Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The light shone so brightly it started to hurt to look at, before suddenly it dissipated in a silent array of sparkling, fragmented souls.

Elfilin and Kirby stared up at the still-shifting sky, no longer host to a manifestation of chaos.

He… wasn’t sure how to feel.

This was it. His other half’s final stand. One last hurrah, even after losing him, even after being struck down in the physical world, even after being intercepted and taken by the red knight, and even after having been taken out by Kirby, again and again and again… this was it. The sky didn’t give way to daylight. There was no echo of tormenting, repeating lines. There was only silence.

Was he supposed to mourn for Elfilis? Even after helping to end them once before?

They were a part of him. Part of him that he’d neglected, shunned, separated from. He had no place for anger and suffering. He only wanted to be free.

They did, too. But causing pain for others wasn’t a good way to do it. Kirby was living proof of that.

Elfilin just wished he had a chance to show them that. To show them freedom, but also peace. Friendship. Trust. If Elfilis could only learn to trust… maybe the world would be okay for them.

“Hey- look!”

He followed Kirby’s gaze.

Before the two of them was a small, shining soul.

It hummed with a familiar energy - just looking at it filled Elfilin with that… feeling. The feeling of coming home. Of not being alone. Of being blanketed in energy, power, safety. A sensation words could never describe well enough. Nostalgia, and welcome, and bond.

It filtered its way over to him, as though it were so splintered, fractured, damaged that the act of moving split it into so many pieces, only for it to coalesce and become whole again in front of him.

Well. Almost whole again.

Half.

Elfilin thought that might hurt. To be so broken that your very soul is constantly shattering and reforming. He wanted to hold it together and give it time to heal.

It had come to him.

They had come to him.

He couldn’t imagine it. He didn’t remember much from the time they were together so, so long ago, but something that held up after all this time had passed was how stubborn they were. So angry, so anxious, believing that they were the only one they ever needed and that any living thing in front of them was not only an obstacle, but a threat.

They’d come to him. Willingly, silently pleading. Please, it seemed to imply, silently hovering before him, a request, please hold me together. I can’t do it alone.

They had hurt so many people. So many beasts. If they’d had their way, they would have taken Leon’s form and gone on to destroy even more. To hunt. To kill.

But Elfilin had left them there because of that. Had taken them down because of that. Had worked against them, all because of that.

If Elfilis could trust him… it meant they could trust.

…

He wasn’t quite sure how, exactly, he was supposed to do this. He tried to let it come naturally, the way he’d closed the rift and opened the next. He cupped the little soul in his open paws and held it to his chest, softly, gently, but pressing it against himself, more like a hug. When the comparison occurred to him, he did his best to actually hug the little thing - nuzzling into his own hold, cradling the light as if to reassure them, to say I’ve got you.

Warmth filled him. That feeling - the feeling of being complete - surrounded him, overwhelmed him, became a natural, normal feeling, as though this was how it was meant to be and always was.

…thank you…

He opened his eyes again, having not even realized he closed them, as the light faded from his chest.

Kirby stared at him.

He nodded to them, and they smiled, happy they were now reunited in some capacity.

Carefully, gradually, the waves of energy faded from above, letting in sunlight and beautiful blue sky onto the world once again. Peaceful at last.

Two had finally become one.

…

…

…or, at least. That’s what Elfilin had thought, anyway.

Chapter 1: Heart & Mind

“Hey, Elfi - you’ve got a spot on your ear.”

He turned to acknowledge Kirby, who promptly circled back around to be behind him. “Where?” Elfilin questioned, spinning to face them again.

A little smile crossed their face as they once again moved to be out of Elfilin’s line of sight.

So that’s how it’s gonna be, then…

Elfilin whipped around, unable to contain his own grin as a giggly Kirby ran circles around him, the two spinning aimlessly for a minute or two. He couldn’t help but delight in their antics, laughing out loud before coming to an abrupt stop to clear his head, now very dizzy. Kirby also stopped, tripping over themself and groaning as they collapsed on the ground in a daze.

He hovered just overhead, facing them upside-down as he waited for them to regain their composure. “Hey~!”

They blinked up at him, before dissolving into giggles once more.

Warmth bloomed in Elfilin’s chest. “Alright, alright, get up! What’d you say?”

Kirby hopped back up to their feet. “You’ve got a weird spot on the back of your ear! Like, just under the chip of it. Here, lemme see!”

Elfilin tilted his head before complying, turning away and spreading his scarred wing out so they could get a better look. “Alright… can you clean it off for me or something?”

They gently grabbed a wingtip and leaned in close. “Maybe? It looks like ink… Oh!”

“What is it?”

“It’s words!”

What?

“What?”

“It’s, like, letters! From all the signs in all the places! There’s like, a message written on your ear.”

“How’d it get there? What’s it say? I can’t see!”

“Uh…” Kirby began, leaning in even closer and squinting.

…

“...Well?”

“I can’t read.”

Oh. Right.

And before Elfilin could even reply, Kirby was already dragging him over to the wise waddle dee.

No longer needing to focus on anything in particular - including the direction he'd need to fly in - Elfilin let his gaze wander all around the little town as they dashed through it together.

The cafe seemed busy at the moment. It was the tail end of the lunch rush. Elfilin considered suggesting that the two of them take the gig behind the counter again, especially since it would give him the opportunity to see Kirby looking cute in that little hat again - though they'd expressed how difficult the task was before, and he didn't want to stress them. Even if the stress pertained more to avoiding food than any horde of hungry patrons. 

His ear flicked towards the colosseum, picking up the sound of cheering in the distance. A quick glance revealed that Meta Knight wasn't on watch duty at the moment. Elfilin couldn't recall sending him on a return trip to Popstar. He grinned and gasped excitedly - he was probably engaging in the sport, then! Combat might not have been Elfilin's cup of tea, but Kirby always seemed eager to hop into a fight.

He turned, intent on pointing out what he'd learned to Kirby. Maybe they could go train in the arena and then grab a bite to eat afterwards? That way they could rest and recover after their fun and after the rush was over. The sun was warm, and the clouds were sparse, so they could even enjoy a meal up on the top floor of the cafe - everything would be perfect.

Elfilin took a deep breath, only a moment away from explaining his careful plan-

"Hello, Kirby! Looking for any advice?"

Oh, right. The writing on his ear. They needed that decoded first, then they could go have some fun elsewhere.

Kirby nodded excitedly, then once again gently took hold of Elfilin's wing, spreading it out and pointing to the supposed stamp below his scar. "There's a word hidden here! What's it say? Is it a present code or something?"

"I'd be impressed if anyone managed to hide one there…" Elfilin commented. Had anyone managed to write something on him without him noticing? That's what this seemed to imply… frankly, that was just impressive. Maybe they'd done it while he was sleeping?

The scholarly Dee learned in closer, holding onto his wing as well and parting the fur there. "Hmm… well…"

Kirby tilted their head. "What is it?"

"I don't believe this is a present code…? Whatever this is, it isn't even a word. It seems like a random string of numbers and letters."

"Oh. What's it say?"

They paused.

"...ID-F87?"

…

…

Elfilin blinked slowly. He felt a little dizzy.

Someone was talking to them. To him. "What?"

"Elfi, are you okay?"

They- he blinked again. "What- yeah. Yeah, Kirby, I'm fine. Can you wipe it off for me?"

Kirby frowned, but nodded. They rubbed at the spot carefully, but seemed a little frustrated. "Um… I'm sorry, Elfilin, but…"

"It's fine if it doesn't come off," he corrected quickly, "I just wanted to try first." 

Something about the world was a little weird. Everything sounded further away, everything looked askew, everything felt slower, Elfilin felt like he was just watching himself talk instead of actually speaking.

He was free now. There were reminders - permanent ones, visible ones, like the circular cut along the edge of his wing, but it didn't make it hurt any less. He was free.

He hated how they'd marked them, but they were free, so they served only as testament to their will.

His will.

"-ilin?"

He shook his head slightly. "I'm okay. I… think I might need a nap, though. Or some fresh air."

"...alrighty… take care."

They drifted away into the outskirts of civilization.

Kirby really, really wished they could read.

The reason why was pretty simple, actually! Reading is pretty important! If you can read, you can do things like learn things from books just by looking at them, or check what signs are telling you to do before blatantly ignoring them, or understand notes and letters left behind by friends with instructions or whatever! Being able to recognize what all the little symbols people drew on stuff meant when put in a specific pattern was a very important skill, and it was one that Kirby was bad at, and so they refused to try.

Now, however, they regretted it. If Kirby could read, they could’ve told Elfilin that there was absolutely nothing to worry about, that it was a little dirt or water or something on his ear and that they’d scrubbed it right off no problem.

Mentally, they kicked themself. No, that wasn’t true. Kirby wasn’t a very good liar. Who could even have the heart to lie to someone like Elfilin? Sweet little Elfilin, always so helpful and kind - if someone Kirby had fought in the past wrote something on them, they’d want to know, and Elfilin wouldn’t hesitate to tell them the truth, while somehow still able to handle it so delicately and make it seem like everything was gonna be okay.

But now? Now, Kirby wasn’t there to tell Elfilin that it was gonna be okay. That distant, far-off look in his eyes, so sad, so afraid, yet so tired and numb… the sight lingered on the back of Kirby’s eyelids, in their thoughts, the sound of him apologizing to them and leaving echoing through every step they took as they paced back and forth, rambling endlessly to the open air in their grief.

“-what do I do? What if he doesn’t come back? What if this was the last straw and he just wanders off into the wasteland never to be seen again? What if he portals, like, like, into the sun?! Or deep space?! What if he comes back and goes ‘ thanks Kirby, I could’ve gone the rest of my life without knowing about that, you are the worst thing that’s ever happened to me ’?! Or, or, or, or maybe he’ll come back and be like ‘ thanks for letting me know, here, take this sawblade that I found and help me chop my ear off ’?! Or maybe-!”

“You know,” Bandana Dee interrupted, “You’re never this panicked about, like, anyone else. Maybe calm down a little?”

“ No! ” Kirby responded immediately, hyperventilating so hard that Bandan lightly held onto the bench lest he be inhaled by the pink puff.

“Ooookay? Let’s change gears, then. What’s the best case scenario here?”

Kirby stopped. Their mouth was shut tight like they’d just tried to eat a staircase. An odd descriptor for anyone who wasn’t them. It was hard to think positively when they’d made a mistake this huge, and they found themself struggling to convey that.

“...Well?” he prompted them again.

“He comes back, says that he’s very very sorry for leaving, gives me a kiss on the cheek and promises that he doesn’t hold anything against me.”

“He gives you a kiss?”

“You said ‘ best case ’!” Kirby whined, “I dunno what he’ll do!”

“I know! I just didn’t think… nevermind.”

Kirby shrugged, looking at Bandan with something between incredulousness and expectancy.

Idly adjusting his namesake, he continued, “So, based on the best case and the worst case-”

“I haven’t thought about the worst case!”

“Kirby, you’ve told me, like, fifteen worst-cases in like two minutes.”

They blinked. “...and?” they added sheepishly.

“Between the best and worst case…s… what’s the most likely outcome?”

They plopped to the ground in deep thought. Between Elfilin suddenly deciding to be a villain on-par with Magolor or Elfilin confessing his love for them, there was a lot of room for some sense of true normalcy. Not Kirby’s typical level of normalcy. Which would either be a love declaration or war declaration.

“...He might come back and say ‘ sorry for leaving like that, I just needed to clear my head a bit ’?”

Bandan smiled at them, seemingly proud. “That seems more like it!”

Despite having been cheered up significantly, Kirby pouted. “I won’t get any kisses for it.”

“Could always ask. Admitting a crush never hurt anyone.”

That was a blatant lie and Kirby knew it, but they were left spluttering over the subject of that sentence. “I don’t have a crush on Elfilin!”

He blinked. Then raised an eyebrow.

“Okay then? No romantic feelings at all, whatsoever?”

Certainly not. Kirby loved everyone - they’d know if they loved someone more than anyone else!

…well. Elfilin was extremely special to them. They’d never met someone that was quite in their situation, nor had they found someone so dedicated to helping others, and also someone who cared so deeply for Kirby, following their every step and encouraging them the entire time, offering everything he could for them.

But they couldn’t say they loved him more. More than Bandan, who always knew just what to say to calm them down when they were panicking? More than King Dedede and Meta Knight, their friendly rivals who they always delighted in seeing and laughing with? More than Ribbon, who had actually given them a kiss and made their face so red that tomatoes would be jealous? Magolor complimented them all the time too, Taranza always loved to help, Adeleine spent tons of time with them, Gooey shared a space with them and made it feel more like home - Kirby loved them all the same, and couldn’t possibly compare them!

…or maybe, just maybe, it was that Elfilin filled every niche little corner of their heart.

Bandana Dee could soothe them just as much as Elfilin could hold them close and tell them that he was scared too, but that he believed in them. Elfilin could joke and laugh and give encouragement to them. Elfilin felt right at home in Kirby’s home - in Kirby’s life.

Was that what a crush was? Maybe they didn’t have a crush because they just… didn’t know what exactly that even meant.

After a long pause, Kirby finally responded, "Maybe? I don't know what romance feels like."

Bandana Dee pondered on that for a moment. He didn't seem to know how to explain it either.

"Like, um… well, it's… how do you feel about him?"

"That's a lot."

"What do you wanna do about it…?"

Kirby tapped their chin. That was also a lot. They let themself speak without thinking about it to see if that would help. "Sometimes I wonder what he'd do if I gave him a kiss on the nose because I think it would be really really cute."

"Yeah, that sounds pretty, uh… yeah. That sounds like a crush."

Really? Hm. That seemed too simple. Too easy. If kisses meant crushes, maybe they should apologize to everyone they ever blew kisses to for leading them on… and everyone they’ve actually kissed, like, on the lips, too.

"Hmmmm… okay? Okay! Great! Now I know!" Kirby stood and took on a triumphant pose despite their confusion, a wide smile on their face to show for their pride.

Slowly, that confident grin fell. Kirby's gaze settled blankly on the ground in front of them.

"What?"

"I have no idea how to be romantic."

Bandana Dee shrugged. “Well, you don’t have to be…? Or you could maybe ask around. Isn’t Clawroline married?”

“Mmmmmmyeah, but I don’t speak meow.”

“What about Leon?”

“Mm. Maybe? Where even is he?”

They weren’t used to all the sounds out here in the woods.

After years and years of the constant buzz of fluorescent lights and whirr of machinery and flow of water over glass, something as simple as the wind picking up a bit and shaking the leaves of the trees, or the distant chirping of a flock of birds, or their own soft wingbeats or paws in the grass was overwhelming - in a good way.

Elfilis took a breath of cold, fresh air. They would adjust. Though, some part of them hoped they never did. Let the feeling of being outside never be anything less than a marvel.

The birdsong grew closer. Elfilis turned their head - they could turn their head! - to look up into the branches to try and spot the little creature. Out of sight.

Until it occurred to them that they could fly up into the leafy canopy with ease, that is. How wonderful, to have an able body and the freedom to travel! Still no birds.

They lowered themself down off the branch, scanning through the trees from below once more, swiveling their ears to try and pinpoint the noise.

It whistled in the distance. Elfilis mimicked the sound.

When the bird answered the false call, they grinned, amused, before copying it again. Perhaps the bird would come to them.

Alas, no luck. They found themself joining the chorus of birds to no end but their own entertainment. It was a satisfying little sound.

…Come to think of it.

Elfilis took a deep breath and gave a loud command-whistle. Perhaps some of their cravens were about? They weren’t sure what summoning them would accomplish, having nothing planned in store for the little carrier birds, but their curiosity must be satisfied now that they had the option at all.

They heard no cravens’ call. Just in case, they repeated the noise, this time louder.

Nothing but the rustling of leaves.

…

…Why were the bushes rustling?

Elfilis squeaked slightly in surprise and alarm as an awoofy answered their summons by practically tackling them, panting excitedly and getting just about as close to their face as it could manage without actually touching them.

A bewildered laugh escaped them as two more little hounds popped out of the underbrush to join in on the attention. One of them had much less regard for personal space, they discovered, upon having their teal fur smoothed down by a caring tongue.

Pushing away three huge snouts with their little paws - their only grievance regarding the body that they and Elfilin shared, much too small - and lifting back up into the air out of reach, Elfilis smiled down at their subjects.

“...Fetch.”

They pulled a branch right off a tree and threw it as hard as they could muster.

And so the three little canines ran off as fast as they possibly could in the direction of the twig, barking and wagging their tails all the way.

Elfilis feared the Waddle Dees. Too clever, too organized. Too similar to the civilization that came before them, and their bold heroes too similar to themself.

But Elfilis loved the animals of this world. They would relate to nothing more than their sense of meaningless, primal freedom.

Three sets of four paws were audibly romping around in the clearing nearby, and Elfilis prepared themself to play.

Once they tired the canines out, they knew where they were headed. The campsite wasn’t far from here at all.

From what they had learned of the language, it had countless turns of phrase. One that came to mind at this moment was "poking the bear." They knew, fundamentally, that the idiom was more in reference to repeatedly doing something dangerous, ill-advised, infuriating, or all of the above with no regard for safety. A bear was a very fearsome predator. The people of this world would do well not to anger one.

That being said, Elfilis was not afraid to poke a sleeping lion, which was arguably more dangerous on all accounts.

Leongar - or, just Leon - didn't react to their touch at all. Unable to rouse him, they escalated to little slaps, then little punches, then charging into his soft sides with force.

Briefly, they considered waking him with a telekinetic burst. Better not to waste the energy.

Elfilis jumped directly onto his face multiple times before getting any kind of response from him.

"Mm," he rumbled softly in complaint, turning over slowly, "what is it?"

Leongar still didn't open his eyes, so they kicked him again. This made him squeeze them shut even tighter. They huffed slightly in annoyance.

He peered up at them. The sight instantly got his attention - he seemed a little more aware of the situation now. "Elfilin?"

They shook their head.

"Little One," Leon confirmed, "what is it you need?"

They preferred their previous title. Whatever. They were still Great in the psychic realm, at the minimum. Elfilis gestured for him to stand.

He squinted up at them. Still groggy, likely. They gestured more intensely.

"Is it urgent?"

Pouting down at him, they nodded.

"Really."

They also preferred it when he didn't doubt them. Elfilis glared.

With a sigh, Leongar closed his eyes again and rolled over.

They squeaked in indignation and slammed themself against his side again. If only they were any larger than a single claw of his.

"What is it?" he looked back at them again, "Could you tell me?"

Elfilis crossed their arms. They didn't like speaking. Telepathy was better.

Leon raised an eyebrow.

Alas, they needed to save energy wherever they could.

"Hunt."

Instantly, he sighed again. "It isn't time to hunt, Little One, it is time to rest."

"Come with. Come hunt."

"Why don't you try taking a nap," Leon interrupted himself with a yawn that displayed his fangs well,  "for once? Sleeping is better than hunting, sometimes."

They considered the question for a moment. "Spent enough time dreaming. Now, hunt."

His gaze softened at that.

A pawn or rook he might've been to them, but he had opted to help save them of his own accord. He was under the belief that nobody should be held in a cage.

It was very difficult to convince him otherwise in the name of gathering a workforce, but overall, Elfilis was grateful for his immense empathy.

With a groan, Leongar sat up. "Alright then," he grinned and cracked his knuckles, "let us hunt."

They fluttered their wings excitedly.

Stretching lazily, he added, “I suppose you’ll have to go retrieve the hounds, first-”

Aha. They’d been waiting for that. With a quick come-here whistle, the three awoofies they’d stumbled upon before bounded into view. Elfilis was proud of them for sticking with the “stay” command for so long.

Leon just blinked, his excuse falling flat before Elfilis’ petty preparedness. They smirked.

“...Oookay,” he surrendered, “We’ll leave now.”

His Great One was a strange one, for sure.

He still remembered the day so vividly. He and Carol were adventuring through forbidden lands in search of greater prey, and had stumbled upon a singing, moving platform. Something had called them there, he was sure of it. And when they reached the top, they both saw it.

He’d pressed a paw against the glass, and they changed his world forever.

Leon found speech to be an incredible gift. A language far more nuanced than the one he’d been born speaking, and the ability to understand the symbols littering the land and the spoken messages left behind through sound systems.

Now, however, he found himself struggling to convince the very person who’d granted him this power to use it themself.

Rubbing an eye tiredly, he watched them flit about, pausing only to perk their ears and scan their surroundings. They’d usher over the dogs, using only a slight hum or hand signal to command them after catching their attention with an odd, high-pitched cry.

Leon didn’t think they did it with their voice, and it didn’t sound quite like a typical squeak. He observed them doing it, listened closely, but still couldn’t figure out the source.

He’d been trying to avoid it, knowing how it would result if he tried, but finally Leon gave in to his own curiosity.

“How are you making that sound?”

The Little One froze, stiff. Flicked an ear his way. Then gradually, slowly relaxed.

All they offered him in response was them gesturing to the space where their mouth would be, before turning a corner in the abandoned old building and calling the hounds to follow.

Leon sighed and followed along. “It’s a very effective call. Like a howl, but far more distinct. I’d like to try, if you’d teach me.”

No response from them again as they searched the underbrush quietly.

Well, he did try. At least he’d actually thought to ask-

“Whistle.” they responded.

He blinked, confused. “Hm?”

“Called a whistle. It’s breathing.” they turned to him and pressed their paws on either side of their face, then blew. At first, it just sounded like a rush of air, but as the space got tighter and tighter, the sound became higher in pitch until it was a clear, sharp sound.

The awoofies all turned to look, ears perked. The Little One waved them off, and they went back to nosing through the bushes.

“Aha. Very clever!” Leon responded, happy to hear back from them at all. They nodded at him before returning to their task.

He narrowed his eyes a little in thought, then brought a paw to his own face. He pressed a digit on either side of his lips, then breathed out slowly.

Nothing but air and slobber. The Little One gave him an odd look - it seemed they found the attempt funny.

“Don’t look at me like that. It would be a useful trick for me to learn; I might as well practice.”

They blew a raspberry at him.

He did it right back, struggling not to laugh in the process, but they suddenly held up a paw in a halt gesture.

Leon stopped. So did the hounds.

Before suddenly, one of them took off into the foliage with a sharp, howling bark, and before he could even blink, they were followed by the other two awoofies and one very eager little hunter, laughing triumphantly all the way.

He charged in after them, regretting it immediately as it seemed every single plant in his path fought against him.

Perhaps it would do him well to convince them to hunt in the open plains next time.

This was what they’d been waiting for. This was all they wanted.

The exhilaration, the rush, the search beforehand and the reward, the gratification, the discovery.

Elfilis had found something to seek and destroy.

The hounds were in front of them, and then behind them as they surged forward, unhindered by the flora all around them as they dodged gracefully through the air, like an arrow shot through the thicket, racing to meet its target. They flared their wings out wide, becoming even more agile, hearing more clearly the sound of howling and prancing back from where they’d come from and getting further, beyond that, the sound of Leon laughing and struggling to keep up, swiping away at branches with powerful, sharp claws.

They swerved awkwardly to avoid a tree trunk. Elfilis’ wings were slightly uneven, tagged on one side by fiendish jailors, unknowing of how crucial such a difference would be to their movement. They accounted for the difference as well as they could, quickening their pace to keep up with their fleeting prey. Still, they wobbled through the air ever-so-slightly. They’d have to consider asking Elfilin how he coped with the change.

A change in the path, they took a sharp right, gaining ground, now they were far, far closer, they hesitated for only a moment to flap their wings, increasing strength, swooping down-

They pinned the pheasant to the ground hard, letting out a loud “ Ha! ” at their success.

They’d done it. Of course they had. Smaller, newer, younger form, yet still the greatest hunter in the known universe. Their prey struggled beneath them, helpless, as they waited for the rest of the pack to arrive and assist. Elfilis wouldn’t want their other half questioning the blood on their paws.

There was a shocked, startled gasp from just ahead of them.

They looked up sharply with fear. Here, stood before them, was a lone Waddle Dee.

They froze. They stared. It didn’t move.

Breathing heavy, wide-eyed, they pondered their options. It hadn’t attacked them yet. It hadn’t fled. It hadn’t attempted to communicate. It was just watching, scared and confused. They likely held the advantage due to their appearance - this dee likely believed them to be the more recognizable, more approachable Elfilin.

If it approached them, that would be the last thing it ever did.

They might be able to summon their weapon. If not, they knew they could certainly summon portals. Abandoning the first idea in favor of the more certain one, they began plotting a course. Where to? They didn’t want it returning home, gods no - who knows what information it would share with the rest, informing them that Elfilin was not to be trusted, that he was out tracking down and killing pheasants in the woods, what else could he be hiding; not good. They couldn’t afford to give it the chance to make a decision. They couldn’t afford to waste a second letting it think things through.

Elfilis prepared to summon a vortex that would set it in a low orbit around the nearest star.

They nearly cast it, too, were it not for the sound of an exhausted lion crashing through the woods and into the clearing with them.

“Little One,” he began, “perhaps… we should… huff… travel out to the Wastes, next time…”

Elfilis remained perfectly still, recalculating.

Leon glanced over at them. “Aha, you caught it! I didn’t even get to see what you’d- found…”

He locked eyes with the Waddle Dee.

Elfilis hoped, in vain, that he would strike first. If he did, it would make things far easier on them.

Sheepishly, Leongar scratched the back of his head, seeming flustered. “Ah, um, hello there…? My apologies if we startled you, ah - Elfilin and I are just here on a bit of a hunting trip…”

They still didn’t move. One of the awoofies sniffed at their catch’s feathers, then at Elfilis’ own wings. They didn’t flinch.

The Waddle Dee relaxed - weak, vulnerable, guard lowered, strike fast, strike now - and gave Leon a little wave. “Oh, no worries!” it chirped, “I was only a little frightened - I had no idea you two were here! I’ll just be on my way…”

Strike. Strike. Strike.

They hesitated.

It left.

Elfilis prayed it wouldn’t tell anyone.

“Little One? Are you alright?”

They shook their head, trying to free themself from this daze. They somehow managed to simultaneously feel overwhelmed, afraid, and entirely numb. It was an odd sensation.

“What’s the matter…?” Leongar questioned, gently bringing a paw down as if to shield them from the world.

