drippy. He leans down, gently headbutting him. "Yes we are." It's the wrong thing to say, apparently, as Esther and Swaine burst out laughing.
"Drippy's m' best friend," he says, settling down again to get any more sleep he can. "Best friends can cuddle all they want."
"Righto, Ollie-boy! You weren't trying to make us besties separate, now, were you?"
Oliver feels himself falling asleep again, but not before he hears Esther giggle out a quick "Nope! Of course not!"
He doesn't even think about the fact he's sleeping on a ship.
~~~
Oliver blinks away the dredges of sleep. He usually doesn't wake up too quickly, but being in a magical coma for three days isn't really a normal sleep.
Drippy isn't here. It makes him feel much more lonely than it should- Drippy wouldn't just abandon him, he knows that. But it doesn't make the subtle prickling of fear fade. He doesn't want to be alone right now. He wants his best friend, even if all he has is bad news for him.
(As if him waking up isn't the best news he could get.)
He steps outside of the house his body had slept in. The golden rays of the ever-lasting sunset of Perdidia shine down on him, and he yawns. He notices a gaggle of children peering through the walls, gasping and chattering amongst themselves. He walks up, pausing at what they're saying.
They're giggling about a fight. A big one, if there's been enough talk for this many to gather. Not yet a long one, if no parents have had the time to notice. Oliver walks up, and hes not a tall boy by any means, but these kids are young, and he towers over them. He looks over the wall they're looking through and-
Oh no. Oh no, no. Vileheart can't be back.
Oliver ignores the children's stares as he leaps over the wall to rush over to them. He's glad he grabbed his bag, first thing when he woke up. He doesn't have to go and get his wand. He sprints into the fight. He can't lose anyone else. Not today.
Vileheart falls to the ground in a puff of smoke. Again. Hopefully, for good. Oliver doesn't have the time to breath a sigh of relief before his arms are full of one slightly shaking fairy. Oliver doesn't mention it, only pulls Drippy closer to him as Esther follows, wrapping Oliver up in a hug of her own and nearly toppling the three of them. They're saved by none other than Swaine, who steadys all of them with his own thin arms around them. He holds Drippy tightly, like he's always done, shoving his face into the little being like he has since he was a little kid. He feels a few tears slip out, but Drippy makes no comment on them. Oliver likewise doesn't mention the wetness he's feeling where their cheeks are pressed together that he knows isn't from him. He giggles wetly, leaning a bit into Esther and Swaine's arms. Drippy's lantern jingles.
"What the flipping heck was that, Ollie-boy? You scared the living daylights out of us! Don't-" Drippy falters, and Oliver squeezes him slightly in his arms, "don't do that again, you hear me?" Oliver doesn't say anything to that- can't, he knows what Shadar is to him now, but he doesn't let go of Drippy. The four of them sit, for who knows how long, quietly holding each other. It isn't until someone comes to retrieve them that they break apart. Oliver doesn't put Drippy down, and Drippy makes no move to leap from Oliver's arms. Esther goes to grab his hand, and Swaine places his hand on his back, leading them back to the house Oliver had awoken in.
They don't ask him to talk. Oliver does anyway. He talks about how the soulsnare had been nothing but pain before the memories of a dead woman flooded through him. How there wasn't an Alicia to save, only an Allie who was gone. He doesn't tell them about what's going to happen when they defeat Shadar. How could he?
Drippy doesn't leave his lap, not once.
"Thank you for staying, Mr. Drippy," Oliver says to him, one moment after Swaine and Esther.
"Of course I'm staying," he presses up against Oliver's chest, words barely a murmur but heard loud and clear in the quiet atmosphere of the town, "that's what best friends are for, en't it?"
Oliver says nothing, and hopes Drippy will forgive him.
~~~
Drippy stares as the Wizard's Companion falls to the floor with a thud, Mornstar clattering beside it. "Ollie-boy?" he asks. He doesn't get a response. He gets nothing. Is this why? Why Oliver was so calm the whole way here? Drippy had thought it was because of the news of Alicia, but… Did he know he was going to leave him, too? Best friends weren't supposed to leave each other… were they? It had happened twice, now. Maybe…
Drippy picked up the Wizard's Companion from where it sat on the floor. He didn't bother hiding his tears. What did it matter? He didn't have anyone to impress anymore. The only person who had mattered in a decade had just- vanished. There was nobody to blame, either. Drippy couldn't recklessly race towards the danger that had taken so much this time. It took and then it passed.
And then it returned. Gave back.
A bright light glittered before him, and the one person Drippy needed most fell through.
Oliver.
He slipped and fell when Drippy launched himself into hid arms, but laughed.
"I told you not to scare me like that, I did, Ollie-boy," he tried to sound angry, but the shake and relief in his voice betrayed him.
"Sorry, Mr. Drippy. I won't leave you again, I promise."
"Good!" He said, snuggling into Oliver's arms. "Family doesn't leave each other."
There was no room for debate. And besides, Oliver would never deny it.
Family. It has a nice ring to it, Oliver thinks. He holds his family, his entire world in his arms and despite the fear of the past few days, despite being in the home of a man far too lost to be kind, Oliver is safe. He hasn't been safe since the car accident. He might just be able to get used to this.