“Th-” they blinked, why was speaking so hard? It wasn’t- it was- they could do this. “...Do not like people.”

He immediately laughed. Fair enough. It was an odd statement, perhaps, for any sentient being. Most of them worked together.

Leon’s presence comforted them. They knew him just as well as they knew themself. They knew his inner workings, his thoughts, the mechanics of his body and the strength behind it, the moves he’d make, the feelings he felt. If they were desperate, it would be very little effort to press against already damaged defenses of the mind and take complete control. They… trusted Leon. They doubted he’d ever attack them, and if he did, they’d know when, why, and how, and would be able to stop him with ease. Maybe that’s what it felt like to live in a little town with other beings like yourself. Total safety and control of a person, hundreds or thousands of times over. It sounded exhausting.

They pressed a paw against one of his fingers, pushing him away. “Okay.” they stated, having mostly regained their wits. They still felt just a little dizzy. Perhaps they were tired, or had hit the ground too hard.

Elfilis rose gently into the air as Leongar took control over their caught prey. The curious awoofy from before licked their face. They patted it gently on the head as thanks. The dazed feeling persisted as a headache began to form - not a good sign. It was time to leave.

Looking up at him, they reaffirmed the only true command they’d given him since being properly reunited with their other half.

“Don’t tell.”

He nodded. “I won’t.”

Still in a bit of a trance, as though they were watching themself fly away, they wandered back in the direction of civilization.

He yawned a little, rubbing an eye. How’d he get so tired? He must’ve been out for a while…

Elfilin blinked. Actually, where was he?

He looked around in utter confusion at the open wilderness, old city structures in the distance. He knew where he was now - down by the beach, near the bridge - but how he got there was a complete mystery. Elfilin had just wandered off and forgotten the rest of his day, apparently…?

He flinched. Oh, right. The tattoo.

Rubbing the back of his ear, he sighed. Whatever. He already had that big scar there messing with the way he flew - ink in his skin wouldn’t even be really visible under his fur. He just hated that there was another reminder of what had happened.

He shook it off and, after a moment of focus, created a rift back to Waddle Dee town.

Only a moment was spent looking around before he found exactly who he was looking for.

" Kiiiiiiiiirbyyyyyyy! "

Elfilin dashed over quickly - maybe a little too quickly, as he nosedived right into Kirby's side. He played it off as intentional by turning it into a hug and snuggling into them.

"Hey, nuzzlenose!" Kirby greeted him with a giggle. “You’re back! Um…” they nervously tapped their round little paws together. “Are… you still upset?”

Elfilin waved them off exaggeratedly. “Nahhh. I went for a walk! Or, a fly… I guess I must’ve drifted off for a while, but I feel much better now!”

Kirby’s smile brightened significantly. “That’s great! Here, you must be hungry - the lunch rush ended a while ago, if you wanna go grab something to eat!”

He grinned. Of course they’d made similar plans. Who else but the person who understood him the most?

“Of course!”

And so, off they went.

Chapter Text

Elfilin looked around. He was sat comfortably atop an old steel bar, coated in moss. The light from the sunless sky seemed to paint everything in a neon pink glow. He smiled - it was a very pretty sight.

The horizon stretched out in distorted fashion, as though he were looking at its reflection in a lake. He looked up, wondering if he actually was, only to realize that that portion of the city was actually underwater. That would explain the way the light reflected oddly off of it, too.

Birds sang in the distance. Along with the sound of crashing waves, this was the perfect spot for a nap, to be sure.

“Welcome back.”

He turned to see someone who looked just like him perched on a lamppost. Elfilin blinked. No, they weren’t quite like him; their opposite ear to his was damaged in an odd way, not like the tag on his. It seemed almost melted. Elfilin didn’t think they could fly very well like that.

He waved to them with a chipper grin.

They narrowed their eyes at him in confusion. Turns out, they couldn’t actually fly like that. They demonstrated as much by gracefully sliding down the pole and crawling across the ground on all fours to look him in the eye. Their eyes weren’t quite the same as his either - bright blue irises framed with a hot pink ring, nothing like his own iridescent ones.

“Can you not hear?”

Elfilin tilted his head. “No? I can hear you just fine!”

They seemed unsatisfied with that answer. They continued, “Why? Acting strange. Wrong. Distant. Don’t you know? Do you care?”

“Huh?” he stuttered, “Of course I do! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to come off as cold or anything!”

“...Ask a question, then.”

Getting more and more concerned by the second, Elfilin asked, “How are you?”

The strange duplicate blinked.

“...Do you understand?”

“Yeah?”

“Then say it.”

Elfilin blinked.

Blinked.

He opened his eyes. The sun was shining through the window. He still felt really tired - he turned over in his sheets to rub at his eyelids.

Elfilin glanced at the clock - it was still pretty early in the morning. He might be able to afford sleeping in for a little longer…

Better to not make it a habit. He rolled out of bed, only slightly able to recall the dream he’d had.

“Wait, you don’t remember what you dreamt about? Why not? Didn’t you write it down?”

Elfilin tilted his head at Kirby. Bandana Dee had a similar confused expression, but for some reason, it was still directed at him, not them. “No?”

“Well, there’s your problem! You should put your dream journal on a nightstand or something - then it’s easier to remember to put stuff in it!”

“...what dream journal?”

You’d swear that he’d suddenly grown a second head.

Kirby gasped. “You don’t have a dream journal?!”

“Of course he doesn’t,” Bandan noted as if it had only just occurred to him, “There’s no Fountain of Dreams here. I don’t think that kind of thing is nearly as important.”

They frowned at the news. “Well, that’s sad! Dreams are really nice and cool! Elfi!” they turned to him, “We should get you a dream journal! We can decorate the cover and get all kinds of stickers for it and-! It’ll help you remember your dreams in the morning!”

Blinking away the culture shock, Elfilin grinned at their enthusiasm. “That sounds super cute! Yeah, okay!”

“Okay! Uh, uhh… where can we get paper?”

“What? Are we making a book from scratch? I’m sure we can find one somewhere out here!”

“Oh, oh!” Kirby waved a paw in the air, “We should ask Leon! He likes reading, I bet he knows where books are!”

Elfilin’s smile faltered. “We could ask the wise waddle dee too! Who knows how many books they’ve found out there that they aren’t telling us about?”

He’d hoped they wouldn’t notice the deflection, but they gave him a slightly concerned look before perking back up. “Yeah, let’s check there first, since it’s closer!”

He relaxed as Kirby took hold of his arm and pulled him along. He had to call out for them to not take a shortcut by leaping off the top floor of the cafe, but he did enjoy racing down the stairs to the center of town with them. Their sweet little giggles as they sprinted were always a delight to him.

They skidded to a halt in front of the wise Waddle Dee, and without even stopping for breath, asked "Hey, do you have any notebooks!?"

The wise Dee, understandably, was pretty startled by Kirby's sudden appearance. Also understandably, Kirby was utterly exhausted, and collapsed to the ground in a panting heap. Sheepishly, Elfilin waved.

Silently, he pleaded that they'd have what he needs…

"Hmm… I'm afraid I only have books that already have words in them, heh."

Crestfallen, Elfilin struggled to maintain a composed smile. 

"Aw, that's a shame! Lemme know if you happen to find any!" Kirby chirped, perking back up and moving to take Elfilin's hand again.

"Wait," he blurted before he could stop himself.

Kirby and Bandana Dee looked up at him in slight concern.

"Um- are you sure you don't have any? Maybe you could help us check around! Or, uh, we could help you search wherever you keep your books…?"

The Dee tilted their head. "Hm… yeah, I guess we could check. Here - why don't you three come with me?"

Elfilin smiled, satisfied at his save.

Kirby scratched their head. "Hm… maybe we should split up just in case? Me and Bandan can search with them, and Elfilin, you can go check if Leon's got any!"

He shook his head quickly, "Oh, no, that's fine! We don't need to go for efficiency here - besides, you might have an easier time asking Leon, actually!"

They frowned a little. "You can fly! Plus, it's your notebook. You should see what he has in case there's a bunch of options!"

Leongar's face had lit up at the sight of him, caged and helpless. He'd frantically grabbed him, shouted commands, dragged him away to the lab once more, once again…

He hadn't been himself, Elfilin knew. He'd been told to do these things. Elfilin could see his true self underneath, when he'd grunt out an apology for jostling the cage, or the glimmer in his eye at the thought of helping them.

He'd only wanted to help. That's all he wanted.

“...what’s wrong? You… like Leon, don’t you?”

“Yeah!” Elfilin responded immediately. Leon was cool. Leon was good. He was fun, and a little silly, and very kind. “Leon is fine, it’s just… I feel… kinda bad, about… you know…”

Kirby’s expression became serious. They touched Elfilin’s shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes. He tried not to blush about it.

“Elfi… that wasn’t your fault. None of that was your fault. You didn’t do what Fecto Elfilis did. In fact, what you did do is save Leon from it! You don’t gotta feel guilty over something you didn’t do, didn’t have any part of, and couldn’t prevent… that’ll just make you all sad and awkward. You don’t gotta be sad and awkward about Leon!”

He managed a laugh. “Alright, alright! I’ll be normal about Leon. I promise. Where is he, anyways? I’ll fly right on over!”

Kirby pointed, and off he went on a mission, only looking back to wave at the smiley little puffball behind him.

He still didn’t know exactly where he was going. He flew over the whole town, scanning over every street and sidewalk with no luck, then a little further beyond it, combing over the outskirts. He frowned a little - he hadn't realized how much Leon had separated himself from the rest of society.

It was only after another minute of searching the forest that he spotted a clearing in the trees that appeared to be a little campsite, where the lion in question seemed to be gardening away.

Elfilin hesitated for only a moment before descending, hanging awkwardly around the edges of the woods. He tapped his paws together - he promised he wouldn’t be shy, that he’d be normal about this visit, but he still gave a little pause. He felt kinda lightheaded.

Little orange ears perked up and swiveled in his direction as a small pack of awoofies took notice of him. Leongar - no no, his name is only Leon - watched them, before following their lead and glancing in his direction.

He huffed a little. “Little One. You’re back quite early, hm? Give me a moment, if you would…”

Blinking in confusion, Elfilin cleared his throat a little. “Uh… okay?”

For some reason, this seemed to startle him. Leon whipped back around, slightly frightened at the sight of Elfilin before him, and laughed a little. “Oh! Sorry, I, er… mistook you for someone else.” he set down a watering can, still a little shaken, and smiled. “What can I help you with, Elfilin?”

Elfilin thought to ask if he’d actually seen him when he turned to look, or perhaps how many flying blue rodents he knew, but opted against it.

"Hi, Leon! Um, so sorry to bother you… Kirby wanted to know if you have any spare notebooks I could maybe borrow?"

He nodded a little in acknowledgement, flicking his head towards the little tent. "Yes, of course!" he began walking in the direction, ushering for Elfilin to follow along, "I've gotten a bit of a hobby in the form of reading and writing. Language really is an incredible thing. Give me one moment and I'll see what I have to offer…"

Hearing him talk was already doing wonders for Elfilin's stress. Despite everything, he held no ill will towards him, and showed no signs of any aggression, either. Leon was just… some chill dude.

He giggled as he followed along, watching the awoofies scramble after him as well, clinging to Leon’s side. Some of them tried to stand up on their hind legs to sniff Elfilin, but he carefully evaded them, squeaking with surprise and delight each time.

"Hey!" he greeted the little beasts through giggles, "What's up with you, hm?"

The little crowd of admirers sniffed and whined up at him, abandoning Leon in favor of investigating the new friendly voice. Some of them tilted their heads at him, blinking and pawing the air almost expectantly.

…Hm?

"They must like you quite a bit!" Leon laughed, poking his head out from the tent to watch the spectacle. Elfilin rubbed his head, partially due to being flustered and to somewhat soothe the slight headache he found himself with.

"I guess so!" he affirmed, albeit confusedly.

Want to play?

The awoofies continued bouncing in place and barking softly as though to get his attention. Briefly, he considered reaching a hand out to pet them, but was nervous that they might get nippy in their excitement. He wished he could better understand what they wanted.

"Alright," Leon spoke, clearing his throat. He seemed hesitant for some reason before he rumbled on, "I have quite a few books and journals for you to choose from - why don't you step inside and take a look?" he smiled before shifting in place, "Although, I'd understand if you don't want to, it's a small tent, I know. I could maybe take the books outside, though I don't want to lay them in the grass out here, the humidity could damage the pages… ah, but your comfort is far more important, of course, I'm sure we can come to a compromise-"

"Uh, Leon?" Elfilin interjected, sensing how he was working himself up, "I'm fine with just, uh, going in to look."

Leon blinked. "Of course!" he blurted, scratching the back of his head, "Right, I just… didn't want to make you feel trapped in there…" he muttered.

If his intent was for Elfilin not to hear, he would have to be much quieter than that.

Remorse. He hadn't been expecting that. He'd expected everything to be blamed on his other half's psychomeddling, for it all to be swept under the rug, but gods, Leon was just as awkward and worried about making Elfilin uncomfortable as he was. Leon regretted what he'd done.

"Hey," Elfilin spoke softly to him, giving him a little smile. "I'm sorry too."

His eyes widened, but he returned the fond smile after a moment. "You have nothing to apologize for. Now," he clapped, "Let's take a look at some of these books, hm?"

"Right!" Elfilin chirped, swooping in and perching on a stack of the things. It was kinda funny - outside, it smelled like Wondaria, the tent having been borrowed from there, but inside it was like being in a cozy little library - it smelt of old paper, fabric, and fur.

Here?

The headache was back. Elfilin considered asking for some water.

"And here we-" Leon spluttered slightly, interrupting himself, "I mean- here are… the books." he held out a few colorful little booklets, some properly bound and some held together by metal rings.

Smooth.

"They're all so pretty!" Elfilin grinned, trying to ignore the fact that he felt a little like he was underwater. It was hard to hear himself think. Weird.

"You can pick whichever one you'd like. I've been taking too many, I believe - I can't fill them all myself. At least, not for a long time. You can even take a few, if you want!"

Leongar? But why?

Elfilin didn't feel good. Maybe it really was better to be outside in the fresh air… he couldn't figure out what was wrong. His headache just felt worse.

"...Lost in thought, hm?"

He shook his head a little. "Uh- uh huh, yeah. Sorry about that - oh, um, don't worry, I only need one!"

Why was he confused? Why did they- he feel out of place, not knowing where he was despite flying out here to see Leon? Why was he so surprised to even see Leon here at all?

"-re you alright…?"

"Yeah-!" they- he chirped quickly, doing his best to focus, "Yeah, so sorry- can you repeat that…?"

"I was just wondering what you were in sudden need of a journal for. You do not have to answer if you do not want to, and you can take your time in choosing. I don't mean to sound pushy, I'm simply… concerned."

"I'm alright," they reassured him, "Got a headache. I mean- I have a little headache I think, but I'll be okay! Just kinda tired… Kirby said I should write down my dreams in a special journal in the morning, so now I'm looking for one! I like all the ones with the pretty patterns on them…"

"Ah, that sounds interesting!"

Why was he so tired?

Why did he not even feel like himself?

His words didn't even sound right. Was he even the one talking?

Even his own thoughts didn't sound like his own - a confused third party, watching and listening in.

"Elfilin?"

He felt like if he blinked, the world around him would disappear, hours passing in mere seconds.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Do not worry," they said softly. Elfilin didn't say it. Or maybe he did. He felt himself speak the words, after all. Did that necessarily mean he'd said it, though?

"...Take your time..."

He allowed himself to blink, letting the world vanish. He could sleep off the headache while life was away.

It was fascinating to watch, if slightly worrying.

Very worrying. Leon hadn’t quite understood what was about to happen, so all he could do was support Elfilin to the best of his ability as he gradually grew more and more unresponsive. His replies and reassurances became slower and slower until he stopped altogether, staring blankly into the middle distance with no visible emotion, barely even blinking.

“...You okay?” he asked in the most gentle tone he could manage. Elfilin had insisted he was fine, but he couldn’t help but check in one more time.

Surprisingly, he turned quickly to look at Leon, looking much more aware, blinking away the sudden daze.

That expression of shock faded into one that Leon found much, much more familiar. A neutral sort of curiosity, with a hint of stubborn, annoyed indifference. They rubbed their eyes and met his gaze.

“Leongar.” The Little One acknowledged simply.

The one in question tilted his head and grinned. How curious a discovery! He’d wondered how exactly their whole… situation, worked. “Little One. A pleasant surprise to hear from you!”

They nodded before looking around in slight confusion. The Little One pointed at the tent they were in with a raised eyebrow.

“What? You’ve been here before.”

Shaking their head, they gestured openly to the room - from the books on the ground to the walls all around them to Leon himself.

He frowned a little. “Listen, I hope you understand that I support you, and your choice to seemingly speak as little as possible,” they pouted at him, though he did not falter, “but unfortunately, I don’t have the awareness or mental capacity to understand every broad gesture. Which I am genuinely sorry for! But, you may need to elaborate verbally… if you can.”

They seemed to take that last statement as a challenge. Without any hesitation, they elaborated, “Why here?”

Leon blinked. Oh! He hadn’t thought of that before. He figured they’d have some kind of awareness of what their other half was up to, given their shared body and mind, but if one could withhold information from the other, it made sense that they simply would have no idea what had been happening before they actually showed up.

“Elfilin is… was … looking for a notebook. He came to me because I’ve been amassing a bit of a collection.” He held up some of the ones that Elfilin had picked out. “I don’t suppose you have an opinion?”

They hovered up closer to inspect each cover. Leon tried to hide his amusement at how each little book was bigger than their entire body.

“...For what,” they asked eventually.

“To keep!” Leon smiled, “I believe he wanted one to write about his dreams in? I don’t know if you’d have similar preferences, but since you’ll most likely be sharing it, I’ll try to factor in what you want as well.”

That seemed to catch their attention. The second he finished the word “dreams,” the Little One’s face lit up a bit as if in pleasant surprise. Lost in thought, they nodded and muttered, “Clever. Good. Very good.”

Quietly, they placed a paw on a decorated cover.

“This one?” Leon reaffirmed, turning it around to see for himself. It was the green one, covered in little pink flowers in a pattern. Not what he’d expected them to choose - though, he supposed it wasn’t like he had any decorated with weaponry or fire or destruction of any kind.

“Like the buildings.” they stated simply. “Prefer space. But this one. It’s nice.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for you, then!” he set the books down with a nod, leaving the floral cover on top as a reminder. Quietly, he wondered if he’d misheard them, or simply didn’t understand the word “space” in this context.

The Little One seemed satisfied about this now complete task. Not caring at all about whatever Elfilin may have been doing previously, they pointed to the exit. “Hunt?”

Leon brought a hand to his chin. He wasn’t sure he was up for another fight with the foliage… unless…

“Very well,” he began with a bit of a smirk, “we can hunt… however. Could I convince you to create a portal to the Wastelands?”

They immediately pulled a face, displeased with the request. “No.”

“I can’t hunt with you in the forest or city, Little One. Certainly not two days in a row. We’ll need a more open hunting ground - I am far more suited for those open plains.”

“Desert,” they interjected, “It is a desert. Near an active volcano. And the lab. A prison.”

Understandable. “The prison has been shattered. We won’t even get close to it. If it makes you feel unsafe, then know that I will protect you no matter what.”

It was unknowable how old the Great One was, locked away for so long that cities were taken over by moss and trees, so long that terrain shifted and lava flowed over the hills, long enough to be completely and utterly forgotten. Despite the endless flow of time, one thing remained clear.

The Little One softened slightly, shifting closer to him as if to seek that protection, pressing their own paws against their chest as if to appear smaller.

His Little One was a child. And Leon would care for them as if they were one of his own cubs.

“Ready to head out?” he asked once they seemed calm.

Silently, they left the tent, smiling down at the hounds that waited for them. They lifted both paws, and as though the very sky bent to their whims, the air in front of them tore open in the shape of a star, emblazoned onto the world by sheer force of will alone.

Clearly proud of themself, they turned around to look at Leon with a satisfied grin.

Without further hesitation, he stepped forward through the miraculous gateway, opening his eyes again to behold an endless stretch of golden sand.

It would never get old, he was sure.

The Little One followed shortly thereafter, tailed by the awoofies, eager to explore. They still seemed against the idea. “Won’t cover much ground.”

"The sun's only just come up. We have plenty of time."

Leon continued forward, not noticing that they weren't following him until-

"Up."

It sounded a lot like a statement. That may have just been because of their tone - unlike Elfilin's typical squeaky pitch, the Little One held their voice in the softest register possible for it and spoke with very little emphasis. Turning to look at them, however, showed their tilted head and raised eyebrow.

"...Yes, up. The sun has just come up."

Shaking their head, they clarified, "The sun doesn't move." They paused for a moment as if reconsidering their choice of words. "...No. The sun moves. You cannot see it, however. The sun comes into view. Planetary rotation."

That was possibly the most words he'd ever heard from them in one sitting. If only he'd actually understood any of it.

"What do you mean by that?"

The Little One pointed up at nothing in particular. "Everything moves in circles. Most planets spin. This location… relative to the sun. It is becoming visible. Due to that rotation. The sun does not rise. Statement has always been wrong. Bothersome."

Leon stopped walking. Replayed the words in his head again.

He promptly sat down in front of them and put a hand on his chin. "Alright, I'm curious. Explain this to me as if I don't know anything about the subject."

They stared blankly at him for a moment. "...you do not."

"Correct."

They drew a circle in the sand. Then a larger ring around that. Glancing around as if looking for a prop, they grabbed a rock and placed it unceremoniously onto the outer ring.

"This is now the planet."

"What is a planet?"

Stopped. Blinked. Pointed at the ground.

"Here?"

"Everywhere. From your perspective. It is the world."

"Alright, got it."

They pointed at the circle. "This is now the sun." They paused. "It is very big. And that is why it is here."

"Understood," he lied.

"The planet moves." They proceeded to push the rock around the ring, completing a full loop. "Around the sun. Everything orbits something. This planet orbits the sun. Because of its size."

He raised an eyebrow. "I think I'd notice if the world moved."

"You do." They then did not elaborate. "The planet rotates-"

"How do I know?" Leon pressed.

They stopped and glared at him for interrupting them. "When the planet… completes a circle, around the sun. It is called a year."

Oh.

"The planet rotates." The Little One spun the rock around in place. "If you are on the other side… then you cannot see the sun anymore. That is night time," they pointed to the side of the rock in between the sun-drawing and the outside of the ring, "and this is sunrise."

The lion blinked, staring blankly at the godlike being before him and feeling just a little overwhelmed with information. "Very interesting!"

They smiled, satisfied with their explanation, and rose back to a hover.

Idly, as the two continued their trek, Leon thought to ask, "Why does the planet stay in a loop around the sun?"

"Gravity."

He blinked. "I thought gravity is what made things fall."

The Great One turned to look at him with a glimmer in their eye, and he couldn't help but feel as though he may have once again stumbled into a lecture.

He felt as if he'd be learning a lot of things today.

This was the first time they really enjoyed talking.

Talking is hard. If you dedicate your life to never encountering a being with the capacity to communicate on penalty of death, talking is irrelevant. Forced into social situations, however, Elfilis would, unfortunately, talk. Apparently, telepathy was frowned upon by polite society.

To play the devil's advocate, however, teaching was far, far easier with an objective language system instead of pure, abstract thought. Teaching someone something with psychic energy did not always go very well. Telling someone information through speech proved to be far simpler.

"When this stone falls, it makes an arc."

Kirby rolled onto their back, resting the book - full of words, unfortunately - on their head. "Where is Elfiiiii…" they grumbled, kicking their feet.

"You sent him to Leon," Bandan reminded them, re-shelving a good stack of wordy, word-filled books, "He's probably over there still."

"I miss him," Kirby complained, "I want him to come in here and be so super distracted by every little cover on every shelf. And every table. And every wall, and window."

"There are no books on the walls…?"

"That won't stop Elfilin from getting distracted by them."

Wise Dee snorted, audibly stifling a laugh in the next room over.

Bandan himself also grinned and tried not to laugh at Elfilin's expense. "Fair enough… if you want, we can go check in on how he's doing over there. It's been a few hours - surely he's picked out something to use by now, right?"

"Yeah… but he also really really wanted a book from here instead…" Kirby's face lit up as a creative little activity came to mind, "What if we used one of these books and we, like, painted over the words!"

"Nope-!" Wise Dee shouted back at them, sprinting over in a hurry and snatching the book that Kirby had been wearing as a hat, "No, you will not damage my books!" Softening their tone a little, they continued, "Bandana Dee has a point, I believe. It might be better to go check in on Elfilin… before you do anything drastic with anyone else's property."

Sheepishly, Kirby nodded. "Thanks for having us anyway! Even if all your books are full of words!" Without further ado, they took Bandan's hand and began running out the door, intent on finding Elfilin as soon as possible.

They were certainly in for a surprise when, upon arriving in Leon's camp, they found it empty.

Bandana Dee and Kirby stared blankly at the clearing, devoid of beasts or friendly worldeaters. Bandan stepped forward, poking around the tent and looking in, only to turn back around and shake his head at Kirby.

"...Huh… mmmaybe Leon keeps his books somewhere else…?" Kirby offered as an explanation.

Bandan pulled back the curtain to reveal the tiny library hidden inside the circus tent, piles upon piles of books visible inside.

"Oh." they rethought their answer… and came up empty. "I'm… sure they'll be back soon?"

"Where do you think they even went?"

They shrugged, "A walk? Maybe they went to like, talk it out! Elfilin was kinda worried about him earlier, so… uh… maybe?"

Bandan put a hand on his chin. "I… guess? So, now what do we do?"

Kirby thought on that long and hard.

They promptly plopped themself down in the grass unceremoniously.

"Really?"

"I mean, we just gotta wait for them to get back, right? It's been hours! I'm sure they'll show up around here aaaany second now!"

Pausing to consider it, Bandan shrugged and joined them in the grass.

All they had to do was wait.

And wait.

…

…

…

"...what tastes like metal?"

He turned to look at Kirby in utter confusion.

"You heard me!"

"What?"

"I asked what tastes like metal!"

Bandana Dee shook off the confusion. "Uh, steel? Nails? Rust? Other things made of metal?... blood?"

"Oh- no, I meant like, what tastes like metal right now. I taste metal."

"Did you bite your cheek recently or something?" he questioned, still clearly bewildered… until his expression changed quickly to one of understanding and mild surprise. "Wait. You're right. I taste it too. Huh."

"It kinda reminds me of something, but I can't quite remember what," Kirby scratched their head, "like, uh… the tippy-top floor of the Jambastion, or pinball machines, or Kracko."

"You know what Kracko tastes like…?"

"No, it just reminds me of it."

A slight crackling noise became clearer to Kirby. They looked around, but couldn't find the source. Weird.

"Hm…" Bandan bounced his foot idly in thought, "What do all those things have in common?... I mean, besides the pinball, I know what Zan Partizanne and Kracko have in common, hah."

Kirby giggled a little. "Yeah. Zzzap~!"

Their face fell.

"What? What is it?"

"...come to think of it, it also kinda reminds me of when Leon threw lightning at us too. And Chaos Elfilis…"

As though speaking their name summoned their wrath, bright blue lightning cracked through the air right in front of them, causing all their fuzz to stand on end as they yelped loudly.

Without even thinking, Kirby grabbed Bandan and leapt backwards in an elegant yet completely unintentional flip. The world seemed to slow down as they narrowly missed getting struck by another errant bolt.

The two of them clumsily rolled across the ground, coming to a stop at a safe distance from the random, dangerous event.

The electricity gathered into a ball of lightning before splitting back open into a violet flame, tearing through the seams of the air and reality as a rift formed right in front of them.

"-just like that." a soft, familiar voice commented.

Much to their surprise, Leon stepped through, brushing sand out of his mane and laughing heartily. "Very impressive as always! Though, I do have to concede - you were right in that the trip there wasn't exactly very productive."

A huge smile crossed Kirby's face as Elfilin followed suit. He shook off a layer of golden sand, reflecting the light from the open portal like a halo. "Told you so." he chirped smugly.

Something about his tone was, maybe, just a little off. It didn't quite sound like Elfilin to them. Well - of course, it was definitely Elfilin, it was his little voice, his little face, but there was something subtly off about his entire demeanor. It was something about the way he carried himself, they thought. Elfilin was normally so carefree and open, all smiles and loop-de-loops and spinning in the air. Right now, though, he hovered very steady and still, hands clasped together in front of himself, wings more open than usual, eyes locked on Leon as though watching his every move like he was some kinda threat.

It was off-putting, if only a little. Kirby took it to mean that he was probably still anxious about being with Leon. Which only confused them more, considering how it conflicted with his behavior towards him.

Three awoofies hopped through the vortex as well. Elfilin whipped around to look at them next, focused on their motions as they wagged their fluffy little tails and looked up at him expectantly. He gave them a tiny smile in return.

Without further hesitation, Kirby promptly shouted, " Hiiii Elfiliiiiin! "

This seemed to startle him. And Leon.

The larger of the two leapt up and twisted to face them very quickly, gasping in shock all the while. Elfilin, however, turned on a dime, giving Kirby a wide eyed look of what could only be described as genuine terror. Full-on deer-in-the-headlights, caught-red-handed, dawning horror.

"Kirby-!" Leon called back, sounding fairly jovial despite the sudden fright, grabbing at his chest with one clawed hand as though to steady his heart or keep it in place. "Great to see you! Um, ah, sorry if we're late - Elfilin and I were just out on a little trip! Hope you don't mind…"

They watched, with more than a little confusion and concern, as Elfilin shot off like a rocket towards the tent.

Bandan didn't seem to notice the odd behavior at all. "Ha! It looks more like it's us who should be apologizing. Sorry for the fright, you two!"

Leon laughed, scratching the back of his head and nodding idly. "It's not a problem, really…"

Elfilin emerged from the tent with a colorful little book under one paw. It was a lovely light green color, covered in tiny pink and white flowers in a pattern like a cross stitch. A cheery little grin was plastered on his face as he flew back up to Leon's side, having apparently recovered from being spooked. He looked just a little more like himself - not any more open, but he seemed full of excitement and energy, if a little dazed.

"Ah - you two must be here to collect Elfilin! I've made sure he got a good look at all the spare notebooks I had to offer."

Elfilin blinked slowly before squinting and rubbing the side of his head, readjusting the book in his grip like he'd forgotten it was there and was trying not to fumble it. When he locked eyes with Kirby, the sudden delight that filled those sparkling, iridescent depths felt so genuine and caring that they knew immediately that it was him, and that he was fine.

They toddled up to him, giggling all the while. "I'm glad you guys are getting along, at least, but that took foreeeverrrr! "

Elfilin laughed at their whiny tone. He seemed a little confused for some reason, though. Looking around, he spotted the rift, squeaked out a quick "oops!" and quickly closed it behind him.

He stared down at the cover of the book he'd chosen.

Kirby sidled up next to him, trying to count all the tiny flowers. "I like this one! It's way prettier than all the normal wordy books in Wise Dee's house."

He only stayed confused for another second after that. He snickered quietly before adding, "You know what? You're probably right. Let's head back, hm?"

The three of them, reunited, set off back to town, waving back at Leon. All the while, Elfilin continued glancing down at the book he was holding. Kirby thought it was cute how it was just as big as he was. They wondered what he was thinking about, too.

Between the view and the blue tint to the world, the grass blowing in the breeze far below, ebbing and flowing, looked more like the tide, trees growing amidst the waves.

He was perched atop an old building - a skyscraper, tall and grand and lined with ivy. Flowers blossomed up top as though they were meant to grow there. The plains stretched on from the roof, though no cliff marked the change in height.

The sky was as blue and bright as daylight, yet stars still twinkled overhead, swirling colors and patterns marking a beautiful aurora. 

Elfilin felt perfectly at home here.

"Hey."

He didn't even need to look. His doppelganger clambered into view, taking a seat beside him.

"...you still don't get it," they began, "but that's alright."

"Thank you." Elfilin responded.

"Glad you're learning, though. You're trying. That's nice." they leaned back, fanning out their wings to catch the wind and visibly relaxing, "Someday, you'll know."

He shrugged. "I guess I will, yeah."

The two enjoyed the comfortable silence for a moment.

"I love this view," he said, "It makes me feel like flying. I wanna glide down and follow the grass - it looks kinda like water from up here!"

"Makes sense." they hesitated, before continuing, "How do you glide?"

"Hm?"

"Damaged wing." They gestured broadly to Elfilin's right ear, "Changes things. Creates drafts… turning oddly sometimes. Flying up, difficult. Gliding straight… near impossible."

"Yeah," Elfilin sighed, "It's a pain. I imagine it's not as hard as it is for you, though…"

They flicked their left ear, barely even recognizable as a wing in the first place, as though self conscious. "Didn't ask. Meant for you. Your wings."

"I kinda hold them like I'm diving. It makes 'em feel really stiff and uncomfy after a while, but it works a little better!"

They hummed to themself, pulling a face as they considered it. "...will remember that."

Elfilin blinked. He could hear birds chirping outside.

He rubbed his eyes - he was in bed. He'd just woken up.

He glanced over at the empty journal at his bedside. It was decorated with little pink flowers, and Kirby had found a cute, sparkly pen for him to use as well.

Tired, but determined to please Kirby, he grabbed the little book and pen and started writing down everything he could remember.

He tried not to think too hard about how he didn't remember getting the book at all.

Chapter Text

He was starting to get a little tired of people interrupting his sleep. Pun not intended.

Most felines were not like waddle dees - he needed around sixteen to twenty hours of sleep per day, and sometimes he could even afford to actually do so. He'd definitely spent his fair share of late nights and early mornings, ruining his sleeping schedule, but overall, those were his choice. If someone dared to actually wake him when he did try to keep up with those needs, they'd best ready themselves to face his claws.

As if Leon could ever harm someone in need of his assistance or company.

He still put on a big show of grumbling grumpily at the newest intruder of his home and bed, displaying his fangs and stretching his paws in such a way that the dangerous points would peek out.

Leon squinted down at his unwanted guest. 

Staring back up at him with a friendly, gleeful grin was an interloper in pink, who had apparently no regrets towards disturbing his slumber.

"Kirby," he mumbled out through a gravelly, sleep-filled voice, "why are you here?"

"Hi, Leon~!" they greeted him in return, still uncaring about the mild danger they were in, "It has beennnn… three months since all the bad stuff went down! That means it's time for a check-up!"

He blinked. Oh. Had it been a month already? The last check-in hadn't felt so long ago… though, he was having more encounters with Kirby recently anyways that may be skewing his memory.

It felt like no time at all since the last health visit… but it felt like an eternity since everything went so wrong. He felt as if the whole thing had taken decades, when in reality it had been less than a week of pure disaster.

"...Well," he started with a stretch, "I'm doing fairly well physically… besides getting a little less sleep."

They seemed sad. "Nightmares?"

"No, because you woke me up."

Kirby looked at him with mock-offense as he grinned wide at his own clever quip.

"You-!" Kirby smacked against his side with comically exaggerated anger, "can't do that! You can't say that! I'm checking on you because you got possessed by a dream monster and your soul got obliterated to bits! You can't just be like oh I'm not sleeping well , dreams are the problem! That's scary, Leon!"

He continued laughing, putting a huge paw in Kirby's face to shove them away lightheartedly. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Any lack of sleep is mostly my own fault, anyways. I am well - or at least, I have not noticed any obvious problems." He sat up, shaking off the sleepy feeling that lingered, "I suppose you want more than just the assurance, however?"

"Of course!" Kirby chirped, anger forgotten, "Any excuse to hang out is a good one! Plus, I might notice something you haven't!"

He couldn't help but notice the lack of their metaphorical other half. "Will Elfilin be joining us? It seems like something he'd want to be here for, no?"

"Oh, Elfi's sleeping in, I'm pretty sure! He's been getting a lot of headaches recently - he deserves the break."

Leon nodded in understanding. He had a feeling he knew why just from personal experience - not that he would, or could, tell Kirby that.

Don't tell. It had been the Little One's only formal request to him since they returned, and it was one they took great care to remind him of frequently.

If the Little One didn't want Kirby and Elfilin to know they were there, then it was for good reason. Leon would uphold that promise… hopefully, until they were ready to actually show themself.

He wasn't sure what he'd do if such a day never came.

But that was not the issue at hand, so he stood and called over the awoofies to join him and Kirby on a walk.

"Hi- oof-! " Kirby attempted to greet the hounds, being bowled over by excited pounces and friendly, fuzzy faces, "Hehe-hi! Hi, you guys! Are you- hehehe! - are you coming too?"

Leon smiled brightly at their antics. "Might as well. It's healthy to bring them along. Gives them some good exercise." he leaned down, no longer able to see Kirby beneath the sea of orange fur, "Do you need any help?"

"Yes please!"

Water-grass, something about flying?? Was talking about my wing and flying bad 

Weird cliff

Elfilin tapped the pen to his chin as he reread the journal entry from a few days ago. He wasn't quite sure how a dream journal worked - was he meant to just take little notes, or write it all out like prose or poetry? Either way, this was, indeed, all he could remember from that night's dream, and also all the effort he was willing to put into thinking about it so early in the morning… and with the weight of the book itself weighing on his mind.

How could he forget? How?

He turned the page. Maybe, if he got better at remembering his dreams, he'd get better at remembering his day as well. He'd been awfully forgetful recently…

Pink water, looked green in the distance. Like a watermelon. Not alone - talking to myself? Reflection? I wanted to go swimming, but my reflection said no. I went without it. The water matches the sky.

Pink and green. Elfilin thought those colors looked great together, though… he may be a little biased.

Nervously, he pulled the cover back into view. Pink flowers on a green backdrop.

He shook his head and looked to the next page.

…was he more blue, or more green, actually?

The sky is always really pretty colors. Like an aurora. This time it was cloudy. I was flying around and having a lot of fun! Thought I saw someone way way down below, woke up

"...who was I talking to the first time?" Elfilin muttered to himself. He flipped back to the first page. Sure enough, he'd failed to specify. He had been talking about his wing, but with who?

Whom?

He shrugged it off. Dreams didn't often make sense. It was possible he was talking to the open air. Without context, he could only guess - maybe he'd been questioning the world, trying to figure out why he couldn't fly right? He'd probably never know.

…Talking to-? Oh.

He flipped the page.

You will learn. Figure things out. Take your time.

Elfilin looked up, staring into the middle distance. Why… did that feel so familiar?

Who was he talking to?

Wait- no, he hadn't even been talking, he'd been thinking, but…?

"Hello?"

No response.

Don't think about it.

His ear flicked.

…Maybe he was just overhearing a conversation outside.

"Okay…" he said aloud almost nervously, looking around before carrying on reading.

Pink lava. I didn't like it there. I think there was someone else there - they asked me what I was doing here, and asked if I wanted to leave. I said yes. They made a vortex to go through. I went through it twice? Two on the other side. Woke up.

Pink lava…

Elfilin sat up quickly, startled by realization. The quick motion had his vision blurring and fading, nearly making him black out.

"Like the isolated isles!?"

Yes?

Oh, gods. Was Elfilin supposed to be in charge of that realm now?! He hadn't been paying any attention - what if, this entire time, he'd had psychic powers that were going completely haywire every time he slept!? He thought he knew everything he could do, but who knew what else he was capable of, especially after re-fusing with-!

Hey- calm down!

Elfilin held his head in his hands and tried to breathe steadily. The world felt tilted, distant. His chest hurt. His head hurt. His mind was totally scrambled, desperately trying to figure out what to do.

Take a break.

He shook his head.

Rest.

…

Elfilis came to with a familiar notebook open in front of them. They hummed to themself, skimming the text before simply shutting the book and rising to a hover.

They didn't particularly care about what Elfilin was writing, nor did they want to participate. As the greatest, most determined hunter in the known universe, they only desired one thing, and such an activity could not be conducted in the little round house in the middle of a busy town.

So with barely a thought, Elfilis produced a vortex that would carry them swiftly to Leongar's metaphorical doorstep.

They flew through it confidently, passing through the space in between in less than a second, eyes closed and expectant. "Leongar," they called without looking, "time to hunt."

No response.

Elfilis opened one eye to find that Leon wasn't home.

…What?

How could Leon not be available?! He was to follow at Elfilis' side, responding to every command and heeding their beck and call! How could he do that without being readily available!?

Elfilis frantically looked around, wondering if he was simply behind the tent instead - when that yielded no results, they flung open the curtain to find that he wasn't inside and sleeping, either.

Taking a deep breath, they whistled loudly. They had incredible senses, sure, but a hound would have a much simpler time tracking him down.

No reply from the awoofies.

Had he gone hunting without them?!

They squeaked in annoyance and despair, continuing their search, damn near turning the whole place upside down. How could Leon abandon them like this!? How were they supposed to hunt under these conditions?!

That thought stopped them dead in their tracks, mere milliseconds before throwing Leon's entire tent through a vortex in hopes of finding him beneath it.

…They were the greatest hunter in the known universe. A Worldeater, capable of tearing apart the fabric of reality to their whims, consumer of all energy and matter, prone to destroying anything in their way, the apex predator of the whole galaxy.

There should be absolutely no reason for them not to hunt in any condition.

Elfilis huffed. Of course. They didn't need Leongar - they didn't need anyone, with the exception of the physical personification of their heart that maintained their soul. They were perfectly capable of hunting alone.

They turned to face the open forest.

The forest was dark, and teeming with life. Full of fog and shadow. Unknown and unknowable - whether Elfilis would truly be hunting alone, they simply would not know… until they encountered another hunter, that is.

They hesitated for only a moment before steeling themself and pressing onwards into the dark.

"How… do you… get them to walk with you like that?" Kirby questioned, absolutely exhausted after only a moment of trying to get control of the awoofies.

Leongar, walking just ahead of them, had a dog at each flank, with a third scampering ahead and frequently turning around to look back at them, panting and waiting for them to keep up. He smiled humorously at Kirby's predicament as they panted harder than the little canines, pressing on despite having already been tired out.

"I mean," Kirby continued, "I'm sure it's 'cuz they like you, and know you better… but," they gestured at how organized the two at Leon's side were, "did you have to teach them to slow down and stay with you?"

"In a way," he responded. "They can learn quite a few words, and associate them with commands. You treat them when they've done well - er, that is, you give them a treat. Usually food. From there, they associate performing the task with a reward, and want to do it. The Great One learned this and taught it to the council. In the past, we would simply do as they did, so that they would copy us later on after bonding. The Great One taught us how to speed up this process."

Kirby made a bit of a face. One of the awoofies sensed their slight discomfort and licked that frown right off - they couldn't help but giggle.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm supposed to be asking you that, it's your checkup!" Kirby quipped, before adding afterwards in a more sincere tone, "...Their name is Elfilis. Fecto Elfilis. You don't have to treat them like some godly figure anymore."

Leon hesitated. Paused. Hummed to himself, lost in thought. Kirby gave him time to think over what they'd said.

"...I'm sure your opinion of them certainly isn't the greatest," he began slowly, "and I certainly understand why. Their reputation in my eyes has been damaged as well. They aren't a god. They aren't some bringer of miracles. They're a desperate person, a child, a very spiteful and selfish individual… but despite everything, I do still respect them. I believe I know them better than anyone else on this planet, at this point. We would share our dreams, speak through direct transmission of thought. Their mistakes simply grant me a better understanding of them as a person."

Kirby stared at the ground as they walked. His words were a lot to process. It all made sense, but they felt like they couldn't quite get it.

"...I think I'm just less mature than you," they added eventually.

Leon laughed heartily at that, evidently not expecting that response. Kirby smiled too, pleased that the situation was now less serious.

"You can still call them by name, though!" Kirby offered, "it makes them sound more like a person that way."

"True enough. They never gave me a name to call them, however. I think I'll continue to respect that for now." he answered, still audibly grinning and recovering from the sudden fit of laughter.

There was a brief moment of comfortable silence, broken only by the sound of panting and paws on dirt brought on by the awoofies.

"What were they like?" 

"Hm?"

"You knew them much, much better than I did," Kirby said, "especially considering I've only ever fought them, and have only heard them talk, like, once. I know they're a big meanie pants to fight, and do petty things like try to destroy entire planets if they lose, and that they don't give up easily at all, and that they've been through a whole lot even if they kinda brought it on themself. So, what was Elfilis like?"

"Stubborn," he huffed immediately, making a sound like a scoff and a laugh, "definitely very stubborn. And petty. They taught me to speak by mistake, you know."

"Wait, really?!"

"Yes! Carol and I rode the elevator up, so it played the tour. They were… displeased about it. Their intention was to use psychic energy to force me to commit the message to memory and understand what it meant, so that I could understand how much they hated me for making them hear it again. Little did they know, I'd never forget the meaning of those words, heh." Leon rolled his eyes at the memory. "Beyond that, though… they're childish. Destructive, but for the fun of it. They enjoy the thrill of hunting more than anything, I believe… and outer space."

"They like space?"

"That lab was studying their portals, so they've gained a very extensive vocabulary regarding astrophysics. They do everything in their power to say as little words as possible… but if you can get them going, you may just get caught in a lecture about the many effects of gravity on the universe. A long… long lecture."

Kirby giggled, putting a hand over their mouth.

"I say this with love, mind you. I support the interests of anyone, especially the interests of someone who could afford to show a little joy every once in a while. It is just… hough… difficult to wrap your brain around when you do not fully understand the concept of anything beyond this world."

"Space is really big, I don't blame you!" Kirby reassured him, "Big, and dark, and full of life in all kinds of places!... not that Elfilis would like that very much, I think. Which I don't really get…?"

Leon nodded, pondering the statement. "I think… it's because they're afraid."

"Afraid? Of what?"

"Of life? The unknown? Both? Knowing that you're alone is one thing… not knowing if you're alone is something else entirely. You don't know what will happen if you end up encountering someone like yourself… or, I suppose, they do know what would happen if they encountered someone like themself, and it wouldn't be pretty, so realistically, they should fight anyone they find out there, right? It's a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Kirby thought living like that would be exhausting. They couldn't imagine being alone in the dark. There's no way they'd prefer it. How could anyone?

What would that be like?

It was somehow deathly quiet and deafeningly loud all at once.

Where before they'd appreciated the rustling of leaves in the wind, it now served to drown out the silence, providing cover for those who sought to be quieter than the breeze. Elfilis made good use of said cover, masking their wingbeats as they flitted through the canopy, weaving between branches and avoiding tustling any plants.

It would remain appreciated, were it not for the fact that it was a tool that anyone could use.

Elfilis strained their ears. Silent. Not a sound escaped from the faint white noise of the flora. There was no hulking lion traipsing about in front of them, no impressively loud huffs of air from a small pack of awoofies scouring the area through scent alone. No waddle dees sang or played, no astrals greeted them, no beast stirred in the undergrowth.

None that they knew of.

They couldn't know. They could try - they could listen, they could watch, they could learn, but there was absolutely no guarantee that they were truly, certainly alone here, and the thought was tearing them up inside.

Elfilis stayed frozen in place, as still and as quiet as they could manage, as they simultaneously played the part of predator and prey.

They nearly scoffed. Them, prey to another. How unthinkable.

And yet, they kept up the act of double, triple, quadruple checking every area that looked even remotely like a hiding spot before carrying on, swiftly as to remain unseen. Not to use, but to keep track of nonetheless.

Elfilis was small.

They scrunched up their face in displeasure, nose twitching with unease. It was true. They were small. This was mostly a disadvantage in combat. Luckily, their size would make them quick and agile-

They held back a squeak as an unexpected swerve mid-glide had them clip a branch, sending them tumbling to the ground in a heap. Out in the open, unsafe-!

As they scrambled back into the bushes they realized their error.

No. They were not quick and agile. Not enough, never enough - they'd considered this to be an able body, but it wasn't, not entirely. Not as long as the old scar on their shared wing remained, rendering it paralyzed and numb, limp along the wingtips, incapable of finer tuned movements as well as being a simple issue of having a hole in a parachute.

Taking a deep breath, they tried to soothe themself. They weren't incapable. They were still strong, still fast, still remarkably intelligent and still a very powerful psychic. They could still tear open the sky at the flick of a wrist.

…But not without hesitating.

They'd pause, try and remember to close their gateways behind them, not open one if they felt it would be too loud or too obvious, try and remember to sneak out of town quietly, subtly, lest they be noticed. Lest they be pointed out. Questioned.

If Kirby were to find out they still breathed…

If Elfilin were to find out their soul was shared…

Elfilis stopped.

Oh.

Those were their hunters.

Their natural predators. That which they feared.

There was no reason to be afraid - except that there was, that there absolutely, certainly was, and they knew it.

Elfilis would not survive another encounter with Kirby. They were not the ultimate lifeform. Not perfection.

If they ever were, they weren't anymore.

…

Their heart sank.

They- they had to be, right? That's all they ever had been. That's all anyone would ever say, on repeat, no less, and it's all they'd tell themself.

They were Fecto Elfilis. They were still strong. They were still Great. They still had nothing to fear…

…

Elfilis wanted to go see Leon. They felt greater when he was there. Safer. It felt wrong to acknowledge it, but it was true. It wasn't like them. Not like the person they used to be.

The person they used to be was dead.

They started shaking.

The person they used to be was dead, a grand hunter who sought to destroy a threatening civilation and was imprisoned and tortured for this sin, subject of a nightmare, torn in half and abandoned there to rot, long forgotten, they died so very long ago and of the two children who rose from the shredded remains, only one thought to carry out that legacy and they failed.

They couldn't even kill one Waddle Dee.

They couldn't even kill one Waddle Dee, because they were scared of the consequences, because they froze up in hopes the problem would solve itself, because they just wanted their big strong bodyguard to fix the issue of a single, tiny individual standing in their way.

Elfilis screamed at the top of their tiny, pathetic little lungs and tore a branch from a tree, swiping as hard as they could at the trunk with a resounding thwack. Their roar was little more than an extended squeak, mostly air, the sound of a baby throwing a hissy fit rather than a valiant warrior's battle cry or a beast's wild howl.

Elfilis would never, ever be that great hunter ever again, and the world would know how much they hated it for it.

…They couldn't hunt under these conditions.

Returning to the camp, they found it still empty. Their voice hurt from the slightest exertion. They sighed, burned out from emotional overload, and flumped down into the grass.

Elfilis laid on their back and stared up at the sky numbly.

They could wait.

They'd waited longer before, after all.

She stepped softly through the undergrowth, entering the clearing quietly so as to not frighten her charge.

As her footsteps grew closer, the still figure laying in the grass gave no indicator that she was acknowledged. She started up a gentle purr in her chest in an attempt to both announce her presence and state her peaceful nature.

One large, teal ear flicked in her direction. Elfilin-or-the-Little-One did not otherwise stir.

Clawroline's approach became far more casual now that she knew she was expected.

The leopard settled before them, looking down. A blank stare was all she was met with.

…With only a moment of pause, Carol brought a paw down to pick up the tiny figure.

Evidently, they had some objections to this, recoiling slightly from her touch and righting themself. Little-Lin glared up at her, exhaustion showing clearly in their gaze.

"Clawroline," they addressed simply.

When they didn't add anything else onto the statement, she took it as an indirect answer as to whom she was speaking to. Elfilin tended to be noisier.

She tilted her head down at the Little One, questioning their actions. The middle of the sunny glade was certainly a good spot for a nap, but she was sure there were more comfortable situations available to them.

Their noise twitched. "Waiting for Leongar," they answered her unspoken inquiry.

Carol wished they would use his original name. A stage name was all in good fun for her, but Leon was no longer to be associated with the Forbidden Lands. She supposed if he never told them off for it, he must not mind.

She'd convey her concerns to him, if only her language had words for such a nebulous concept.

The Little One - Elfilis, they were called, and some part of her wondered if they'd prefer that name, too, not that she could properly ask - collapsed back into the tall grass, sighing heavily. They sounded so tired.

She moved to paw at them again, and they batted her hand away like an annoyed kitten.

"Go away." they commanded.

She mewed a soft denial and tried once more to comfort them, laying a paw gently on the back of their head.

"Go away, " they pleaded, "...or bring Leon."

She shuddered a little. Sometimes she forgot that they understood her very thoughts - and then they would remind her. Subtly, and not maliciously, but still a little unsettling.

The language of a beast was a vague one, full of uncertain terms. They still knew that calling her partner Leongar displeased her and changed accordingly, though the words went unspoken. Had they known from some tiny movement, reading a miniscule flinch in her body language and using simple guesswork to determine the problem, or had they peered into the well of her mind to feel what she felt?

Clawroline did not know where Leon was.

They gave little resistance as she scooped them up against her chest in a swift motion. Little-Lis looked at her, bemused, but did not try to escape the soft fur she'd buried them in.

She did not know their plight, and, considering their nature, it was possible that she would never understand. She could, however, do her best to comfort the little one.

Carol carried the child off into the distance, intent on cheering them up however she could.

"I've been trying to think- like… ever since you said that you think you know Elfilis better than anyone else does…"

"Hm?"

"I think I know Elfilin better than anyone else does."

"Oh?"

Leon looked down at Kirby with curiosity, waiting to see where they were going with this. The two of them had stopped at a boulder, sitting and resting in the peaceful location. The awoofies were all tuckered out, resting along the base of the rock, chins pressed to the dirt.

Kirby themself wasn't looking at him, staring into space and idly kicking their feet.

"Yeah," they began, "He's just like me. Like… we're both… he's…" they shook their head quickly, as though frustrated with their inability to word a nebulous concept, "He's a hero! Or, a helper, or just someone who cares, I dunno, but also! It's not like how it is with like, Bandan or King Dedede, he's… like me."

Leon tilted his head. "Those two are also fairly heroic, are they not? What's the difference when it comes to Elfilin?"

"There's a difference," Kirby mumbled. "I think it's… power? Maybe it's alien-ness?"

Determined to help Kirby put it to words, he offered his two cents whenever he could. "Meta Knight is heroic, powerful, and alien. He looks quite similar to you."

"He's not innocent, though." Kirby immediately recoiled as though upset by their own words, "Or, no. It's not innocence , I'm not naïve and neither is Elfilin, it's… a choice of innocence. Sweetness? Being, like… young?"

"Childishness?"

"Maybe? Except we're not, like, underapp- under- under-preciating or playing around with our powers, we're still responsible, it's…"

Kirby stopped. Leon thought for a moment that they'd given up, but upon getting a better look, it seemed that they'd come to a realization.

"It's?"

"I come from a Great One too."

Leon raised his eyebrows.

"Void Termina, they were called. Heralded as a god of destruction. I had no idea they were like me, but, when I went to fight them off, they had my face. I didn't like it. I was afraid, I thought that meant I was like them… and I am, but. There's a difference. I come from a god of destruction, and I choose to go to the cafe, eat cake, and then take a good, long nap. Play with friends… chase butterflies… help those who are hurt. And… Elfilin is the same. I've never seen that before."

"Really? Never?"

"No. Everyone's always so power hungry, or, like, egotistical… not him, though. Not him."

Kirby smiled, his face brightening and becoming visibly pinker. "Elfilin is perfect. He wants to help, and he wants to play, and he wants to have fun and experience everything he can see. I tend to not notice things, like, a lot, but he notices everything and then he tells me about it! And then I see it too, and I can see everything he finds beautiful about the world! I love knowing what he knows, I love seeing what he sees, I…"

Kirby trailed off as Leon became unable to quiet his laughter.

"H-Hey! What, what is it?!"

"Ah- it's nothing, Kirby, do not worry… it's just cute, is all. I'm glad that you… care so much for Elfilin." Leon answered with a huge, bright grin.

Adorable.

Kirby looked at him, utterly unamused. "You think I have a crush too, don't you."

He laughed again. "What? No, no, that's not what I said at all-!"

"You do! You totally do! It's written all over your guilty, smiley face!"

"No-! I just think it's nice that you care, that's all!" Leon lied through his teeth.

Kirby groaned exaggeratedly and rolled back onto the rock, laying down in defeat with his round little arms spread out as much as they could go.

He leaned back to meet their eyes. "My apologies, Kirby. I do think it's sweet, regardless of the exact nature of your feelings."

"That's just it, though!" they threw their arms up in exasperation, "I don't know the exact nature of my feelings! I don't get romance, and I don't wanna learn, so I don't wanna deal with it!"

Leon shrugged. "It seems simple enough to me. Do you love him?"

"I love everyone. I blow kisses to the crowd when I'm in, like, tournaments and stuff. I make sure to tell or show all my friends how much I love them every single day. Of course I love Elfilin, but that's because I have so much love for everyone and everything."

"Well, that's it then."

Kirby glanced up at him.

"It doesn't matter, in the end. You don't have to carefully, endlessly define every single instance of love you ever show to anyone, or your relationship with him. If you love him, that's enough. If you want to be closer to him, you should talk to him about it, but you don't need to put that love in a nicely labelled little box." he looked off towards the horizon. "Carol and I are wed because we vowed to stay by each other's side and rule together, keeping an eye on the other and take care of them. There was no ceremony, or grand event. We simply never parted, and are known as King and Queen. If something so simple is all you want for yourself, that can be enough."

Kirby stared up at the clouds. All was quiet for a time. Crickets began chirping softly in the underbrush, adding an ambient symphony while they formulated their response.

"...I knew asking you for advice would be a good idea."

He huffed out a laugh.

They smiled. "I don't think I ever stop thinking about him whenever I'm on this planet. Some part of me wonders if it's like, a psychic thing, but I don't think so. I just wonder what he's up to right now?"

They'd gotten sick of being practically babied by one of their subordinates, so once it became clear where exactly Clawroline was headed, Elfilis pried themself from her arms and took off towards the entrance to Wondaria.

She called after them - a sharp sound, almost admonishing. “ Slow down! ”

Elfilis turned to look at her.

Oh? She would command them? Clawroline would call for the Great One to remain obedient at her side, like the awoofies?

Oh, she would regret it.

They paused, almost as though they were waiting for her to catch up. Spread their wings. And shot forward like a rocket, the wind howling in their ears.

Elfilis thought she said something about their choices, but they couldn’t hear it, between the distance and the velocity. They glanced back - she was certainly displeased. Good. That ought to teach her.

They were sure the place was far more overwhelming at night, but they already found themself struggling a little in the broad daylight. Mechanisms clicked and clattered all around, old speakers played music and sound effects, lights flashed and every color the eye could see was an unnatural one.

Still, Elfilis appreciated it. Unusual, unnatural, overwhelming, too much to focus on at any given time, but at a time like this? The distraction was welcome.

Clawroline leapt into view, following along as quickly as she could to remain at their side.

Satisfied with the lesson they'd taught her, they slowed down to a manageable speed. They tried again to take in the surroundings, failing, and instead opted to just look down, hovering still and waiting to hear whatever suggestion Clawroline had to offer them.

And it would be a suggestion. She couldn't get them to do anything they disagreed with. They were in charge.

" What would you like to do? " she conveyed to them via a series of mews, motions, and thoughts.

Great. She didn't even know why she brought them here. Fantastic.

"Don't know… why here , even."

" You seemed like you needed something to do, " Clawroline gestured towards the noisy park, " There is a lot to do here. "

"Will do something… when something is desired." they scoffed. "Don't need help."

" Really? "

They whipped around and glared at her. How dare-?!

"You dare? You dare imply… your Great One… needs guidance?!"

" I am only trying to help, Little One. "

"Don't. Need. Help."

They would not repeat themself again. Elfilis took off without her once more, off to prove that they could entertain themself. They were fine. Elfilis didn't need someone next to them to slow them down and remind them that they were some helpless child. They wouldn't stand for it.

Out of the corner of their eye, they spotted a game with a label indicating that it was a test of strength. Ah, perfect.

Clawroline was less than a moment away from an annoyed rant when they turned to look her directly in the eyes, glared, and then, all without even looking, summoned their spear and threw it hard at the target.

She froze in her tracks, frightened, as behind them the little machine gave a satisfying ding due to the meter being filled out, ringing the bell at the top.

A little psychic force had the polearm return to their hand. They looked it up and down, checking the quality of the dream-matter creation. Oh, Retrograde - truly, their weapon of choice in any given circumstance. Such a common, yet versatile construct. So confident in their ability to wield it with ease that they'd even added some flair to it and given it an appropriate name. A flawless tool for a flawless hunter.

Their mood soured once more. Once flawless hunter. At least their blade and physical strength still held up.

Elfilis found themself no longer distracted from their own thoughts, and as such, they immediately left to seek out something else to capture their attention - before Clawroline could share her opinion on the matter.

They couldn't see the whole carnival from below, however, so they dissipated Retrograde into the air and searched for a new vantage point.

A quick flutter of their wings had them situated on the track above, giving them a better view of the scene-

“ Little One, ” she addressed, quickly, hasty, frantic, “ Do not rest on the tracks. Danger. ”

Their nose twitched.

What? Did she think of them as incapable of taking care of themself? Of being unable to catch themself if they fell? Not able to fight off whatever may threaten them?

They sat themself more firmly on their perch. They were just fine, thank you very much, there was no danger here - they were strong. If something were to inconvenience them, they’d fight it.

They could probably still summon their spear and everything. Elfilis would destroy anything in their path.

“ Little One! ” she repeated.

The view was quite nice up here. Perhaps they’d stay a while. Not like anyone with any authority over them was stopping them.

The next “word” she said was one they hadn’t heard before. An unfamiliar tone, pitch, and length. They flicked an ear in her direction. Perhaps it had been an expletive, or something of the sort. They focused a minimal amount of psychic energy towards her in hopes of finding a translation.

The word was blue-green, small-yet-large, intimidating and respected, yet to be watched, watched over, guarded, checked for potential threat-

Oh. The word was Elfilis. They didn’t know she knew that word.

A very clever way of getting their attention, considering that it actually worked. They vowed to stay vigilant so that the trick would not work again. They directed their ears very pointedly away from her.

“ Move! ”

Oh, no she didn’t.

Elfilis stuck their nose in the air and crossed their arms. They stood up tall on the track. Now she’d done it. Absolutely nothing would move them from this spot-

The world went upside down for some reason. Also, they felt remarkably like they’d just been punched in the ribs. They were airborne. Clawroline was distressed.

Elfilis rolled - or tumbled, more accurately - over the hood of the coaster as it struck them, sending them hurtling off the track towards the mud below with a startled squeak. They spun-out slightly in the air, spreading their wings to try and fix the new problem - that they were falling - before unceremoniously plopping onto the wet earth.

Utterly bewildered, Elfilis spent a moment blinking off the shock.

Ouch?!

Before they knew it, they were being scooped up and cradled by a very concerned leopard, who was meowing incessantly about possible injuries and physical wellbeing in general.

Their side ached from the blow. They didn’t care much about it, however. The only thing they really hurt was their pride and dignity.

Vehicles, two. Elfilis, zero.

“Maybe,” they wheezed out, “the tracks… should be avoided.”

Despite the vague attempt at humor, she continued her fretting.

To prove that they were tough and did not need to be tended to like one of her cubs, Elfilis took off, hovering before her unharmed.

They tried their best to restrain the tiny wince at the sharp pain in their side. Whatever. It wouldn't stop them from flying.

Clawroline worried anyway. She'd always worry. She didn't have faith in them, clearly. Their nose twitched in displeasure.

"...want to return… to Leon."

She frowned, but nodded, compliant at last.

Leon waved to Kirby as they left, still smiling from the visit. They were always a delight to have around, truly.

The moment that they were out of sight, however, a sharp crackle in the air caught his attention.

He leapt out of the way just in time for a rift to form where he was standing. Unceremoniously, someone who could only be the Little One flew through it, dragging Carol along with them at a pace she struggled to keep up with.

They seemed to be in a very sour mood. They whipped around to look him in the eyes, and they winced as they did so, pinning an arm against their side as though to soothe an ache there.

"Leongar!" they addressed with a tone sharper than the crack of lightning, "Hunt!"

He glanced back at the exhausted awoofies practically sleeping at his feet, then back to the Little One as he processed that he likely looked quite tired as well, having been woken up for this.

Their eye twitched. Carol looked up at them sheepishly.

With a very overdramatic groan of pure misery, the very childish Little One collapsed onto the ground.

"...Little One?"

"Going. Bed. Now."

Chapter Text

He was awoken by the sound of many voices shouting at once outside.

Elfilin scowled a little, opting to roll over and pull the blankets over his head instead of adding a page to his dream journal. He could tell from the light streaming through the window that it was still very early in the morning, and he’d already woken up early once this week. He deserved the break.

…

He abruptly shot awake, throwing his covers off as it occurred to him to wonder why exactly people were frantically screaming outside.

Broad wings flicked at the ready, sending him into the air in a flash as power within his soul gathered, ready to do… something. He practically threw himself at the door and shoved it open-

Elfilin blinked, bewildered.

Where’d all this water come from? Last he’d heard, half of Waddle Dee town was not, in fact, submerged in water. It smelled like the sea directly outside his door. He watched, confused, as the brand new river that was the streets flowed freely, carrying debris in the form of branches, leaves, grass… and various loose items of the town like signs and tools.

The frantic wanya’ing continued as people tried to recover lost items or stop their buildings from flooding, wading through the seawater or waiting up above by the colosseum, gathering en masse to escape this sudden, random event.

Looking down, Elfilin noticed that his house was also full of water. Hm.

This was a problem.

Actually, this was more like a disaster. A catastrophe, even! Water in places where water wasn’t supposed to be tended to do a pretty significant amount of damage. Both to places, and to people.

Ignoring his own house for a moment, he flew towards the crowd.

Elfilin gestured out towards the water, calling out over the sound of the panic and waves, “What’s going on? Where’d all this water come from?” he questioned, before tacking on for good measure, “Where’s Kirby?”

…where’d you go?

“We don’t know!” Commentator Dee spoke through his microphone to be heard, “It all just came out of nowhere! Waves, big ones!”

“...and Kirby?”

“For all we know, they’re already off trying to fix the problem!”

“Got it,” Elfilin muttered. He rubbed at his temples, trying to clear the spontaneous headache he found himself with as he rose in the air to get a better vantage point. He swerved, unsteady, and lilted left towards the observation tower so he had a safe place to land.

Gazing out towards the ocean rewarded him with some kind of answer; the sea looked much higher than normal, with the tops of trees peeking out from under the waves in some places where there once was regular woods.

“What the…?”

Tides?

He blinked hard, rubbing his eyes - the sun reflecting off the water was still bright in the early morning light, and given how tired he still was and the pain between his ears, it was too painful to stare at directly.

He shook his head after processing his own thought. Tides? The tides don’t come this high. High tide was… high tide was…

When was the last time he’d seen the high tide?

Elfilin was certain it didn’t come this far. If it did, there wouldn’t be a town here at all - the tides rose and fell with the moon, so the Waddle Dees would have plenty of time to realize that they were too close to the shore if that were the case. Thinking of it now, however, Elfilin couldn’t recall even being able to see the ocean from this tower when he’d looked before helping Clawroline find Leon…

He narrowed his eyes. Had he been able to see it before then? The ocean isn’t supposed to just… disappear like that.

Moon controls tide. Through gravity. Tidal forces.

His head really hurt.

Wait.

“The rift,” Elfilin breathed, “The planets being so close together - it messed with the tides.”

Elfilin was both very proud of himself and very surprised that he’d been able to figure out the source of the problem. He did it! He knew why the town was flooding!

The feeling of victory was short lived, as he realized that knowing what happened wouldn’t help fix the actual problem.

Elfilin quickly turned, intent on explaining what he'd learned-

He squeaked sharply. Pain-!

Simply collapsing onto the brick, he tried to figure out where he went wrong. His ribs ached, and stung badly if he twisted the wrong way. How could that have happened in his sleep? Had he pulled a muscle yesterday or something?

…What had Elfilin done yesterday?

He put his head in his hands. No, no, he hadn't slept through an entire day. He'd gotten up, he'd eaten breakfast, he'd gone over his dream journal… aaaand… a-and then…

…and then, to the best of his knowledge, he woke up again the next day.

Not good.

What if he'd flown into something and hit his head? What if he was slowly losing all of his memories? What if he'd developed some kind of severe amnesia? What if-?!

"Elfilin?! Are you alright?!"

He looked up back towards Commentator Dee, who'd apparently watched him tumble out of the sky and then not get back up, and as such he was, understandably, panicking a little.

Elfilin quickly flew back up into view, waving, "It's okay! I'm okay!" 

The crowd all looked up at him expectantly.

…What did they want from him?

Oh, of course - the water. His people needed help!

And Elfilin would provide that help to the best of his ability.

"Listen up!" he called out before remembering that everyone was, in fact, already listening to him, "Um- the rift has messed with the tides, so the ocean is here now!"

"What rift?!" someone called.

"The- uh-" Elfilin stuttered, "the one that Fecto Elfilis opened to Popstar!"

"Why?!"

"...to throw it at us?"

"No - why did it mess with the water!?"

"Oh!" Elfilin chirped, smiling, "Because of gravity! The tides are normally caused by the moon pulling against the planet, which isn't enough to damage anything but it is enough to raise the water up towards it, which removes the water from elsewhere to-"

"And?!"

"Get to the point!"

"Hey now," Commentator Dee leapt to Elfilin's defense, "you asked, and he's answering! He's doing his best to help you all, just like he always does!"

Elfilin blushed, partially from embarrassment and partially from flattery. The angry crowd all settled, sheepish.

"Um, simplifying a little, Popstar is way heavier than the moon, so it basically-" he stopped. "Do any of you guys have a bucket?"

Many Dees looked at each other in confusion before, sure enough, a young waddle dee held up a pail for him.

He smiled down at them as he grabbed the handle. "Thanks!" he said, swooping down to the new water level to fill it.

"Watch," he said simply, and then dropped the pail onto the ground unceremoniously.

The water inside sloshed to the outer edges in a huge wave, before coalescing back in the center, then collapsing and spilling back out again, over and over, the waves getting smaller and smaller until it eventually settled.

Everyone looked up at him expectantly.

"That's what's happening, but to the ocean."

There was silence for a moment. Then, understanding washed over the crowd, followed quickly by terror.

Elfilin couldn't make everything out over the noise, covering his ears as countless dees shouted about the town being swept away, about tsunamis coming to destroy their homes, about needing to evacuate and how this planet was essentially doomed. All the while, Commentator tried his best to help by intentionally inducing microphone feedback to try and quiet the crowd, ultimately failing - he looked up at Elfilin apologetically. Whether he was sorry for being unable to stop them or for adding to the noise was unclear.

Elfilin turned away from the sound, hoping it would help drown it out. Stars above, he really wished he had-

He blinked.

Drifting along the current was a sleeping Kirby, peaceful and entirely unaware of the chaos unfolding around them.

He was speechless for a moment, just silently watching Kirby float down the flooded streets before finally processing that his wish was granted.

" Kirby! " he cried immediately, rushing to pluck them from the stream, "Kirby, Kirby, wake up! We've got problems!"

The sleeping puffball grumbled a little before opening their eyes. "Elfi…?"

"Yeah, hey, uh, water! "

"Wa…?" Kirby looked out at the town.

Blinked.

"...Oh! Water! "

"Yeah, water! Can you help?!"

"Uh?! Maybe!?"

Elfilin hoisted Kirby up to the observation tower, setting them down and pointing out at the problem. "Okay, so, the tides are messed up! That one rift that almost destroyed Popstar, yeah, it caused some issues, because now the tides are all really messy and the town's flooded, um, please help?!"

"Why'd it mess up the water?!"

"Oh, not again-"

"Nevermind, nevermind, um…! Maybe we could…"

Kirby stopped talking abruptly.

"Uh… are you trying to come up with a plan, or-?"

"What about Popstar?"

Elfilin gave them an odd look. "I dunno, what about Popstar?"

"Did it mess up those tides, too?"

Oh.

Oh, no.

"...Elfilin?"

"I think… you should maybe check on Popstar."

He'd opened a rift for them before they could even open their mouth to ask, and Kirby leapt through in a hurry, frantically off to save their home world.

Perfect - Kirby could protect that world, and Elfilin could protect this one! Flawless.

…

…Except that now, Elfilin didn't have Kirby to help.

Elfilin gazed out over the flooded town, the anxious crowd of people, those trying to help and those trying to escape, the unquantifiable damage being done every second he wasn't moving.

He'd have to do it alone.

He took a deep breath. No worries - he was a hero. Even if Kirby was more active or direct in helping, it didn't make Elfilin incapable of helping, it just meant he'd need to try harder.

And boy, did he have a lot of work to do.

Some part of him wished he was like Elfilis. They were very good at making plans, keeping things organized, fixing problems no matter the odds…

Start now. Always step one. Start doing something. Anything.

He shook his head. No - he wasn't Elfilis. Kirby had reminded him before, he wasn't anything like Elfilis, and that was a very good thing.

There were people calling for help everywhere.

…He wasn't like Elfilis, and that was a good thing.

But maybe, just maybe, he'd like to be them for just a moment. Just long enough to manage the world around him. Just enough to be considered a great leader.

Elfilin shook his head and dove into action.

"Hey-! I've gotcha-!" he called out, pulling a Waddle Dee out from the stream and setting them safely on a rooftop.

That, he could do.

Flying along the streets, looking down from above trying to find dees in peril, and then scooping them up so they could safely rest and dry off their peach-fuzz fur - it made Elfilin feel extra productive. Look at him go, still saving people left and right!

His wing stalled over an unexpected draft and he swerved to the right hard, bonking the person he was carrying against a wall. "Oof- ah, sorry-!"

Overcorrecting, he then hit the wall to the left of him as well. "Uh- my bad!"

Sheepishly, he dropped the Waddle Dee off by the colosseum. They seemed grateful, if a little dazed from the impacts. Maybe he shouldn't leave them here…

Swiveling his ears around and searching, he was able to find a small medical area that had been set up in a hurry to treat those who may have been hurt by the unexpected disaster. He chirped out a quick "aha!" and picked his passenger back up, whisking them off to be looked over by someone qualified to do so.

"Heya! Um, I've got a patient here who I… may or may not have caused the problem in the first place…?"

A Dee in a medic's cap looked them over with concern. "Not to worry, Elfilin. They'll be better in no time - though, come to think of it…"

Tilting his head, the medic gestured for him to come closer.

Upon obliging, they put a cap on his head as well. "Huh?"

"Aren't you super powerful?" the dee smiled, "Maybe you can use your magic to heal others!"

"Oh! Um…"

He was not like Elfilis.

However, Elfilin could close rifts, which was harder than opening them, and that was kinda like closing wounds, right? Plus, he was able to hold Leon's soul for him, and put his own soul back together by himself, and he also did help power up that truck that one time…

Elfilin was not Elfilis, but in this particular instance, maybe that really was a good thing?

"Well! I've seen Fecto Elfilis heal themself before - and I can power stuff up if I try! It's worth a shot, right?"

"That's the spirit! Hey, if Fecto can do it, you can too!"

The medic rushed off to help someone else before Elfilin got the chance to correct them: "That's also… my… name… whatever, not the point."

He looked out over the group of recovering waddle dees and cracked his knuckles. Scanning over the crowd, he found one who looked a little worse for wear.

"Hey," he addressed them softly, "what happened?"

They groaned. "Water broke down a sign. Fell on my head - that thing was heavy… "

"Ouch… um… if you're interested, I have a kind of… hmm… experimental method of healing to maybe try out…?"

He was very much expecting a firm decline - and, in a way, hoping for one, anxious, what if he couldn't do it - but the injured Dee only shrugged. "Can't make it any worse, right?"

Elfilin took a deep breath. Now, he'd have to learn how to do this on the spot. Though, it wasn't exactly like he could practice on anyone who wasn't hurt in the first place - no time like the present…

He gathered his strength and tried to direct it at the waddle dee in front of him.

Both of them yelped in surprise and flinched away as a small beam of energy nearly scorched their bandages.

"Oops-! Um, so sorry! Here, let me try again-!"

The waddle dee nodded once again, this time with more uncertainty.

Well, at least now he had a better idea of what not to do, right? Second time's the charm!

He closed his eyes and thought more about the time he'd used that strength to aid Kirby. He'd granted them so much energy, pushing them forward and even overpowering Elfilis itself. It was desperation, it was determination, it was the need to push forward no matter what , keep going, stay strong, persevere, save and protect and provide and-

"W-woah-!"

Elfilin opened his eyes to find that both he and the Waddle Dee were surrounded in a light golden glow… and that they were now hovering off the ground.

Struggling not to drop the spell in surprise, he quickly questioned, "Is- is this working?! Do you feel better?!"

"Kinda?! I just feel, uh- stronger!"

Nope.

He sighed and let go, the energy fizzling out with a distinct pop! and dropping them gently back onto the ground.

"I guess I really can't help…"

"Hey, man - don't discredit yourself too much. That was really cool! Let yourself learn, alright? Maybe one day you'll be able to heal people up in a flash - or, hey, maybe you could power up a whole army!"

He smiled just a little at that. "Is there anything else I can help you with, maybe?"

They tapped their chin. "Can you grab some food for me? I think the cafe guys set up a little place to grab snacks for the time being since their building's a wreck."

Elfilin offered them a playful salute. "Can do! Here, I'll be right back!"

He zipped off without another word, looking around for wherever a line might be forming - it was always a good indicator as to where the food was.

Sure enough, the single-file crowd in front of a small, tasty-smelling stand was a dead giveaway as to where he was meant to be.

He was delighted at his sense of deduction and problem solving skills, and then suddenly realized that he would also need to be in that line.

Hmm. Elfilin wasn't exactly known for his patience.

He snapped his fingers as an idea struck him. He rushed down to the front, happily avoiding the line altogether and nearly giggling at the genius of his plan.

Employees did not have to wait in line, and Elfilin was looking to help out wherever he could. Plus, hey, he had some experience, too!

"You guys need any help back there?"

The already tired-looking Cafe Dee looked up at him like he'd descended from the heavens to personally deliver a blessing to them. "Yes?! Always!"

Elfilin giddily popped behind the counter and slipped what could only be described as rations into a little vortex, delivering the food right to that waddle dee's bedside.

He traded out his medical cap - which he'd forgot he'd been wearing - for the little hats that the cafe staff wore as a uniform. "Order up!"

People were ecstatic. It was as though he'd singlehandedly liberated them from the tyrannical clutches of The Line. Simple orders were going through much faster now that there were two of them, and everyone was so sweet and friendly to him as quite possibly the most familiar face in all of town.

"Good to see you, Elfilin!" a waddle dee cheerfully greeted him as they took their rations, "I don't think I saw you at all yesterday! What were you up to?"

His heart sank.

"Uh, ah, you know!" Elfilin stumbled over himself, "Nothing special or important or anything!"

Hopefully.

He didn't acknowledge the reply, continuing down the line of hungry patrons.

Hopefully, whatever happened yesterday wasn't special or important. He had no way of knowing - he'd completely forgotten. How could he have forgotten an entire day like that?

He'd been forgetting a bunch of little things for the past couple months, sure, but a whole day? Twenty-four hours of something that he just couldn't recall?

Somewhere, he'd heard the phrase that if you couldn't remember something, it must not have been important. It almost checked out, except that people forgot very, very important things all the time. All he could do was hope that he was right, and that it didn't matter.

Elfilin pulled at his injured side as he picked up a little food.

It didn't matter. He really, really hoped it didn't matter. He took a bite of the little sandwich.

"Elfilin?"

Maybe someone else knew what he'd been up to? If Kirby had seen him at all that day? If Bandan had spoken to him? Maybe if he asked them, it would jog his memory, and he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

"Um, Elfilin?"

Though, that waddle dee just said they hadn't seen him at all. If he hadn't been in town, then where could he have been?

He didn't remember getting his dream journal from Leon, either. He'd gone in, he'd gotten dizzy, he'd blinked, he had a book in his hand, an open vortex at his side, and Kirby right in front of him, and it had been hours.

Maybe he could ask Leon what happened that day.

" Elfilin! "

Elfilin flinched and whipped around. The cafe dee was looking at him with serious concern. The customer in front of him was also very worried looking, while also super confused.

"I'm sorry for snapping," his temporary coworker apologized, "but I didn't think you could hear me. You've, um…" they pointed to the rations in his hands.

The one that he was supposed to hand to the next person in line, and had instead started eating while lost in thought.

Oops.

"Oh, goodness, u-um! I'm so sorry, let me get you a new one-"

The dee beside him took his place in the line. "Don't worry about it. I think you could use a break, Elfilin."

"Huh? No, no, seriously, that was my bad, it won't happen again."

"You aren't being punished, bud, I just… not even Kirby cracked and ate the food behind the counter, y'know? I'm just making sure you're okay, and you shouldn't keep working if you aren't."

He blushed. "I mean, I feel fine, I'm just-"

The people up in the medical area, the Dees in the water trying not to be swept away as they saved whatever they could, those who needed to be reassured, Kirby off on their own planet trying to solve even more problems there, the ones who needed to be fed, the mystery behind his memories, why was he losing his memories-?!

"-really distracted."

The cafe dee nodded to him, still idly serving the next person in line. "Do you think you'll still be able to work?"

Elfilin looked down the line of hungry patrons. "...maybe not. I- I don't think I'll be much help here if I can't think straight."

"That's alright - come back when you feel better, if you'd like!"

He flew off in search of something else to do, kicking a rock as he swooped by.

A bunch of waddle dees all gathered around in the still-flooded streets caught his eye, and he quickly joined them.

They were all shouting commands to each other, hauling stuff over their heads out of waterlogged houses and setting up tools in untouched areas.

"What're you guys up to?" Elfilin asked. It seemed like there was a lot going on here - surely, surely at least one of the things happening would be something he could help with.

Several voices all clamored over each other. His ears pinned back away from the noise, nearly dropping him out of the sky.

"...Okay? Can I help?" he asked before he could process any of what he'd heard.

Elfilin found himself carrying ten or twelve miscellaneous items before he could blink. Luckily, he was stronger than he looked. Otherwise, he might have actually had a splashdown.

"Over here!" someone called to him.

"Oy, I need one of those!" another cried.

From there, his ears began to ring with conflicting information:

"This way!"

"Oh, Elfilin, could you hold up-"

" Elfilin! Yo! Can you pass me the-"

"Somebody please help me with this?!"

"Get over here, man!"

"I need someone to support this!"

"Hey, anybody available?"

"I just need a second!"

Caught in the whirlwind of activity, Elfilin frantically held up a support beam, carefully balancing a toolbox on his head - longways, so it wouldn't obstruct his wings - and holding who-even-knows-what with his legs and tail, holding on for dear life.

All the while, the water kept flowing, rushing and trying to take everything away from him.

He had this. He could do this. This certainly wasn't harder than holding two worlds apart, at least - if he could do that, then he could do this easily.

It was only when someone grabbed the box from his head, clipping his already damaged wing and sending him tumbling into the current, did he realize that separating the two worlds had taken so much out of him that he'd nearly died.

Resurfacing and spitting up salt water, several Dees quickly went to rescue the items he'd dropped and re-secure the pillar. It seemed they had it under control.

That was okay! He could do something else that they needed! He was doing fine protecting things from the water until someone tripped him up! It! Was! Easy!

This, of course, would all be so much easier if the town wasn't still full of so much stinkin' water-!

Wait a minute.

Elfilin put a hand to his forehead as a lightbulb moment occurred to him. "Of course! Why didn't I think of doing this sooner!"

Quickly flying out to the flooded town square, Elfilin began planning and focusing.

First, he'd need to think of the where. Where did he want the water to be? Not in Waddle Dee town, that's for sure. Not on Popstar, either - he had no way of knowing how things were going over there, but regardless of its exact status, he wasn't about to add a problem to Kirby's home world. Maybe just somewhere out in space would work…

Elfilin blinked. Maybe he'd been leaning a little too far into trying to imitate his other half. He'd just need the water to be back in the ocean, instead of on land.

Satisfied, and with a destination in mind, he took a deep breath.

…Hm?

The energy within his body and soul gathered and focused to his will. He pictured the sea clearly - open and free, missing a lot of its water that he intended to return to it. 

Hold on.

He clasped his paws together. It wasn't a necessary step, but it made it much easier for him to picture the casting of power. He held it tightly now so that he could open his hands later and let the light and strength spill free.

Wait.

He dove down towards the water.

Wait!

Power crackled at his fingertips as Elfilin prepared to open a vortex.

Don't-!

A harsh snap sounded loudly from beneath the water, the noise escaping with a sharp pop as the pressure of the energy made the water surge away from the new gateway, lightning dancing violently just beneath the surface as the flames of burning space-time fabric sizzled away from the suppressant he hadn't even realized he'd doused it in, before it suddenly exploded in a plume of purplish smoke and smothered fire, causing water to spray everywhere in a new wave, coating every surface and-

" Ow-! "

Making everything conductive to the electricity he'd just forced to be there.

Every muscle in Elfilin's little body tensed at once, throwing him backwards against a wall hard as the failed vortex fizzled out without his assistance in forming it. His mind buzzed with fear and pain, and his fur all stood on end and smelled distinctly burnt.

For a moment, Elfilin was able to think, wow, that sucked! Glad that's over with.

The very next moment, he fell into the tide with a gratuitous splash, having no longer been maintaining his flight, and tiny pinpricks of pain spread across every inch of his skin as the static danced along the edges of his fur and dispersed into the waves.

His next thought was a very wise and yet simple one: nevermind.

Elfilin gently floated to the surface of the water and opted to just let it carry him around for a while. Better than trying to do literally anything else, apparently.

" Elfilin?! " a panicked Commentator Dee cried out to him, apparently checking in on whatever just exploded, "H-Hang on, I've gotcha-!"

He hoisted him up just under the arms. Elfilin felt like a drowned rat.

"Are you okay?!"

"This," he began in an exhausted, monotone voice, "is the worst day of my entire life."

The Dee gave him a very sympathetic look. "Well, hey - didn't you get kidnapped once? Can't really get much worse than that, right?"

Elfilin groaned. "At least then I had Kirby with me…"

He nodded at that. An understandable reason for anyone, to be sure. "I think this little hero could use a moment to rest and recuperate…"

The little "hero" weakly nodded. He'd just blown himself up after being unable to save a small town from a little seawater. Some hero he was.

In no time at all, he found himself in the impromptu medical area - this time as a patient. He hated all the pitied or confused looks he was getting. He tried his best, alright?!

"Hey!" the call rang out in the distance as the sun had just begun to set, "The water's going away!"

Elfilin perked up. Against medical advice, he flew up into the air to get a clearer look.

Sure enough, the low tide was coming in. And as such, the town gradually stopped being flooded, all the water retreating back from where it came.

Waddle Dees all cheered, slowly trickling back into their homes and businesses and cleaning things up quickly.

All without him.

He hadn't done anything to prevent the disaster, or help the people it affected - Elfilin had just spent the whole day panicking and trying to fix a problem that would fix itself by the day's end.

He hadn't needed to stress.

Elfilin stared out at the waterlogged town with a heavy sigh.

It looked beautiful in the warm light of the sunset, reflecting pink and gold off of every shiny stone and saltwater puddle, making even the damp grass look whimsical in its flattened and curled state. But even then, he couldn’t see past the signs of where water once was as anything more than damage. Damage and trouble and failure in every sparkling salty spot.

He just wanted to go home and curl up in bed, deal with the rest tomorrow. With the sudden realization that he and Kirby’s house was also water damaged, he groaned loudly, putting his head in his paws.

…Whatever. If his sheets and blankets weren’t wet, then there wasn’t a problem. Nothing on this planet could stop him from taking a nap, well-deserved or not.

“ Pssst! ”

His ears perked up, swiveling towards the sharp sound. Who-?

“ Pssssst! Elfi! ”

Eyes widening, he turned to face the voice, no way,

And there was Kirby, hiding in an alley with something tucked beneath their paw, grinning up at Elfilin with delight and mild mischief.

“Kirby-!? I-?!” Elfilin shook his head, rushing towards Kirby, bewildered, “How did you-?! How are you here, I sent you to Popstar!”

They winked, pleased with themself, “I got a favor from a friend of mine back home, hehe! C’mon, dude, we haven’t gotten to hang out all day! Let’s go someplace!”

Elfilin paused. Stared. Then, slowly, a huge, bright smile came across his face.

There may have been at least one thing on this planet that could stop him from taking a nap. Kirby was way, way, way better than a nap.

They seemed to take his expression as answer enough and sprinted out of town without another word, giggling to themself loudly while the big thing they were carrying rattled and bumped against their side. He took off after them, struggling to keep up without swerving through the air too much, laughing loud.

He didn’t realize how much he needed this. How much Kirby’s presence alone improved his mood, improved the situation - they’d been too busy helping back on Popstar to help him here in this town, they hadn’t changed anything, and yet, now Elfilin felt like he could look out at what remained of the water and see how much had been fixed, how much progress had been made. Nothing was being washed away anymore, the only remainder were the puddles left behind, the sun really did make it all look so beautiful…

Before he knew it, the two of them were far away from town, seeing it in the distance standing tall.

The scene was gorgeous, but Elfilin only had eyes for Kirby.

"Whatcha got?" he finally asked, pointing to whatever Kirby was now hiding behind their back with an excited grin.

With a flourish, Kirby presented the thing they'd brought with them, placing it deliberately on the ground in front of them and obscuring their face.

It was a radio. The radio, from their house - they'd likely grabbed it to save it from the flood. They peered around it with an eager smile stretched across their face.

"Dance party?" they offered, nearly shaking with anticipation for Elfilin's response.

He started laughing again, quietly at first, and then he quickly pressed a button on the device, hearing an unfamiliar instrumental start up. " Dance party! " he confirmed.

In no time at all, the two were laughing hysterically, leaping and spinning around each other in some form of chaotic tandem, just loving and living and moving for the fun of it.

Elfilin twirled in the air, opening his eyes to see Kirby waving their paws around in the air. He laughed so hard he squeaked, barely able to wheeze out a little "What are you doing?!"

"I dunno!" Kirby responded, gently taking Elfilin's hands in their own and bouncing around, spinning the two around each other in pace with the quick song. He only laughed harder, allowing himself to be dragged through the air, held up only by speed alone, feeling like if Sillydillo could see them now, it would be jealous.

As the song came to an abrupt end, Kirby let go, sending Elfilin hurtling through the air. He steadied himself with his wings, preventing himself from flying off into the sunset, totally unable to catch his breath as he absolutely cackled.

Kirby let out a loud, squeaky laugh of their own, collapsing into the whirly-crinkly wet grass and kicking their feet.

The next song was still very upbeat, but definitely slower. "Hey-" Elfilin managed to gasp out through peals of laughter, "I think I know this one! C'mon- you silly goose, get up!"

It was Elfilin's turn to grab their paws, lifting them up to their feet - hm, they were much lighter than he thought! - and encouraging them to dance some more as the guitar picked up a little.

Kirby giggled, face extra bright pink as they watched Elfilin do a couple twirls, shimmying his shoulders to the rhythm. He mumbled through some of the lyrics before picking up a little, singing along cheerfully, " bada bum-bum bum bada bum-bum~! " 

He held Kirby's hands one more time, seeing them staring at him completely still, and gleefully called, "Come on, Kirby! Hehe- sing along!"

"A-ah," they hesitated, flustered, "I can't!"

He spun around them, giggling, "Aw, c'mon, just try!" he reassured. Another look at Kirby's face showed that he seemed genuinely nervous. "It's okay! Here - if you can sing, or if you can't sing, repeat after me!"

"O-okay!" Kirby squeaked, embarrassed yet eager.

" La dada da dada da~!" Elfilin started simple, moving Kirby's hands up and down to the rhythm in an attempt to make them laugh. It worked - Kirby giggled and shakily repeated the melody, though every note was either flat or sharp.

"Yeah! That's more like it!" Elfilin encouraged, giving them more lines to chirp back to him. The more excited and relaxed they got, he noticed, the more difficult it was for them to copy the tune, to the point where the notes were entirely different and yet they seemed happy as can be. Tone deaf, yet shameless. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"Woo! Yeah! I told you you could!"

" Haha- no, no I really couldn't! I know I can't sing, Elfi, don't lie to me!"

" Hehehe- no, you don't get it - it doesn't matter how good you are if you had fun doing it!"

Kirby's face brightened significantly, and the two joyfully sang an out-of-tune duet while doing the silliest possible dances until the sky went dark.

Chapter Text

As he wrote - quietly, as not to disturb the puffball sleeping beside him - he realized a common theme between all his dreams.

Notably, that he was never alone. Even when wandering off by himself, he could still feel the presence of another, spot them in the distance or in the corners of his eyes, hiding. Sometimes that person was his reflection, walking alongside him in windows and waterways. Sometimes, they were his shadow, watching his every move and following along effortlessly, observing from an inconspicuous position - as long as there was light, the darkness would follow along, hiding behind him to shelter itself.

This was all old news to him, however. He disliked loneliness, so it made sense that his dreams would always provide him with a companion, no matter how unorthodox. There'd always be someone with him in the dark, walking alongside him in sleep.

What had only now occurred to him was that this person, despite being distinctly other, also always seemed to be himself.

A reflection or shadow was exactly that - a side effect of just existing in a space. Tied to him in every way; a shadow or reflection was just… him.

He absently clicked the pen in his hand over and over.

Beyond that, when there really was an entirely separate person following along with him, it was just… him. Or something like him. Distorted, maybe, but certainly him.

He flipped back to reread a few pages. Elfilin was glad the water hadn't reached up to the nightstand, though the smell of saltwater still clung to the book.

The wording of it all was a little vague, a little odd. Whether that was because he was just tired at the time of writing, or because he couldn't comprehend his own dreams, it didn't matter. He'd just have to decode his own thought process from when he'd jotted them down.

He clicked the pen once more. Luckily, he had no qualms with taking notes. No page was super sacred. At least, not as long as he'd need to figure this out.

The figure next to him shifted up to snuggle against his side. Elfilin flushed bright pink as Kirby sleepily looked up at him. "Whatcha doin'?..."

He cleared his throat slightly, wrapping a wing around them and lightly pulling them in closer. Kirby was always so soft, so warm… "I- uh, journaling. I've gotta write down my dreams after I have them, yeah?"

Elfilin pondered closing the book to preserve the privacy of his own mind before quickly remembering that Kirby couldn't actually read any of it.

They watched with quiet interest. He clicked his tongue, underlining a phrase. It was definitely one of the most confusing sentences he'd ever written, if not in his life then at least in this journal. It talked about traveling through a portal twice over, but only ending up on the other side again. No return trip was ever made, he simply somehow performed the exact same action two times in a row.

He drew a small arrow coming from the line and wrote down a theory of his, after having experienced more dreams and having a better understanding of what tended to reoccur - went through portal to find a second me on the other side? went through with myself? went through and a second me stepped out after me?

Kirby hummed thoughtfully, then yawned. "There's… something weird about the way you're doing that."

The ear he wasn't offering as a makeshift blanket twitched in confusion at their words. "The way I'm doing what?"

"Writing!" they chirped. "Something's different 'bout the way you're doing it, but I can't tell what."

Elfilin shrugged. "Whatever works, I guess? I dunno any other way I'd write things down." He turned a page to scan for any more details he could try and clarify.

"I dunno either. I can't… quite put my finger on it…"

"You have no fingers," Elfilin said with a little smile. Kirby's only response was a nonchalant "eh!" He scribbled down another note.

"Oh!" Kirby shot up in realization, "It's your hands."

Elfilin lifted his wing off Kirby's back to turn his head properly. "My… hands? What, am I holding it wrong?"

"No, not really - you're just using your other hand. You write with your left." they pointed at the paw in question, still holding the pen without issue. "Most people hold pens with their right hand. I noticed cuz you put your whole arm on the other side of the book when you write, and I thought that, like, if the notebook was one of those ones with the metal rings, then doing that would hurt."

Elfilin let out a soft "huh!" as he took in this information. Sure enough - he never really thought about it, but he couldn't recall seeing anyone else drawing or writing with their left hand in the whole town.

Curious, he switched hands, holding the pen in his right. He brought it down to the paper and immediately felt significantly more unsteady.

"Uh," he mumbled, unsure, as he tried to continue taking notes only to find that his hand refused to cooperate. His first attempt at a letter wobbled uncontrollably off the page, and he accidentally bumped Kirby in the face with his elbow.

Luckily, they didn't seem hurt by it. Kirby burst into silly little giggles, amused by the failed attempt.

"Well, I still wrote it clearer than you!" Elfilin poked fun. The quip only made Kirby laugh harder.

"You- hehe, you don't gotta use your right one! Some people are just better with the left! It's just kinda rarer, so I noticed it - it's like, a little Elfilin Fun Fact!"

He laughed a little alongside them - the world's most contagious effect, even more so than a yawn, had to be Kirby's laughter for sure - and rolled his eyes, putting the pen back in his correct hand.

As Elfilin looked back down at the note he'd made, that smile ever-so-slightly fell. A grim reminder of the task at hand, punctuated by a very wonky S.

"What's up?" Kirby asked, quickly noticing even the most subtle change in demeanor.

He didn't wanna talk about it. He didn't even want to think about it - he just wished he could put it all behind him.

Elfilin turned to see Kirby's face, looking up at him with such genuine concern and love and care that all his walls came crumbling down immediately. He couldn't help it. Kirby was his weakness.

No, that wasn't right. Kirby was his strength. Kirby made him brave. Kirby gave him the safety and shelter he'd need to express this as painlessly as possible. There was nothing weak about love.

"Look," Elfilin began before immediately remembering once again that Kirby could not, in fact, read the journal, "or, listen. I think… I've been having dreams about Elfilis."

Kirby leaned back a little, worry showing clearly on their face. "...maybe we should visit Dreamland together. You can't have nightmares there."

"Not nightmares, really. Only one of them was just a teensy bit uncomfortable - the rest were just… it's like they're just always there, but it's not even really them, it's… me."

Kirby put a hand on his shoulder. "Then it's you. You don't gotta worry about or be afraid of yourself."

"...you think so?"

"I know so!" Kirby smiled reassuringly, then paused. "I know the other day you were worrying about it. With Leon, and all. But hey - that isn't you. You are not, and never will be, Elfilis."

"But what if I-" he hesitated. "...what if I need to be? Waddle Dee town needs a leader, right?"

"Elfilis is not a leader. It's a mind controller. Waddle Dee town doesn't need someone to micromanage all their thoughts, it needs someone to support it. That is something you can be."

Elfilin was quiet.

Kirby took that as their cue to continue, "Elfilin, you're one of the kindest people I've ever met, and against all odds, too! You're friendly, and respectful, and the fact that you're even worrying about the town shows me just how much you care. Elfilis hurt the people it needed, including you. Plus, it only ended up in that situation in the first place by attacking innocent people! It got what it deserved! Not like you - you'd never hurt anyone."

He'd hurt Elfilis. 

"Hey," he said instead, in a slightly confrontational tone, "we were the same person when that happened."

"But you don't attack people anymore!" Kirby chirped, "and that's the difference. You're not that person anymore!"

Elfilin smiled, raising an eyebrow. "If Elfilis apologized for throwing a planet at you, and never hurt you again, would you let it slide?"

Kirby sputtered slightly, making a sour expression.

He burst into a fit of giggles, laughing as Kirby's face twisted back to normal.

"I've forgiven worse!"

"You have?!"

Now it was Kirby's turn to cackle uncontrollably, all while Elfilin half-jokingly fretted over such a simple statement, begging Kirby to please elaborate while they were unable to breathe.

Thoroughly distracted from his original point and feeling as if he'd gotten nowhere in dealing with this issue, he let it go for now. He could talk about it later.

Though, maybe much, much later. Just going over Elfilis as a topic for a little bit made him feel kinda lightheaded.

—------------------------

Today was actually pretty peaceful.

Considering that only yesterday just about the whole forest was full of seawater, things had recovered rather quickly. It didn't take much to fix up his camp, he'd gotten a full day-and-night's rest during the flood, and he was having a pretty slow morning overall. Even the little pack of awoofies that seemed to hang around his home at all times were low energy today.

For Leon, all was calm and still.

…For about two more seconds after having the thought.

A star materialized in front of him, nearly singeing off his whiskers, and a little blueish-green missile shot out of it right into his face.

The Little One braced their hind legs against his chin and yanked on his mane, making direct, intense eye contact with a determined, insistent glare.

" Hunt! "

So much for having a slow and easy day.

He laughed, despite the pain and fright, "I see you intend to make up for th-?"

"Hunt. Now. "

Hm. Leon pried them off of his face, raising an eyebrow at their insistence. "The hounds are still tired."

"Whatever."

Now, he was almost concerned. They were never this snappy about anything…

"You want wastelands?" they stated more than asked, snapping open a rift that would take them to the desert, "You get wastelands. Come. And. Hunt. Now."

"...I won't take the awoofies out into the heat while they're already tired. It's not good for their health - you know that."

"No dogs, then."

He almost laughed again. "I suppose you don't intend to catch anything, if that's the case?"

The Little One pulled harder at his hair, trying to yank him through the portal. When that didn't work, they moved behind him and tried to kick him through. Maybe it would have worked if they weren't so incredibly small.

Perhaps not, then. Maybe it really didn't matter if they caught anything. Clearly, they weren't feeling well - if they wanted to just get away and be with Leon for a while, he'd oblige them. He did care how they felt, after all, even if sometimes it was unclear if they felt anything.

He'd be much less willing to take them if they kept hitting him and being rude to him the entire trip, however.

"Calm down," he grumbled, "I will hunt with you. Settle down, settle down… I don't want a hunting partner that smacks me around the whole time."

"Good! Now, go. " they pushed again, this time more gently.

An improvement, if a minimal one.

He stepped out into the sand with the Little One hot on his heels, the vortex shutting behind them nearly cutting off some of the fur on his tail. "Easy there! I do care about the state my hair is left in - I'd prefer it if you waited for me to, you know, finish walking through before you close it."

"Don't care."

Leon gave them a look. They were being awfully cranky today. "You cannot just command me to stop caring about something, Little One."

"What? No," they answered, genuinely confused about his statement. They paused before tapping their chest.

"...What?"

They glared and tapped more insistently. "Don't. Care." they punctuated each word with a deliberate pat.

"... You don't care," he clarified, and the Little One nodded, pleased that they were understood. He started walking and talking at the same time, "Any reason in particular why you're avoiding the letter I?"

They only hmph'd.

Come to think of it, he wasn't sure if he'd ever heard them say me or my or am either.

"You know, talking as communication is significantly easier if you, well, use every tool you're given." Leon watched their face get increasingly sour, "Such as, for instance, words one uses to describe or discuss themself."

"Hmph."

"I've certainly heard you say you before. You've referred to others with the appropriate pronouns - he and she and they… but you seem to be missing all the first-person pronouns in your vocabulary when you speak."

No response.

"Care to explain why?"

"No."

"Alright. But… let's say, if I ask you, who are you? What would you say?"

"Elfilis."

He blinked at that, surprised.

"...May I call you that?"

The Little One hummed to themself…

"...No."

"Why not? Usually, when one introduces themself, they give a name they identify with and want others to use for them, no?"

"No…" they made a face. It seemed like they were working out some kind of puzzle in their head. Their nose twitched with displeasure. "No. Because… no identity. No labels. No clarification." they scoffed to themself, "Identification… is for laboratories."

Ah.

"...what can I refer to you as?"

"Your Great One." they grinned smugly. "Perfection incarnate, maybe."

It was his turn to scoff at them. "Alternatively?"

"Anything… that's not numbers. Numbers or letters."

"But not E- uh- the name you gave me."

They turned away from him, carrying on without him. "Feels wrong. Just for you."

Oh, so Leon wasn't allowed to call them that, but only him. Right.

After a moment of silence, just long enough for Leon to believe the conversation was over, they spoke again.

"That name… don't know. It's old. It's like his. The name belonged…" their tone grew cold, fists clenched at their side, "...to someone dead. "

"...Dead?"

"Forgotten. No difference."

He let it grow quiet again.

"...it sounds like you still remember, though."

The Little One sped off without warning.

He frowned, but they were much too far away to apologize to now. He must've pushed them too hard. Whatever - he did his best to follow along as they rode the wind far above him.

All the while, he tried very hard to recall a single instance of them talking about themself in any capacity. Never. Not once. Not even when he'd served them and acted as their puppet. He was surprised he hadn’t noticed sooner.

They abruptly came to a stop in the air, stalling awkwardly and plummeting due to their mismatched wings. The Little One caught themself mere feet from the ground, recollected their thoughts, and then waved to Leon. "Found something."

"Prey?" he wondered aloud, not expecting an answer.

"No. Something of interest. Come see."

Something of interest…? Well, his interest had definitely been piqued.

He marched along through the sand, keeping an eye on the little blue spot as it led him along the easiest path to walk. Unsure what they'd find, he kept his expectations low.

Cresting the hill, however, he gasped sharply at the sight.

Piles of rubble and new sharp cliffs greeted him on the other side, the remains of a city turned to dust and severed by split terrain as far as the eye could see. Broken facades and crumbling brick, as well as exposed wiring and pointed, crooked steel.

It wasn't like this last time he saw it.

"What-!? How could this have happened?"

"Hm. Earthquake," the Little One examined the broken land, "Tidal forces. Leaves things ruined."

Tidal forces… huh. Turns out that lesson on gravity was proving useful after all. The rift he’d heard so much about must’ve done some serious damage - come to think of it, it would explain the flooding as well.

“Is everyone okay over there?”

They tilted their head.

“Our beasts live out here, Little One. One of the Council, even! If the damage was this extreme, we should search for survivors, no?”

Looking down, he saw a large gap between himself and the next section of broken earth. Not a problem for those who could fly, but he’d have to exercise a little caution when traveling.

He readied himself for a pounce and leapt over the crevasse, landing only slightly unsteadily on the other side. Nailed it.

"Careful," the Little One warned. Aw. They were worried about him! How sweet.

Leon promptly tripped over a very large, easily noticeable rock.

Perhaps the concern wasn't unfounded.

“You should scout ahead, don’t you think?” he asked of them, gesturing up towards his own ears and fluttering his paws to imitate wings.

Oh, they were not happy about that. Leon had no idea why - it was a simple request, and he’d only meant to nonverbally explain his reasoning, but the Little One very deliberately plopped down on the ground in front of him and crossed their arms.

“Uh-?”

“No. Don’t take orders.”

He scowled down at them. Leon had called them a child before, but now they were really acting like it.

Luckily, he knew how to work with children.

“Alright!” he called, shrugging and walking past them. It took a lot of willpower to not turn back to see their face - that would give away his intentions.

“...what?” they murmured.

“If you don’t wanna come help, that’s fine,” Leon said, “You’d be missing out, and it would be great to have such an incredible flier to act as my eyes here, but hey, I can work alone in a pinch. It’s fine.”

He spared a glance to see if they were looking, and then dramatically leapt over the next cliff with a sharp huff.

The Little One shot into the air, frightened, reaching out towards him as though to catch him-

Leon landed safely on the other side without issue.

“See? Not as if I need the assistance of my Great One or anything. It’ll be fine!”

“No, no-” they blurted, hovering alongside him, “This is fine.”

He grinned wide. “Ah, you’re coming too? Excellent! Glad to have you with me. The two of us together will be unstoppable!”

That brought a smile to their face. Yes! He’d gotten them to cheer up, and gotten them to follow along. Flawless execution.

He continued traversing the land, clambering over boulders and scaling ledges with his claws. Meanwhile, his Little One flew just ahead, pointing out good places to plant his paws and areas to head towards. The two worked together like a well-oiled machine, in perfect sync with full understanding of the other's capabilities and weaknesses.

Leon had been serious when he'd said that he knew them better than anyone. Shared thoughts, shared mind, shared body. They were powerful, yes, but sparing of their energy, resourceful to the extreme and endlessly patient when it came to their tasks - unless something went awry, that is. They knew his limits and how to overcome them, the best ways to help him and the costs for doing so. And of course, despite their insistence on not communicating, Leon knew how to actually talk to them.

He heaved his body over a ledge with a grunt, looking out over what used to be a large, flat, paved plane. Now, it was cracked and splintered, forming large slopes every which way. Old, abandoned transport vehicles that had been left behind here had been tossed around in the quake, some now stuck at the bottom of new hills.

Notably, a particularly large one had parked itself in front of what seemed to be the only intact entrance to the big building before them. He trotted up to it, looking down at the Little One from the top of the hill. "Do you think anyone might've gotten trapped inside?" he questioned loudly to be heard.

"Maybe?" they shrugged, "Lots of exits. Could've freed themselves… unless pinned down."

He nodded. Probably worth a quick look-around, then, just to be sure. Then, they'd head off towards the valley.

Without any fanfare, Leon shoved the hulking thing aside. The mechanisms inside creaked and turned, and it began rattling down the hill. "Heads up!" he called out to the Little One.

At the time, he wasn't concerned at all. Why would he be? The Little One was an excellent leader and problem solver. He saw absolutely no issue with any of the actions he took.

Later, though, he'd question himself and his choices as he leisurely looked out over the cliff.

There they were, frozen in shock as the machine hurtled towards them. After a moment, determination settled in their gaze and then-

The Little One positioned themself to catch it.

The whole world paused, it seemed, while Leon's mind caught up with him.

The Little One was very little. This old, broken down vehicle was very big. He wasn't sure what possessed them to try this.

Perhaps it was his wording. He'd thought of it as a warning, a message telling them to look out, to dodge. Though, come to think of it, that exact phrase was often used to tell someone to catch as well.

Was that really the conclusion they'd come to? Would they size up themself and this new obstacle and decide that yes, they could do as he asked? They wouldn't ever willingly follow a command of his anyways - not on this wild streak of theirs where they insisted on remaining free and asserting themself as his leader out of spite. Perhaps this really was their own choice, then? An unstoppable force versus an immovable object; were they so confident in their perceived perfection that they'd stand tall against this threat no matter what?

Leon would likely never know. He'd never be able to understand how the Little One saw the world around them, and couldn't think like them without significant psychic intervention. He just didn't get it, and that was okay.

Time resumed.

" Oof-! "

—-------------------

This would be easier if he wasn't being such a big anxious baby.

Elfilis sat perfectly still, keeping their breathing steady - at least, relatively so, as the injuries they'd sustained made that a little difficult. They had grown far more skilled in the harnessing of psychic energy, and as such, struggled a little with the more physical aspect of power. There was no need to focus on anything beyond psychomeddling and vortex opening from the boundaries of their capsule, and so they were slightly limited.

That being said, they could still recover using gathered energy. They just needed to focus.

Focusing was difficult when there was a four-hundred pound beast pacing around just behind you, fretting over your mistakes and constantly reminding you that, by the way, you made them. Mistakes.

Vehicles, three. Elfilis, zero.

Their nose twitched in frustration as they ended up squeezing their eyes shut tighter. They couldn't focus. It was taking too long. They'd tell Leon to shut up and calm down, if only trying to do so wouldn't result in just another pained wheeze.

Elfilis just tried harder to focus only on themself.

…Though, come to think of it. Talking was never their preferred method of communication.

Taking a break from the struggle, they boosted their own confidence and chances of success by taking a second to do something they were good at.

" Stop moving. "

Leongar froze stiff, utterly halted by the psychic interference.

Good. At least that still worked nicely on him.

They were able to rest easily and allow the energy of the world around them to fuel their body and heal their wounds in the amount of time it took for him to shake it off.

"Ugh…" he grumbled, putting a hand to his head, rubbing at his temples, "I thought you'd stopped doing that for good…"

"Why?" they commented simply, fluttering back up to regular flight, "It's helpful."

He seemed to find their restored form to be a point of interest. "You just haven't done it in a while…" he muttered, seemingly more to himself than to them.

They rolled their eyes.

Leon shook his head disapprovingly. "You've been awfully sassy today, hm…?" he practically whispered before piping up, "Well, nobody spoke up after hearing the racket we just made. I believe the building is, in fact, unoccupied. Perhaps we should proceed to the valley, then?"

“Very well,” they shrugged.

Elfilis watched Leon closely as he scaled the shattered cliffs and crossed the sheer gaps in the rock and sand. He was very strong, and very capable. He was also heavy. If he slipped and fell, he’d fall fast and hard. They’d need to keep a close eye on him so that their reflexes could keep up with the speed of disaster.

Leongar himself seemed unaware or uncaring of the danger, very nonchalant in his motions as he traversed the mesa. “Silly’s cavern is off this way. Does it seem intact?”

They were just about to gain a better vantage when Leon leapt to the next section of rock. They promptly fluttered back to his side, giving him an admonishing look.

“...Well?”

“Be careful. Won’t check without you.”

The look he gave them in return was an odd one. It felt very smug. “Aw, worried I’ll hurt myself while you’re away, Little One? It’s alright, I can take it!”

Now, they were angry.

“Leongar. You will hurt. No. Stay here… will only be a moment.”

“Come on, now. You don’t really think I’m incapable of going on without you, do you?”

Elfilis glared daggers at him. “ Fine. Why don’t you check. Will wait right here.”

They plopped themself back down onto the warm stone, turning their back on him.

“...Alright then! I will!” Leon called in a pleasant, chipper tone, the soft footfalls of his paws against the rock the only indicator to them that he was leaving.

That would not work on them again. He would not manipulate them a second time.

Idly looking around at the new rock formations, Elfilis took note of the state the cliff was in. It seemed as though the valley had collapsed in on itself here, one half slamming into the lower section of the other. Cracks had spread along the side like branches or roots, carving their way up to the thin walkway that Leongar was making use of.

It was likely unsteady. Some part of them wondered if he could feel the stone shifting beneath his weight as he walked.

Taking a deep breath, they called out to him, still without looking, “ You’re gonna fall~! ”

“ No, I won’t~! ” he called back, mimicking their mocking, sing-song tone.

“ Won’t save you!”

“ That’s fine! ”

They huffed. Whatever.

They could actually tell where Leon was by looking at the cracks. Every segment was ever-so-slightly shifted as he moved. One of the next sections, they noted, had a rounder sort of rock at the bottom, with plenty of space to roll or shift if given a little push.

Hm.

Unable to resist the urge anymore, they lazily looked up at Leongar.

He trembled unsteadily, one arm pinwheeling around for balance with every step, the other clinging to the wall at his side, carving claw marks into the sandstone. He placed each paw right where the other had been, single-file, each foot taking up more than the width of the platform itself, one toe dangling haphazardly off the edge. The top-heaviness of his body was likely messing with his balance further, especially given the way he had to practically lean off the edge to fit his shoulders in without them pressing against the wall.

Leongar stepped onto the rounded-rock platform.

Immediately, it wobbled unsteadily, producing a soft “ woah-! ” from the now-teetering lion as he struggled to stay on a floor that was slowly separating from the rest of the cliff, tilting off away from the wall, accidentally pushed off by his steadying arm and doomed to fall.

Elfilis hadn’t even noticed themself take off.

They didn’t know they were airborne until they were already rocketing towards him, breathless and desperate, unable to even call for him to watch out or that they were on their way as they practically threw open a rift to take them home - to camp - right beneath the both of them, clinging to Leon’s mane as the two fell down together.

They only began processing everything that had just transpired when they passed through the vortex and fell into the soft grass, Leongar landing with a sharp, pained “ oof-! ”

Less pain than if he’d fallen farther and onto rocks and sand.

There was silence for a moment as both of them tried to catch their breath, absolutely winded.

"...Heh," Leongar laughed, trying to cope with the shock of what just happened, "I- I knew you were bluffing."

"Was not," Elfilis whispered, afraid of themself and their own actions, "was not. Not bluffing."

They couldn't control themself.

That was risky. That was ridiculous. That was pointless - Leon was very strong, he would've been just fine without their interference.

Probably.

They grabbed at their ears and pulled. What were they thinking?! Why couldn't they control their own thoughts and feelings!? Their heart was racing, they were so stressed out, and over what? A little fall? An extremely predictable event that they had easily warned him about, and that he had ignored, and that they told him that they wouldn't save him from his own mistake, and yet here they were-

They shook their head. They were scared, they were upset, they were so glad he was okay, they didn't care if he was okay, if he lived or died, he was just a tool to them, a useful one, a familiar one, one that was reliable to soothe them and care about them in turn, they did not care -

"Little One, hey," Leon picked up on their distress and moved to comfort and shelter them immediately, "It's alright, okay? We're safe. We're alright. You told me it was a bad idea, and hey, I went and found out the hard way. I'm sorry for ignoring you. Thank you for helping me. Look around, Little One - we're safe."

Their breathing gradually slowed, calming down in the shadow of their most loyal of beasts.

They cared. They cared so much.

Elfilis didn't think they even could anymore.

They threw themself at Leongar's paw, pressing their face against it and squeezing it as tight as they could. He was right there. He was okay.

They wanted to be angry at him for ignoring their commands and warnings, but the fight had been taken right out of them. The fire sparked, sizzled, and died in their chest, left behind only a burn at their eyes as they held back tears.

He hushed them and rocked them gently like a baby, and for once, they were grateful.

"Don't understand," they mumbled into his fur, "Don't care. Can't care. Still worried… and… and sorry…"

"Don't be, Little One, don't be. You did something good."

The world had been turned upside-down for them. If they were capable of caring, what did that mean for their heart? What did it make them? They'd thought it to be a clean, clear cut between the two, the thoughts and the feelings, but now as they thought back, they'd felt things this entire time.

They'd grown attached to their spear and decorated it, they were excited at the thought of the stars, they felt safer next to Leongar, they were proud of themself and their abilities, they missed their old self as though it was another piece of themself they'd lost and left them empty, as though they were still lacking part of their soul.

Who were they supposed to be?

" Leon?! "

Both of them startled at the call, leaping into action. Elfilis put their hands behind their back like they had something to hide.

Kirby entered the clearing, seeming concerned. "Have you seen-?! Oh!" their face brightened immediately, "Nevermind! Hi, Elfilin!"

Elfilin.

That… was who they were supposed to be. Elfilin.

Someone who cared, someone who loved, someone who'd be happy to talk and play and help and be a child. Someone who…

…was absolutely nothing like Elfilis.

Not even a little.

They glanced back at Leon. He seemed nervous, unsure of whatever action to take next. They'd need to plan quickly and recover the situation, fast, before he made a mistake.

…They cared about Leon.

They loved the stars, and to hunt, and to fight. They were happy to talk about space, and vortices. They'd be happy to plan around a problem and solve it, happy to mess around or do something unnecessary for their own entertainment, and hey, that's all playing was, wasn't it?

Who they were supposed to be.

Who they… had to be.

If they couldn't be their old self again? That was fine. They'd just be their new self instead.

Elfilis took a deep breath, put on a big, chipper smile, adjusted their stance to be more energetic, and cleared their throat.

Loud, excited, friendly, like those awful, awful recordings, just be happy, just be happy, just be-

"Heya, Kirby!" they greeted them.

Ouch. Being that loud hurt their own ears, as well as their voice itself. That would certainly take some getting used to.

Behind them, Leongar seemed utterly bewildered and surprised. 

Luckily, Kirby looked like they were pleased with the response. "We've been looking for you all day! You can't just keep disappearing like that, Elfi! At least leave us a note or something - Bandan can read it!"

Nodding and forcing a laugh, trying to ignore how so very close they were to the person who'd struck them down countless times, they replied, "Ah, so sorry! Was just coming back! Didn't mean to, ah, worry you!"

Kirby giggled a little and took their hand - don't flinch - "Aw, it's okay! C'mon, let's head back together!" 

"Okay!"

The close quarters and stress of the situation was making them feel a little lightheaded. Good. If they switched back to Elfilin, it would make their life easier.

Elfilis spared one more glance at Leon as they were dragged away, taking in the look of concern on his face.

Did he not think they could do this? Pff! Kirby hadn't even noticed anything wrong! This would work out just fine!

It had to.

Chapter Text

"Soooooooo," Kirby began, "I talked to Leonnnn…"

Bandan grinned knowingly, raising an eyebrow. "And?"

"He had some pretty good advice…" Kirby stalled slightly. Maybe he wouldn't notice!

His grin only grew. "Oh, he totally knew, didn't he."

" Shush! "

"He did! Oh, he totally di- mmnmph !"

Kirby put both hands over his mouth-area, trying not to smile as Bandan laughed behind Kirby's best efforts.

"He told me some very important things about relationships and defining love and it was all very helpful regardless of romantic affection- !"

Bandan pried himself free of Kirby's clutches, practically cackling, "He knew! There's no way he didn't!"

"Shut uuuup…" Kirby fake-slapped at Bandan, though this didn't deter him in the slightest.

"What'd he say?" Bandan finally humored them.

Kirby hummed to themself. "It was a few days ago by now. I told him I wasn't sure how I felt - don't start - and he told me that it didn't matter. If I cared, then I cared, and if I wanted to show more love to him than I already do, then I just gotta talk to him about it."

Bandana Dee nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Do you think you'll be able to?"

"Be able to what?"

"Talk to him about it?"

Kirby wasn't really sure…

…They could hear him singing.

It immediately brought a huge smile to their face - Elfilin was a good singer, unlike them, and his little voice was always so cute and so sweet whenever he did. They quietly listened so as to not interrupt him while he idly hummed to himself.

This time as he sang, it was extra soft. Unusual, because normally Elfilin was pretty loud, actually. He tended to project his voice to be heard clearly whenever he pointed out whatever fun thing he'd spotted, and this carried to his singing voice as well. This song, however, was very gentle and subtle, carrying an almost sad quality within - haunting. It sounded a little like a lullaby.

"...do you hear that?" Bandan asked them almost absentmindedly.

Kirby grinned at him. "You mean the singing? It's Elfilin, see?"

Bandana Dee paused. He looked kinda confused, or tired. His response came slowly. "...no… not the singing. Or maybe it is? I hear… something else. But I can't quite place it."

They stopped to listen closer, but couldn't hear whatever had Bandan so perplexed. They shrugged and moved along.

As they followed along behind Elfilin, they noticed the amount of attention he was garnering. The Dees around town kept turning to look at the sound, staring blankly as though they were in a trance before shaking it off. Maybe he was singing a familiar song?

"Wait," Bandan blurted, "the birds."

Kirby once again stopped to listen. The birds were chirping pretty loudly all around, but it wasn't super notable to them. They raised an eyebrow at Bandan.

He shook his head. "I forgot you're tone deaf. Listen - the birds are singing the same song he is."

…They were.

Huh!

Neat.

"Elfi~! Hi!" Kirby called, running up to him to share what they'd learned, "Did you teach the birds to sing?!"

Elfilin startled a little, abruptly ending the song. The second it ended, several dees in the vicinity all blinked away a daze and carried on with their lives as though they'd never stopped.

He gave Kirby an odd look. "...Birds normally sing?"

"...Right! True. I meant like, the song you were singing, though. It was really pretty!"

Elfilin seemed flattered. He waved Kirby off with a tiny laugh, murmuring "oh, stop it" under his breath. He didn't even really answer their question. Maybe it was the other way around, and he was singing whatever the birds were?

Bandan caught up to them, rubbing the side of his head, still clearly puzzled about whatever had happened.

Weird - the birds were all singing different songs now.

"Anywayyyyys," they carried on with no issue, "we're going to the cafe! I figured you might wanna come with!"

Elfilin nodded with a polite little "mhm!" and Kirby took him by the hand.

He flinched a little at their touch. Whoops - maybe they'd grabbed him too hard, or startled him, not enough warning? Either way, he lightened up when Kirby lifted their hand above their head while running, guiding him along like a kite the way they liked to do.

Elfilin lilted and teetered around a little more while gliding than usual. Sure, he couldn't be perfectly steady on uneven wings, but it almost seemed like he was out of practice despite flying constantly every day. His wings were spread wider to catch himself, but it didn't seem to be doing him any good.

Lots of little things were odd about Elfilin this morning, huh?

" Hiiii~! " Kirby greeted the cafe worker, "Um, a cake for me, just a drink for Bandan, aaaaand-" they turned to Elfilin, "Whatcha want?"

"Um-?" he stuttered, hesitantly double-checking the menu like he'd never seen it before. He kept squinting at the letters like he was having trouble figuring out what they meant. He tilted his head sideways as though that would help.

"Anything I can help you with?" the Dee behind the counter offered in a chipper, polite tone.

For some reason, the offer seemed to make Elfilin more uncomfortable. He shuddered, recoiling away like the voice had struck a nerve. "No," he waved them off. Turning back to Kirby, he shrugged. "Dunno. Can't decide."

"Hmmm. How about we get two cakes instead?" Kirby offered to the barista, knowing they were Elfilin's favorite.

"Of course!" they smiled and nodded before heading back to work on their order.

Apparently, even Bandan had noticed something off about him. Kirby thought it was just because they paid maybe a little too much attention to Elfilin - but no. Validating their concerns, he gently questioned, "Are you feeling alright, Elfilin?"

It was like a switch had been flipped - as if internally, he went oh right, I'm Elfilin! and quickly straightened up and smiled brightly. "Uh huh!"

"Are you sure? How about your eyes? You looked like you were having trouble with the menu, there."

He took another look at the board. Kirby couldn't judge, being unable to read themself, but Elfilin tilted his head again, this time in the opposite direction.

"...Weird handwriting?" Elfilin asked, more like he was trying to explain the problem to himself.

Bandan frowned a little. "Looks fine to me. Maybe you need a refresher on Popstar's script, haha!"

Despite being a silly quip, Elfilin's eyes lit up in recognition or realization. "...Maybe!"

"Here you are~!" the cafe dee near sang as they passed the food over.

This time, Elfilin flinched. It was very noticeable. He nearly managed to jerk out of Kirby's grip from how hard he recoiled.

Now, though, Kirby had an idea of what the problem was. That phrase was dangerously close to a certain other statement. They didn't know it affected him that much… they'd have to watch themself when they spoke to make sure it never happened again.

Bandan shared a knowing glance with them as well. He saw, then. Good.

"Thank you~!" Kirby chirped in lieu of Elfilin's usual thanks and praises, leading him away from the offending voice and up to the top floor to eat.

From what Kirby could tell, the oddities happening around him seemed to just be Elfilin having a bad day. That negative mood would be no match for Kirby's positivity!

They hopped into their seat with a flourish, sliding one plate of cake across the table dramatically for Elfilin to catch. He shook up Bandan's drink like a fancy bartender and then tossed it to him with a flip - he caught it with a laugh at their shenanigans.

Sparing a glance towards Elfilin to see if that worked, they found that he'd caught the cake, but seemed unsure of what to do next - he hadn't even sat down yet.

"Don't be shy, Elfi! Let's chow down!"

He looked up at them, eyes darting to Bandan and then back, determined that he should be sitting down, plastered a huge grin on his face and plopped down into his own seat.

So far, so good!

Bandan took the lead in Operation Cheer Up Elfilin next: "So, Elfilin! Anything catch your eye lately? Tell us about your day!"

Aha! Excellent move. Elfilin absolutely loved talking about every little thing he'd taken care to notice and internally document throughout the day - if something interesting happened, he wouldn't hesitate to blurt it out, draw attention to it, make sure everyone saw what he was seeing and could appreciate it just as much as he did. He loved nothing more than to make his thoughts known. Even if it was just the result of him being distracted, he'd let you know what he was thinking about.

Oftentimes, when Elfilin was upset, he'd talk openly about his feelings and end up distracting himself that way, rambling on about reasons he shouldn't be mad or sad or scared and solutions to his problems and other things he'd seen - if there was a way to get Elfilin out of this weirdness-funk, it would be this. Either they'd get to the root of the problem, or he'd talk himself out of the problem!

Absolutely flawless. Kirby leaned forward in their seat, beaming at him and waiting for his response.

"Not much!" Elfilin stated, idly poking at his slice of cake.

…

…

…Huh.

Kirby shared another look with Bandan. Now, they were concerned .

It… sounded like Elfilin. For all intents and purposes, that was a very normal, natural statement to make about one's day, especially one that had only just begun and wasn't exactly very positive so far.

It wasn't, however, a very normal thing for Elfilin to say to his best friends in particular.

Or, for that matter, a very normal thing for Elfilin to say at all.

It was too normal. Too ordinary and nonspecific.

A little movement at the corner of their eye caught their attention; Meta Knight had adjusted his position on his watchpost to get a better look at the three. He must've overheard and was showing concern in his own way.

Bandan looked like he was at a loss for words, struggling to come up with a new course of action.

Elfilin, for his part, seemed to be entirely unbothered by his own weirdness, still smiling and examining his food. A little frosting got stuck to his paw, and he hesitantly sniffed and then licked it. Immediately, his face lit up with what seemed to be pleasant surprise , and he grabbed an actual utensil to eat with.

Kirby felt uneasy. They weren't sure if it was the out of place conversation, the lack of recognition or familiarity towards his own favorite food, or… some other quality just at the tip of their tongue that they couldn't quite identify.

"So," Bandan carried on nervously, "about those birds, huh?"

"What about them?" he asked innocently, taking a bite of cake like everything was just fine. Kirby swore there was something ever-so-slightly wrong about the motion - asymmetry, mirrored, something …

"It was the weirdest thing! They were all singing the same song at the same time - it sounded just like the one you were humming, too!"

Elfilin absently nodded, offering no explanation.

"The song itself…" Bandan trailed off a little, "I dunno how to describe it. It felt like… a round. You know what a round is, right? Like when two people sing the same thing, but at different times, kinda? Echoey, ish… I can't explain it, but I can't stop thinking about it…"

"Yeah," Elfilin gestured vaguely into the air while enjoying more cake, "fills your thoughts."

Kirby blinked. "...What's that mean?"

"The song! It fills your thoughts," Elfilin rambled a bit, "When you listen… you try explaining. Rationalizing. The notes mean things - to you. You assign meaning! Even if there's… none. Emotions, words, language… you make it up!"

Woah.

Kirby… had thought of the song as kinda sad, listening to it. Like a lullaby, they'd thought. Elfilin hadn't told them that, and maybe it's not what he meant, but they had given it meaning of their own accord.

"...really?" Bandan wondered aloud.

"Something old, new… nostalgia, memories. Like walking through… a building, once broken. Now repaired, replaced. You feel lost. But at home."

Kirby tilted their head, but next to them, Bandan went white as a sheet.

Elfilin smiled, a twinkle in his eye. "Get it?"

"How…" Bandan asked, wide-eyed, "how did you do that…?"

The smile faded. "Do what?"

"That's- woah. You, like, put words to feelings I didn't know I had. All through me hearing a song?! That's wild! "

"Woah, really!?" Kirby turned to Bandan in surprise. "That's super cool! Elfilin, you should write poetry or something! That was really profound!"

His face was bright pink. He looked like he'd just made a huge mistake and wasn't sure what to do about it. "Okay," he squeaked out softly.

Far above them, Meta Knight narrowed his eyes.

"Um," Elfilin pushed away his plate, flustered, "you want this?"

"Aw, you're not gonna finish it?" Kirby frowned. Uh oh - it seems they might've messed up The Operation.

"No, ah… wanna… um…"

He shook his head and flew off, covering his face with his paws.

"Oh no- Elfilin, wait! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you-!"

"It's okay," Bandana Dee held Kirby back, still stunned, "We can go find him later."

"...are you alright, 'Dan…?"

"...I'm…not really… sure…but…"

"...But?"

He turned to look at Kirby, dead serious.

"That's not Elfilin."

The problem with being Elfilin was that they couldn't catch a break.

Sure, they didn't have too much of an issue hanging out with Kirby and the bandana-clad waddle dee, but it was still a lot to handle. Now that they'd successfully gotten away from them for a while, though, they still didn't get to have a break from people.

People were everywhere. Especially in a town. Where Elfilis would have to learn to live comfortably.

Their other half's regular activities included interacting with said people, and so Elfilis would have to as well.

Very, very carefully.

They paused for a moment as they processed that they had absolutely no idea where they were going. They'd started wandering away from civilization out of habit, but turning around to see the buildings behind them didn't help them much with figuring out where they were currently. Elfilin probably had every nook and cranny of this town memorized - Elfilis did not. Not yet, anyway.

They couldn't afford to ask someone for help or directions. Notably, they did not want to. It was difficult to express exactly how much they did not want to do that. Also notably, however, was that Elfilin would not need to ask for directions, and they were supposed to be him.

At a loss for what to do, they just waited and listened.

…

…There was someone out there in the forest, talking to someone else. They were asking for something - some kind of tool?

Silently hating that they'd need to approach people to be normal, Elfilis followed the sound to investigate.

There was a clearing there that wasn't there before. They blinked at the unexpected sunlight. A small group of Waddle Dees with bright yellow helmets were conversing with some concern, passing around tools and taking down trees left and right.

Trying to find a reason as to why they might be doing this, Elfilis noted that, for some reason, this part of the forest smelled like the beach. Upon closer inspection, they found that all the still-standing trees left around were damaged and coated in flaky salt.

Aha. This section of land was lower than the rest of town, and closer to the shore. These trees must have been damaged by the encroaching, unusually high tide.

Whoopsie. Elfilis would apologize to the trees, if not for the fact that had they really gotten their way, this whole planet wouldn't be here. Really, the trees had gotten out of this easy. There hadn't even been any noticeable earthquakes around here to disturb them yet.

"Oy, Elfilin!"

They jolted slightly, startled by being spotted. 

"Ah- sorry! Just was wondering what you were up to, buddy! Don't be shy!" one of the workers waved to them.

Plastering on a friendly smile, Elfilis approached, silently hoping that they weren't supposed to know this specific dee's name. Worst comes to worst, they could always psychically pry to find that answer.

"Hello~!" they greeted in a friendly sing-song, "What're you doing?"

The Dee grinned and wound up a swing with their hatchet, quickly chopping down the tree they'd been resting beneath with ease.

Elfilis clapped at the display of strength. Society be damned, they loved destroying things too.

"We're hard at work here, tryin' to clear out these trees to make room for the wall! No water'll mess with us next time around!"

Now, their attention was piqued. "Oh?" they prompted further.

The worker dee patted the log firmly. "When the tides come back, it'll get stopped by the dam we build here!"

Elfilis nodded a little, narrowing their eyes and humming thoughtfully. "Out of?"

"Huh?"

"What material?"

"Ah - these trees here! Might as well use the lumber we're clearing out, right?"

Hmm…

Examining the log closer, it was slightly smoothed out by the pressure of the water against it, chipped away at by salt and sand. Bark had also been flaked off of it in places - bark that likely would've been picked up by the waves, creating debris in the water. Not good.

"...No."

All the dees stopped to look at them weirdly.

Oh, right- they were supposed to be Elfilin! Had that come out too cold? Too commanding?

They cleared their throat, sheepish, putting on their best embarrassed act for the unintentional social faux-paus of not being the usual chipper happy person they were supposed to be. "Meant, uh, that won't work? Think the water… will damage it too much, no?"

The worker tilted their head, and Elfilis fluttered about, pointing out the problems they'd spotted. "Clearing trees here because they're damaged. If the water hurts the trees… the water hurts the wall. Can't make it wooden. Need something sturdier. Definitely!"

The waddle dees all murmured amidst each other now, affirming their observations and questioning what to do now.

They glanced around, looking for whoever lead this little operation.

…Nobody immediately stood out to them. Nobody spoke up to retract the order or create a new plan.

This town was going to get utterly destroyed by the next tsunami, surely. With this level of organization, where everyone working to protect the people seemed to be a handful of leaderless volunteers? They didn't stand a chance.

…

Luckily for them, and very, very unfortunately for Elfilis, they were very skilled when it came to leading large scale operations, including and especially if those they were leading were totally unaware of what actually needed to be done and why.

Elfilin would help. If he could help, he would help.

The Great One took a deep breath, and stood up to the task.

"Alright!" they called out over the whispers to be heard clearly, "Listen up! Someone needs to plan this! Some of you - head out, set a perimeter. Figure out where. You'll be building, you'll need a location, and a foundation. Work that out first!"

This was probably going to be the most they'd ever have to speak. It sucked. If telepathy wasn't extremely suspicious for "Elfilin" to be capable of, they'd switch to that in a heartbeat.

Everyone looked at each other, seemingly surprised, before all giving a determined nod and setting out with purpose.

Pleased with themself, they smiled, confident. There - that was another thing they were fond of, apparently. Leading.

A wall probably wouldn't be enough - it would be taking the full force of the waves on its own, and if it fell it would spell disaster. They'd likely need to dig a canal to lessen the pressure and redirect the water. Perhaps in the future, it could serve as a water filtration system, and the townsfolk would benefit immensely.

If only they actually liked people.

Elfilis shrugged it off in favor of focusing on planning, which they did like. They'd have to go tell someone to grab something they could use as blueprints.

First, though, they'd need a good view of what they were working with. On shaky, uneven wings, Elfilis flew far above the trees and scanned for a good place to dig and a spot near the beach to build.

Some part of them had missed organizing at this scale.

Hey - at least they'd found one upside to being Elfilin!

"Elfiliiiiiiiiiin!? "

Elfilin was getting really good at disappearing lately, Kirby noticed.

Goes for a walk? You won't find him til he comes back hours later. Send him off to find something? No clue where he went, but he's totally gone for half the day. Just woke up? Can't find him in town anywhere until he shows up at sunset, too upset to talk and just heads off back to bed. Leaving the cafe in a hurry? He'll just vanish the second you take your eyes off him.

They wondered if it had to do with him just being easily distracted, but he'd never done it before. It made sense in theory - off to do something and then got distracted while out there and just kept doing different things until someone comes looking for him? Perfect logic, but weird behavior from him.

Kirby wondered if Elfilin was feeling alright. A change in behavior was usually… bad.

"Um," a nearby Waddle Dee stopped them before they could call again, "Are you looking for Elfilin?"

"Oh- yeah! Have you seen him?!"

The dee gestured broadly to the forest nearby. "He's been doing fly-bys of the treeline for a little while - he stopped a bit ago, but I think he's still out there. I think he was taking notes or something for the guys working on the dam out there?"

Oh!

Oh… he was looking for someone to help.

Only a couple days ago, Elfilin had had a very, very bad time. Kirby had gotten an earful about his desperate attempts to help the town in any way he could until he eventually ended up hurting himself too much to keep going.

He'd been upset about how distracted he'd been, about how much needed to be done, about how helpless he felt in the crisis and how much he wanted to make it up to the town if he could, but felt like he was just incapable.

Kirby had thought he was going to take a long break due to the amount of effort he'd tried and failed to put in, but to hear that he was already out trying to help something else related to the flooding?

No wonder Elfilin had been acting off all day. He probably felt like garbage.

"Uh, thanks! I'll go find him!" Kirby called back to the one who'd helped them before sprinting off to find and, most likely, comfort Elfilin.

It didn't take them very long to find a small crowd of hard-working Waddle Dees working to cut away the trees.

"Uh, hi!" Kirby called out to the cleanup crew, "I heard Elfilin was helping out here…?"

The two dees they'd addressed looked at each other for a moment before sharing a laugh, as if they'd just remembered an inside joke.

"Yeah, he's here," one of them answered, "You can't miss him - good luck trying to get his attention, though!"

Kirby tilted their head in confusion as the two toddled off, still apparently amused by the interaction.

…What was that supposed to mean?

They scanned over the little construction site until they spotted their little teal friend amidst the crowd of orange. Kirby smiled brightly and began making their way over.

Normally, when Elfilin had something to do, he wasn't exactly good at… sticking with it. He just had to do every single little thing at once. When the new world was in peril, his focus was on saving the captured Waddle Dees… and on upgrading Kirby's abilities, and on helping out around the town, and on getting a bite to eat, and on collecting figurines, and on keeping track of places they'd been, and on and on and on. You couldn't just get him to do one thing. It was something Kirby knew he was bothered by - he hated being so easily distracted.

So imagine their surprise when, as they trotted over to where Elfilin was hard at work, his ears didn't even point towards them.

Elfilin was absolutely, one hundred percent, laser focused on scratching out blueprints. Kirby waved. No response. Kirby tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He flinched away from the contact, but his gaze did not drift away from the paper in front of him. The pencil kept working away at equations and notes, writing perfectly sharp little points, letters so precise it looked like it had been typed out on a machine.

"...Elfilin?"

An ear flicked towards them.

"Hi, Elfilin! Hey! Uh, sorry to interrupt…?"

"Just one moment," he mumbled.

Something about the tone gave Kirby chills. It did not sound like Elfilin had said it. The voice was softer than the fluffiest awoofy, as gentle as the spring breeze, and as unforgiving and detached from subtleties and pleasantries as a fluorescent light in a lab building.

Elfilin finished writing a sentence - presumably, as Kirby couldn't read - and glanced over at them, blinking.

The second he blinked, he winced as though pained and brought both paws to his face, rubbing away at his eyelids.

"Elfi?"

He looked up at them with a sheepish grin. "Forgot to blink. What's up?"

It took Kirby a second to process what he meant. The whole time they'd been watching him write, he hadn't blinked once.

Hm. That's bad.

…Well, at least now he sounded normal.

There was something else wrong still, but Kirby couldn't quite wrap his head around it. It felt like he was playing a game of spot the difference from memory.

"Um… are you feeling alright?"

"Of course!" he chirped in response, unconcerned with any of his own odd behavior. He tapped his pencil against his chin idly. "Why not?"

Something was wrong. Something was so clearly, obviously wrong in an uncanny yet so certain way, but despite knowing this with all of their being, Kirby just couldn't figure out why they felt that way.

"... I-I'm sure it's nothing," they reassured both him and themself, "I just wanted to come see what you were up to! It's been a little while since I checked up on you, and I know last time you had a lot of work to do it kinda took a toll… so, I'm here for emotional support!"

He tilted his head, listening closely as though whatever information Kirby had provided him was very valuable. They felt… like they were being watched. They were in public, and Elfilin was looking at them, but why, then, did it feel so… wrong.

"Right!" Elfilin replied, "That's fine! Not too much work - here! You can watch! If you'd like."

Kirby nodded along, and just like that, Elfilin was right back to work, furiously taking notes and cataloging details. From what they could see of the diagram, it looked like he was drawing a canal of some sort. He'd even made a little map of the town.

They couldn't see very well from their position behind the hand that he was drawing with, though, so they shifted to look over his left shoulder instead.

Kirby froze. They felt the blood drain from their face; they were sure that to any onlookers, they became as pale white as the snow in winter horns.

Elfilin was left handed.

Elfilin was left handed, they knew that very well. He'd even tried to write with his other hand, and had nearly messed up a page of his dream journal trying.

Kirby's gaze slowly settled once more on Elfilin's right hand as it dutifully toiled away, creating a perfect copy of the same canal but slightly smaller and at a different angle. He moved to notate the image, scrawling out a description of some kind in handwriting so clean it looked like a font.

That wasn't even Elfilin's handwriting.

They took a step back. They needed a way out of this - they needed time to think. "Um-! I-I've gotta go, but, uhh, I hope you have fun with the rest of your work-?!"

Elfilin barely acknowledged them, not caring at all about the less-than-flimsy non-specific excuse. "Okay," he muttered in that blank tone again.

Kirby hesitated for only a moment before running off, head in his hands.

Alright - it seemed that something was clearly wrong. Bandana Dee was right, and Elfilin was distinctly… different.

Now what?

Elfilis gently shut the door behind them, home at last.

Well. This was Elfilin’s home, at least. Therefore, by extension, it would have to become theirs as well.

They looked around quietly, properly taking in their surroundings. They’d have to familiarize themself with the layout, as well as where things were normally kept, so that they could maintain whatever level of organization their other half did.

It was very small. Elfilis didn’t much like how small it was. Cramped.

They distracted themself by hopping onto their bed and pondering the events of the day.

Elfilis had gotten a lot done, and the Waddle Dees appreciated it. They weren’t sure how they were managing things before, but now that they had a concrete plan on how to deal with the tides until they eventually settled, things would become busier over at the build site, and less busy in the actual town proper. Always a plus, to them. As a bonus, doing this meant that, well… they’d found something to do! It was perfectly in character for Elfilin to help others, and they loved planning and finding solutions to problems, so if they kept this up, it would be perfect!

As for earlier that day… well… it was… alright, they supposed.

They hadn't expected that kind of reception.

Really, they hadn't expected a response at all, on the simple account that they had not meant to speak.

They certainly did not mean to describe someone's thought process to them.

Elfilis believed that, for all intents and purposes, telepathy was better. It was significantly easier to communicate with someone else if both parties could simply innately understand what the other wanted.

The only issue is that one must also be very good at interpreting abstract imagery, because no two minds were alike and learning a different thought process was like learning another language.

Elfilis spoke nine languages. Even if most of them were only used nowadays by an automated system and nothing else, the fact of the matter was that they could still interpret all variations of those words, and pick up meanings very, very quickly as a result.

They hadn't meant to say that out loud, however.

Now, they were left staring blankly at their journal, turned to an empty page, pen in hand.

Kirby had told them they should consider poetry.

Art. It was something they simultaneously understood and could not comprehend. It was, essentially, some physical form of telepathy. Despite having developed complex communication, most societies still opted to try and convey a message through an uncertain and subjective means. Mostly just for the fun of it.

Did Elfilis think mind reading was fun?

…They didn't dislike it. It was comfortable. It was useful, and it was a skill they relied on heavily in the past. Maybe that's all fun really was. An absence of distaste.

Elfilis did not think they could make art.

They'd need to write a poem. If Kirby told Elfilin to write a poem, he would, and so Elfilis would have to learn to as well.

But what could they possibly write about? What were they supposed to do? Where would they start?

…It only took a moment for Elfilis to realize they could cheat.

Of course. Kirby didn't know they were simply reciting the abstract concept of someone's thoughts aloud in an attempt to further understand them - they just thought the result was interesting. All Elfilis would have to do to write a convincing piece of art would be to transcribe a little psychic interference.

Flawless.

Now, the question became who they would start with, and what they were thinking about.

…

…Or, perhaps, they could start with a thought of their own…

Redundancy is common.

There exist countless languages, when you only need one

There is a word that exists to classify redundant words

Synonym, synonymous

There is another that goes unspoken

A condition, uncommon, yet redundant, synonymous with the concept of language itself

Synesthesia

To associate one sense with another, correlation

They say it is rare

Those who have it claim that numbers are colors, days of the week are sounds, sights are smells

But to claim as much is naivety

For if you state the word RED aloud

what do you think of?

They’d heard that figuring out what exactly a problem was would help to solve it. That made perfect sense, as a concept! You had to know what you were looking at before you could begin fixing it, right?

Kirby agreed, really.

One problem, though?

They had no idea how to fix this.

…they put a hand to their chin. Come to think of it, did they actually know what the problem was? Maybe it really was right, but they hadn’t yet finished step one.

Okay. Step one, take two. What was wrong?

Elfilin. Elfilin was wrong.

They paced back and forth aimlessly. Sure, yeah, but how? He wasn't like himself at all. Like, at all , at all. Just totally different. Kirby didn't know this semi-verbal, hyperfocused, right-handed Elfilin, but it wasn't their Elfilin, and that was wrong.

…Was it?

Kirby blinked.

Was this actually a problem?

Not acting like yourself was generally a bad thing. From straight-up impersonation to having a terrible day, you not being you wasn't good. Therefore, Elfilin not being Elfilin was bad.

The cause, however, was still unknown.

Why wasn't Elfilin being Elfilin? What happened?!

Had they done something wrong? Was he afraid, or sad, or mad, or literally replaced by someone else, or nervous, or-

Kirby face-planted into the dirt and groaned in frustration.

…took a step back. Was this a problem?

Given that it was most likely happening because of Elfilin being upset, yes.

And if it wasn't?

…

…

…

Kirby had no idea what to do… but, maybe, that was because they didn't need to do anything.

They couldn't help Elfilin if he didn't say what was wrong. They also couldn't help Elfilin if nothing was wrong. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

Kirby rephrased their thoughts, little by little.

Elfilin wasn't wrong. Elfilin was different.

And Kirby would support Elfilin no matter what, even through change.

They stood tall, proud of themself for working this out, and set off into town to come home to some semblance of Elfilin.

Kirby could be there for him, cheering him on, and for now, that was good enough!

Chapter Text

Bandana Dee rubbed an eye. "Okay, so- hang on. Explain this to me again?"

"Alright," Kirby grinned with determination, undeterred by the fact that this was now the third time they'd tried to explain this concept to him, "So, basically, Elfilin is weird, but only sometimes . Like, just yesterday he was his regular self, but the day before that, he was weirdly focused on what he was doing and didn’t like when I distracted him. And there’s a bunch of ways you can tell whether today is a weird-day or not, and I’ve been keeping track!”

“Right. Why?”

“Well, I mean, first of all, because you said that Elfilin wasn’t Elfilin the first time. So I thought I’d explain to you what I’ve figured out. Plus, uh, acting that different might not be a good thing, soooo I’ve been trying to help when I can! And in order to help, you have to know when something’s wrong- er, different.”

He tilted his head. “How do you… help?”

“When Elfilin’s different, he usually throws himself into work. He takes charge and tries to fix the water issue. I think it has something to do with him overworking himself, or being anxious about the town… so whenever he’s acting odd, I cheer him up!”

“...I still don’t think I get it.”

“C’mon, it makes perfect sense!”

“If he wants to be working, though, maybe you should just let him? If he becomes all weird or whatever because of work, then taking him away from it would be what makes it weird, right? He’s in work mode, not play mode.”

“...You’re making even less sense than I was.”

“Aha! So you admit your theory makes no sense!”

“No-!” Kirby shook their head quickly, “Look, here, I’ll show you! Let’s go find Elfilin, and then I can show you every difference between weird and not-weird! It’s not just work.”

Bandan rolled his eyes, skeptical, but followed along anyways as the two sprinted into town.

Art doesn't make sense. Sometimes describing something is pointless. People write prose about the happiest and saddest things. They don't need to. Talking about it doesn't need to be hard.

In a ruined land that most call "forbidden,"

there's an old research station with an automated tour system,

and the woman in the recording tells you that there's someone held captive up there.

But if you go to the top floor, you'll find broken glass, flooded ground, and a door torn from its hinges.

Nobody needs to tell you that.

How could anyone make that into art.

It exists by itself, as it is.

The glass is broken.

There's nobody inside.

Elfilis gently tore the page from the rest of the book and hid it with the other poems they'd written. They'd need the writing intact in case Kirby asked to see it, but they also didn't want their other half questioning when he'd written it and why.

Though, come to think of it, they didn't think they could show Kirby this one at all. It was perhaps a little bit too conspicuous. Elfilin would not frame their freedom as a positive thing.

Art was subjective, however. If Kirby were to read it, would they perceive it as positive, or negative? Would they get on their case about writing something so fearful or sad?

Elfilis knew what they meant, at least. They sighed as they tucked it away. A shame they likely couldn't get away with showing that one off - they were almost proud of it.

They leaned back, stalling for time, knowing that soon they'd have to go back to the act of being Elfilin. Things were better this way, they reminded themself, but it was certainly still taxing.

At least they'd learned things since their first attempt. They were starting to figure out how complex socialization actually worked. Notably, it was easier to follow along with whatever someone else did. It was all improv - a game of "yes, and."

Elfilin did things that other people wanted. Elfilin liked doing things for other people, and doing whatever they wanted him to do. He would do it often.

If Elfilis wanted to be convincingly friendly, they would have to go out of their way to learn what, exactly, people wanted from them, and then become precisely that.

That was fine. That was easy, even.

Elfilis could be whatever anyone liked. After all, they could read minds.

Taking a deep breath, they rose out of bed and plastered a big smile onto their face.

Today was going to be a good day!

After all, for Elfilin, every day was a good day!

The first thing they noticed was the chipper song in the middle of town. It sounded improvised, just a silly little tune, but Kirby could still see various Waddle Dees caught up in the song's thrall, stopping and smiling along.

Kirby turned to pointedly look at Bandan and gave a signal. One point for Weird so far.

He tilted his head at that. "It's not weird for Elfilin to be-"

" Shhh! The whole point of signaling is so he doesn't hear it!"

Bandana Dee rolled his eyes. Apparently, despite being the most concerned about Elfilin's out-of-character-ness initially, his skepticism ruled out in this case.

Finally, they came into view.

There was Elfilin, humming and doing wonky little loop-de-loops, helping take care of the flowers in the town square - the salt water had done a number on the poor things. Every Dee he passed got a friendly wave and a smile.

The wave was right-handed. They signaled again. Bandan scoffed. That was fine; it's not like they could elaborate on what they'd seen.

"Hi, Elfilin~!"

He turned quickly, the smile brightening. "Kirby! Hello! How are you?"

His eyes tracked their every movement, hands clasped in front of him. Every open and friendly act just felt so… calculated. Elfilin didn't normally worry so much about what other people thought - it wasn't like him to script things out like this, but Kirby had heard this exact greeting from him before.

He'd definitely need a lot of brightening up.

Kirby signaled twice more, subtly so Elfilin wouldn't pick up on it. "We're fine! I wanted to come see you, find out what you're up to! Are you busy right now?"

He picked a flower from the nearest bush and twirled it in his grasp. "Not really! Tending the garden. It's fun! They're so pretty… gotta help out!"

" Welllllllll, " Kirby leaned on Bandan, "We were thinking, hey, if you're not busy, mayyybe you'd be up to coming to Wondaria with us?"

He tilted his head. They could practically hear the gears turning. "Hmmm… maybe! When?"

Short answer. Signal again, "Basically whenever you're ready! Clawroline's gonna give us the full t- uh, gonna show us around, and we'll get to do all kinds of fun stuff we dig up! Wanna come with?"

He brightened up a little more at the mention of Clawroline, a sparkle in his eye. "You know what? Sure! Where is she?"

"She's in town somewhere! If you could go find her and let her know, that would be great!"

He nodded without another word and fluttered off in a hurry to try and find the errant leopard.

Kirby waited for just a moment, waiting for him to fly out of earshot…

"So yeah, that's not normal Elfilin."

"I still don't really see it. The other day at the cafe, yeah, he was super out of it and not like himself at all, but this?" Bandan shook his head. "He's being friendly and gardening, Kirby. How is that weird to you?"

"It's really subtle now, but I swear it's not normal for him. Like, like, how work focused he is, how he said he's gotta help out , and he's been waving with his right hand and almost being, like, too friendly to make up for how not-friendly he used to be about it. I just know. "

"What does his right hand have to do with this?"

"Elfi's a lefty!"

"So what, he's not allowed to ever use his right hand?"

Kirby sighed with much frustration. "Bandan, I don't get it. Why won't you listen to me?! It's like you're trying to pretend to be normal too!"

The realization stunned them. Bandan didn't respond.

"...is that what it is?" Kirby asked him softly, "You… don't want anything to be wrong?"

He was quiet for another second, a guilty look on his face. "...we've been through a lot, y'know? Especially Elfilin. His whole life got turned upside-down in only a few days… I don't want anything to be wrong with him, not again. He doesn't deserve to have some other wacky problem going on with him. He needs a break."

"...well, I think you need a break too."

He scoffed. "More than Elfilin does?"

"It's not about who needs a break more - if you're both stressed, you both need a break. It doesn't matter how bad you're hurting compared to each other." Kirby dropped the serious face in favor of a big excited grin, grabbing Bandan by the shoulders, "So, let's go to Wondaria! C'mon! We can go eat fried dough, and dodge broken-down rides that are all haywire, and we won't have to worry about anything at all! You got it?"

Bandan snorted. "I think we should be worrying about the crazy off-course rides!"

"Now you're getting it!"

Without another word, Elfilin showed up with Clawroline in tow, bouncing up and down in the air excitedly.

Kirby flashed him one more grin. "Time to go!"

The four set off, cheering and chanting about their visit to the amusement park all the way.

Kirby's immediate first course of action was to clamber up to the top of the rocket statue - they hadn't planned for it, they hadn't told the others, but instantly as though it was the most logical course of action, Bandan and Elfilin followed along up to the top.

Giggling while Clawroline watched disapprovingly from below, Bandan hopped onto Kirby's back. Elfilin snickered and landed atop Bandan's head, perched like a proud bird.

Unprompted, Elfilin blew a raspberry at Clawroline, and her eyes narrowed.

Then, she set a more powerful stance.

Kirby, realizing what was about to happen, tried to move out of the way, but not wanting to topple the stack of friends they found themself in, they couldn't escape as Clawroline pounced, leaping all the way up with a mrrooww! and knocking all of them off.

They tumbled to the ground, rolling along like a discarded beach ball. Bandan plopped down onto his face, and Elfilin spun out in the air, trying to catch himself before ultimately landing like a hat in the breeze.

Bandana Dee got up first, glaring back up at the smug leopard before helping Elfilin back up and checking up on Kirby.

They stared aimlessly up at the sky, watching as the two of them came into view, peering down at them. "Are you alright?" Bandan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kirby's thoughts suddenly caught up to them.

"Popcorn!"

Elfilin looked absolutely bewildered. "What?"

They sat up, pointing off into the distance. Following their gaze, the other two could see that there was, in fact, a stand with a picture of popcorn on it.

"...What?" Elfilin repeated.

"I saw it while we were up there! We should go get some!"

Without waiting for an answer, Kirby began running, on a mission to get a tasty treat for the three of them.

"Wait up-!" Bandan called, the both of them following along with excitement and confusion respectively.

Kirby charged through gates and streets with reckless abandon. Nothing would stop them from getting their hands on a food they wanted, and the beasts of the new world were about to learn that for themselves, awoofies quickly darting out of the way and startled birds abandoning their foraging spots for seeds and scraps.

" Popcooooorn! " they shouted as they screeched to a halt right in front of the stand, pausing for breath at the counter.

When Bandan and Elfilin arrived, they were already filling their hands with bags and bags of different kinds of popcorn. Caramel covered, kettle cooked, ranch, cheese, chocolate - man, this place had everything!

Elfilin examined the many, many varieties that Kirby held as Bandan simply took a bag from them. "...Why?" he questioned, gesturing to all of it.

"It's food!" Kirby clarified.

At this, Elfilin nodded sagely, a look of understanding clear on his face.

Kirby held out the bag of caramel corn to Elfilin, offering him a try. "They're sweet!"

He gave the treats a skeptical glance, unimpressed, then deliberately picked up a piece of popcorn and sniffed it.

Elfilis shrugged and popped it into his mouth.

Crunch!

His face instantly lit up.

Greedily reaching into the bag, he grabbed a whole handful of the stuff and shoved it all at his face, sharply crunching all of it with a huge smile.

"You like it?" Bandan asked slightly rhetorically, snickering to himself.

"It crunches! " Elfilin gleefully reported with his mouth full, scooping up another handful. "It looked soft!"

Kirby tilted their head, still smiling, "Does it matter if it's soft or crunchy?"

He looked at them with a playful, fake-serious expression. "The crunch. Is. Everything. "

With that, he kept at it, all while Kirby and Bandan absolutely lost it.

"Here, I have a bunch of different kinds! You can pick your favorite and carry it with you while we go looking for stuff to play!" 

He nodded, excited, and dug right in without any hesitation.

Bandan laughed harder. "Yeah! Popcorn party!"

Clawroline caught up to the little group while they were practically buried in the stuff. She rolled her eyes as Elfilin stuffed his cheeks.

"This one," he held up the kettle corn, mumbling through a mouthful of it, "'S good. Not too sweet."

Weird, because Elfilin loved sweet stuff, but Kirby wouldn't question it. "Off we go, then!"

The four set off, Elfilin pleased as punch with his bag of crunchy food, munching as he went.

A little movement in the distance caught Kirby's eye. What looked like a big bumper car spun on a track, but it swerved unsteadily on its hinges and kinda passed over the path. It left a clear circle in the road where it scuffed it.

"Careful," Kirby warned, taking a wide path around the errant ride, avoiding the tracks in the dirt.

Elfilin, who either wasn't paying attention or didn't care, wandered into the oncoming traffic.

Quickly, as though time itself slowed down for them, Kirby reached forward, grabbed the back of his neck, and yanked him backwards right in time for the wayward bumper car to speed through exactly where he'd been hovering.

" Careful-! " Kirby gasped out. After they caught their breath, they quipped, "You're lucky I was fast enough - you would've ended up like Elfilis otherwise!"

Elfilin seemed bewildered at what had just transpired. He stared at Kirby with an incredibly wide range of emotions, such as shock, horror, and I can't believe this .

After a moment to regain his bearings, he laughed at Kirby's little joke.

Very, very deliberately. Definitely forced.

" Aha! Ha! Ha, ha! Yeah! Don't want that!"

For some reason, Kirby got the distinct impression that Elfilin wanted to punch something very badly. His fists nearly shook at his sides, and he was clenching his jaw. It was a little unnerving to see him this mad… or, just mad at all.

"Sorry I grabbed you, by the way! I just didn't think you'd have time to move if I warned you by yelling or something…"

They didn't think that was the problem, but it did calm him down. The rage fizzled out as he let out a heavy sigh. "It's fine. No worries~!"

Pleased that they’d managed to soothe him, they smiled.

Elfilin, however, frowned, then turned back to look at the would-be point of impact. “Dropped the popcorn…” he pouted. Sure enough, the bag of kettle corn had been left behind when Kirby’d pulled him back, leaving a very sad sight on the ground.

“We can go get more! Ooh, or maybe they’ll have other good crunchy stuff to try!”

Excited at the prospect of crunchy foods, Elfilin lit up, wagging his tail like an awoofy. Kirby giggled at his silliness, when Clawroline caught their eye.

She mewed something to them, waving and gesturing. Elfilin's ears angled towards her before the rest of him did, and he nodded along with her message.

"Something to do?" he pointed.

"What is it?" Bandan tilted his head in interest.

"A surprise, " Elfilin grinned. "She didn't say."

The three looked at each other, and, without words, unanimously decided to make it a race.

The trio sprinted down the pathway, hooting and hollering and kicking up mud. Kirby slid along the wet earth instead of letting it hinder them, slipping past Elfilin as he did his best to flutter faster, making wide arcs through the air in his attempts. They snuck a quick look behind them to see Bandan trip and roll, and Elfilin careen off the path with a startled " no-! "

Right before Kirby could claim victory, electricity crackled to life just beside them, and the vortex-creating eater of worlds that was their friend Elfilin shot through a newly-created portal and cackled maniacally.

Just seconds before slamming into Clawroline with enough force to knock the wind out of both of them.

After double checking to make sure both of them were alright, Kirby gloated, "Serves you right for cheating!" and stuck their tongue out at him.

Elfilin very deliberately shook off the shock of the impact, letting his ears flap around and whip at his face almost cartoonishly. "Worth it."

Bandan skidded to a stop next to them as Clawroline stood back up and brushed herself off. "Foul-play aside - what's the surprise?!"

They'd all stopped in front of a tent - light leaked out from underneath, and there seemed to be glitter scattered about errantly in the dirt and grass nearby.

Clawroline pulled back the curtain with a grin, revealing the room with a little trill.

Kirby's eyes lit up.

It was like a little backstage area, with mirrors, drawers, and-

"Makeup!"

Elfilin looked at them with curiosity. "You like makeup?"

" Yes! " Kirby practically squealed, dashing into the room to look around, "It's all so glittery and pretty and fun and good! You can make yourself look totally different and shiny!"

Bandan joined them in their excitement. "Yeah! Hey, maybe we can draw cool shapes on our faces - Clawroline, do you have any more of the sparkly kind on your eyes? We'll look like little rockstars!"

She nodded, going off to fetch a palette of eyeshadow while Kirby continued to excitedly shriek about how it was "makeover time!"

They looked over at Elfilin, who was smiling passively at their excitement. He looked at himself in the mirror and did a very startled double-take, as though he wasn't expecting to see himself there. Gradually, he relaxed, though he also seemed a little sad…

Oh. Of course Elfilin would be startled to see a second him in front of him.

"Hey, Elfi," Kirby called over to distract him, waving excitedly, "What do you think I should draw on my face?!"

This worked nicely - he snorted a little at the wording. "A star, maybe? A heart, too… but not pink!"

"Hopefully Clawroline has lots of colors, that way we don't have to pick colors that blend in too well!" Bandan agreed with him.

She returned with an armful of palettes, meowing cheerfully and setting them down on a bureau. She brandished a soft brush like a weapon, letting out a playful growl.

Kirby giggled and wiggled in place out of excitement. Sparing another glance at Elfilin, they found he'd gotten hung up on his own reflection again, staring at it forlornly.

Luckily, Clawroline also noticed. She passed along the kits to Kirby and Bandan, then approached Elfilin, brush drawn, with what could only be described as malicious intent.

Elfilin's ears turned to face her before he did, and he whipped around as she dramatically clicked open a palette.

"Uh oh- Clawroline- !"

The two of them burst into laughter as cat and mouse broke out into what was practically a wrestling match, all the while having a conversation that sounded very one-sided to those who did not speak leopard:

" Mrow! "

"No-! Don't, it's fine-!"

" Mrrrow! "

"Will not! Don't you dare-!"

" Mrrrp! "

Eventually, Clawroline won out in their little struggle. Elfilin closed his eyes as she finally convinced him to get some eyeliner on.

" Hehe- c'mon, Kirby! Look at all the colors we've got! Let's get to work!"

Kirby cheered loudly and began hoarding as many colors as they could hold, Elfilin laughing beneath Clawroline's clutches.

"Hand me a little blue-"

"Oh yeah! Here - it looks good on you!"

"Are you trying to draw a whole rainbow on your face or something?"

"You bet I am!"

"Oh, of course you are - here, are you using the gold or the yellow for it?"

"Oooh, I can't decide!"

"I really like the gold, but I dunno how well it'll go with the rest of the colors…"

"What if I drew, like, a pot of gold under the rainbow!?"

"Ooooooh! That might work!"

" My face is a beautiful canvas~! "

" Mrr… mrrrow! "

" Done , apparently," Elfilin translated to himself, getting up and grabbing a little hand mirror.

Kirby and Bandan didn't pay it any mind until he gasped.

Both of them turned to look, but couldn't see - he was turned the other way.

"Elfilin? C'mon, show us the new look!" Bandan chirped.

"Yeah! Makeover time's no fun if you can't see the result!" they agreed.

Clawroline held a paw to her mouth, satisfied with her hard work. Something in her gaze held an immense fondness, like she was proud on a sentimental level.

"...it…looks…"

Kirby and Bandan leaned in closer.

Elfilin turned around, even more starry-eyed than usual.

He was now wearing red and orange eyeliner, winged at the corners just like Fecto Elfilis' fur pattern had been.

"... Perfect! " he cheered, absolutely ecstatic.

They knew they'd have to carry on and find something else to do soon, and that they'd probably have fun doing anything else. Right now, however? There was exactly one thing on their mind.

Elfilis tilted their head again, examining their reflection in the mirror with a huge smile.

And for once, it really did feel like their own reflection. The face looking back at them was Elfilin's, they knew, but now?

Such a small, simple change. A tiny, personalized touch.

Elfilis could look themself in the eyes and actually see themself there. Iridescent blues and purples, ringed by a striking orange.

Elfilis felt pretty.

Gorgeous, even.

They twirled in place, swinging their arm like a spear and gave themself a dangerous, mischievous grin. They leaned forward and rested their elbows on the bureau, paws on their cheeks. They leaned back and looked up, side-eyeing their reflection.

This? This was perfection. It just felt right.

"Hey, little supermodel!" Bandana Dee called out to them, "Give us a catwalk!"

Kirby giggled a little at the comment. Well, maybe they would!

" Elfilis, " Clawroline mewed to get their attention. 

In her paws she held a long scarf made of pastel, rainbow feathers.

Oh.

Gods.

Yes.

Elfilis frantically gestured to grab it, and Clawroline tossed it over to them with a trill. Kirby and Bandana Dee cheered as they threw it around their neck and struck a pose.

They caught another glimpse of their reflection.

Streaks of color along their neck, partially obscuring their wings and blending in with them, making them seem bigger and more colorful, their eyes sharp and stunning just as they should be, they were right, they were perfect, they were Elfilis.

And boy, did it feel good to be Elfilis.

Kirby and Bandan ran up to them in excitement, all bedazzled themselves - instead of accenting their eyes or facial features, they'd used the vibrant, sparkly stuff to paint pictures on their faces, all decorated with stars and hearts and rainbows and lightning bolts.

Elfilis grinned. Looks like they were all ready to party.

Kirby took hold of their paw - this time, they anticipated it and actually didn't flinch away! - and grinned back, dragging them away from the mirror. "Let's go find something to get into! C'mon!"

"Yeah!" they agreed with a chirp, flying along with them.

Leaving the tent and pushing through some doors into a dark arcade, the three looked at each other.

Smiled.

And took off in all different directions, looking for stuff to play with.

While Kirby and Bandan shouted about toys and accessories locked behind shelves, Elfilis kicked open a door labeled "Employees Only," scouring the old storage space for some trouble to get into.

They swerved just a little in the air. It was so slight that they didn't expect it to be a problem whatsoever, but it did make them brace themself against a shelf.

Apparently, they'd hit the shelf just a little too hard - the thing was ancient and poorly built, so it rattled and eventually collapsed. They squeaked and dodged a box that fell to the ground, its contents spilling out onto the floor.

The three's guide - and responsible adult - Clawroline, swiftly came to check on them, concerned for the noise, while they shook off the surprise.

"Broke something," they reassured her slightly sheepishly, landing on the smooth floor and dragging the box out into the light.

They hopped up, peering over the lid, to find that it was a box of plastic sticks. How grand.

Elfilis showed off their find with an expression of immense disappointment.

Clawroline grinned at their discovery, and gestured for them to break the little stick.

Well, if that's what she wanted, they'd happily oblige. Breaking things was one of their specialties.

In one quick motion, a crackly-crunchy sound emanated from the glass and plastic that made up the little tube, and-

"Oh!"

The substance inside now glowed a vibrant green color.

Elfilis examined their find a little closer. It seemed that it was actually two containers, one inside the other. The outer, stronger, plastic layer contained one chemical, and the inner glass layer, which was quite fragile, held another. By bending the plastic, one could break the glass inside and cause a chemical reaction - apparently, one that was designed to light up like a phantom's fur coat.

"Elfilin? What was that?"

They grinned, turning around to show Kirby and Bandana Dee their little glowing sticks. " Meant to break! Take a look!" they gestured, popping more holes in the inner tube to speed up the chemical processes.

Kirby gasped with delight, running up to them at high speed until they were practically pressing their face against the thing. " So cool! Do you have any more?!"

Absolutely beaming, Elfilis scooped up a handful of the glowsticks and practically tossed them at them.

"Go wild ," they encouraged, snapping open another - this one was yellow. Interesting!

In no time at all, the three of them were wreaking havoc on the collection of light-up devices, bending them almost all the way around to form bracelets and necklaces of various vibrant colors, tossing them around in the dark. Bandana Dee waved one about like a spear to see the streak of light it briefly left behind in the air, and Kirby shook theirs like a soda can to try and produce the same effect.

Taking their lead, Elfilis bit down on an unopened stick to crack the internals, then shook it like an awoofy with their prey… or something small and rubbery that they could pretend was prey. The other two giggled at their antics - though, they couldn't really see the streaks of color this way… not as well as they'd hoped, at least. To remedy this, they bit down harder and grabbed the edges to snap more open.

With a much more distinct crunch, Elfilis now held two halves of a purple glowstick in each hand. The liquid inside dripped down their paws and chin. "Oops…?"

Bandan snorted and burst into quiet laughter. Kirby put a hand to their mouth to stifle their own and questioned, "Well, what's it taste like?"

Fair enough. Elfilis spat out some plastic before speaking, "Like soap, but… spicy? It burns. Don't think it's… um… edible."

"Coward talk!" Kirby exclaimed right before Bandan frantically held them back to stop them from inhaling all the chemicals immediately.

Instead of helping, they laughed and cheered the puffball on. Yeah! Coward talk! Between the two of them, they could redefine the meaning of what can or should be eaten!

It made them feel a little more aware of the absurdity that was the situation they were in. Fecto Elfilis, posing as Elfilin, was hanging out with their would-be killer, their would-be power source, and the queen of the beast pack, eating old chemicals in the dark and actually… having… fun.

It felt wrong, in a way. Elfilis just liked breaking stuff. And science, when it wasn't being done to them. Allowing themself to do stuff that they liked in the presence of people they were supposed to be accommodating for and basing themself on made them feel like they were making a mistake, blowing their cover.

Kirby quickly tossed them some of the sticks they were about to eat. "Elfilin, run! Don't- hehe-! Don't let Bandan get them-!"

They flew out of the waddle dee's range automatically, ignoring and yet delighting in his frantic squeaks to give those back Elfilin I'm serious you can't eat them if they burn your mouth!

Maybe they just felt wrong because they weren't Elfilin.

Kirby wouldn't be doing this if they weren't being Elfilin.

…or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that they were kinda doing what they'd normally do, and Kirby and Bandan were accepting it without an issue that was making them sad. They couldn't play around with these two without this facade. They couldn't let themself feel safe next to them without the shield of Elfilin in front of them.

For now, they did loop-de-loops in the air, just like Elfilin was supposed to, and crowed loudly, taunting Bandan with the contraband in their arms.

They swerved in the air and just rolled with it, streaking along in the wind as they turned their head to blow a raspberry at Bandan.

Their wings, of course, were attached to their head. They'd gotten into the habit of looking over at things with their eyes to account for this - at full, adult size, their wings would be broad enough that this turn would not be an issue.

Alas, their wings were small and uneven, so with a sharp " woah-! " they twisted seven-hundred and twenty degrees and careened off into a shelf of things that clattered on the floor.

"Are you okay?!" Kirby shouted, scooping up glowsticks that had abandoned ship during the crisis, Bandan forgetting their temporary play-feud to check up on them as well.

They poked their head out of the plastic debris, bewildered and holding up what they'd found on that shelf.

"Found a gun!"

Bandan blubbered through a confused scoff, "A gun?! " he questioned, even though he could see the thing right in front of him.

Kirby picked up one of the stray ones off the ground and, having zero knowledge of proper gun safety despite wielding one themself, stared down the barrel of it. "It's not loaded," they reported.

Elfilis gestured to the pile that was the contents of the wall rack. "Of course. No ammo, see?" They pointed it at the floor and clicked the trigger, producing a sound like a light-blade soaring through the air through a speaker and flashing a light at the ground.

Clawroline caught up with them and nodded. " They aren't real weapons. They're for a game you can play just down this way. "

Those who didn't understand beasts turned to Elfilis for their take on the meowing. "They're toys. There's a room…?"

She pointed up to a sign.

They read it aloud, because those who didn't understand beasts didn't understand the written language of this land either. " Laser Tag. They're for that!"

Kirby popped up and looked to Clawroline excitedly. "Can we play?!"

A game where the goal was to precisely shoot each other and avoid being attacked yourself?

Oh, Elfilis might as well have already won.

However, they were the only one who knew of the power imbalance, and Clawroline gleefully tossed them all vests with sensors they'd need to begin without questioning a thing.

Before they knew it, they were being dragged off with Bandan to the entrance of the arena, grinning madly and practically shaking.

Elfilis was going to wipe the floor with these two.

"Here," Kirby handed Bandan one of the play-weapons, "We should all start in different corners!"

They adjusted their own vest to the best of their ability. It was probably always going to feel a little big on a body this small - they had it double wrapped around themselves as many times as they could manage. "Teams?"

"Ehh, none for now! A free-for-all is way more fun anyway!"

Their smile only grew. Nobody else to account for but themself? Perfect.

They nodded to their opponents, picked a corner of the ring, and flew over top of the maze-like structure meant to act as cover, getting into position.

Far above them, Clawroline stood on a vantage point to watch the match, manning some controls. She set up the lights and fog machines - they thought it was impressive that they still worked, before they realized that, technically, a smoking machine was not a good thing, and they wouldn't really have a way of knowing how those particular machines were doing - and soon, a countdown began.

Five… four… three…

Elfilis spread their wings, tightening their hold on their weapon of choice.

A bell sounded, and Clawroline called out, " Go! "

They'd missed the feeling of adrenaline.

Let the hunt begin!

Elfilis darted about through the dark labyrinth with ease, traveling at a speed that would be difficult to see, let alone hit. The short distances between walls made them able to move in straight lines without going off-course, able to stop against whatever surface was in front of them and launch off it again from there.

They already had their first target in mind, soaring their way to Kirby's corner in short bursts.

Biased? Them? Never!

But they would pay for their earlier comment. End up like Elfilis… pah! How do you like 'em now?!

The giggling and stomping of the little pink nuisance gave them away, their shuffle-steps not nearly stealthy enough to hide from their advanced sense of hearing. They tucked behind a wall and took aim.

" Where aaaare youuuu- ack!" Kirby sang, interrupted by the blip! of Elfilis' lasers and beeping of their vest indicating they'd been hit.

By the time they turned around to face them, they'd already taken off, flying over them so quickly and closely that they likely felt the wind rush by their head. They swooped up to perch atop a wall and took another shot. Elfilis was rewarded with another ping indicating they'd landed the shot.

Kirby whipped around again, trying to catch sight of their attacker, but Elfilis was much too quick, able to hide with ease in the nooks and crannies the walls naturally formed and take potshots every other second. As they got the hang of the weapon, they even began shooting mid-flight, only ever missing when their damaged wing proved to be an issue.

No matter what, they were winning this. They would not lose to them again. And it was just a bonus if they got to have fun with it, the cherry on top being that Kirby wouldn't hold any ill-will towards them for it either. The perfect, most dangerous game.

On their next pass, they laughed maniacally, an evil little cackle at the next satisfying ding!

" Elfilin-! " Kirby cried out, play-frustrated, looking around for them frantically, "You- you little-! Mosquito! Little pest! Stay still!"

" Never! " they called back, doing a dramatic little twirl for their next shot. Ding!

" Bandan! " they shouted out into the darkness, " Come help me get Elfilin! "

"Hey!" they responded, still laughing, "No teams!"

"Come on, alliances can be allowed!"

" Bandana Dee! " they shouted as well in retaliation, " Help get Kirby! "

Soon, the Dee in question crashed into the scene. They aimed for his sensors, but didn't fire until they got to hear what side he was on-

Oh, who were they kidding? Of course Elfilis shot Bandana Dee the second they saw him. Opportunistic to the very end.

Hey, at least they gave it some pause. A split-second of hesitation was way more than usual!

"Wh- hey! "

"I told you! Help me take down Elfilin! He's a little menace! "

"So says you! Pink Demon!" Elfilis called back and fired at them again.

" After him! "

They flew off with the other two hot on their tail, losing it laughing the whole way.

Two against one? Cute!

Those two didn't stand a chance.

Elfilin had way, way, way more energy now. Weirdly enough, though, he still didn’t quite seem to be himself.

Which was fine!

But Kirby may need to rethink their theory as a result.

He continued to woop and cheer, doing playful circles in the air and loudly flaunting his victory. "In your face! " he called out cockily, dancing and waving around the gun he'd been using. "Come on - more to do! More to see!"

Without waiting, he darted off to go find something else to play with.

Kirby looked at Bandan.

Bandan looked at Kirby. "Well?"

"Still weird, but… clearly much happier!"

"...what does that mean for the whole it's because he's upset thing?"

Kirby pursed their lips. Then shrugged. "Guess we'll see…?"

" Aha! " he cried out in the distance.

Both of them looked up to see Elfilin speeding towards them, hauling some big, clunky device along with him as Clawroline followed along just underneath, ready to support the hulking machine should he lose his grip on it.

Elfilin stopped in front of the two, and elegantly plopped it on the ground, gesturing to it broadly and with much fanfare.

"What is it?" Kirby asked, inspecting the weird little machine.

Elfilin grinned and retrieved a microphone they hadn't seen there until now. "A karaoke machine!" he chirped.

Kirby gasped excitedly while Bandan grimaced and took a step back as though preparing to retreat. It made Kirby smile sheepishly - oh, right. They probably shouldn't take up the mic.

Apparently unaware of what would happen, Elfilin offered Kirby his place at the machine.

"Oh- no thanks! I love singing, but, ah…"

"You sure?" he tilted his head.

"Yeahhh… hey, you should go first! You're a great singer!"

He looked a little bashful, but retook his spot on the metaphorical stage.

Elfilin looked around almost nervously. Kirby nodded and grinned. Bandan gave him an encouraging little "woop!" Clawroline offered a thumbs up.

He took a deep breath, then began clicking around on the machine, searching for a good track to sing to.

Soon, a bouncy little tune began to play, quickly followed by an almost galloping beat.

It was only when he started to sing did it occur to Kirby that all the songs on the machine would be in the language of the people who lived here before - as such, Bandan and possibly Clawroline would have a lot of trouble understanding it.

Luckily, Elfilin was fluent, and sang very clearly and loudly. Kirby could follow along just fine - it was an odd ability of theirs, but they were really good at knowing languages.

The song he'd chosen was about love, and change, and colors - brown, blue, violet, green - it was about fixing things, doing things for others.

It was certainly an interesting choice for Elfilin, to be sure.

Kirby laughed and danced along, dragging Bandan along to dance too - weirdly, he seemed to be very focused on the song, and moving him snapped him out of it. Clawroline swayed idly to the beat, also entranced by it.

The bridge of the song was a little slower. Bandan glanced at Kirby - "What language is this in?"

Not expecting the question, Kirby stuttered, "Uh, it's like… the one that plays in the elevator, I think?"

"...Weird. I can almost understand it if I focus…"

They turned their gaze back to Elfilin, who was very into the tune, singing with his eyes closed and an almost serene smile.

The chorus came back quietly.

"I can hear… something…" he muttered again, lost in thought.

Kirby watched Bandan's face, then looked back to Elfilin…

…Right as he gave a big smile and sang loud and long, making an intricate riff with a huge grin on his face.

There was a little flash of color that Kirby could see, and then Bandana Dee and Clawroline both leapt back - she had her ears pinned back, stunned, and Bandan nearly fell over.

Leon lifted his head, ears swiveling around towards the noise-that-was-not-a-noise.

It didn't seem angry or demanding. Not a bark of a command, nor any other call to action. Just a passive expression of excitement.

The awoofies at his side all perked up as well, ears pointed straight up and eyes on the horizon, ready for action. He patted their sides comfortingly. "Settle down. It was only a little howl. You guys always bark for fun!"

Soon enough, the pack relaxed, and he returned to his leisure time.

Awoofies howled in the distance, birds took off and flew away, and Elfilin looked a little surprised himself.

For a moment, there was no sound besides the music still playing from the machine, its singer no longer following along in the wake of… whatever had just happened.

"Oops," he offered eventually, "too loud?"

Clawroline meowed a response with a little so-so hand gesture.

"What was that ?!" Bandan blurted, "That was crazy! It- you- huh?!"

"Got carried away," he rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

Huh.

Shaking it off, trying to move past whatever that was, Elfilin tossed Kirby the mic. They caught it without thinking, fumbling with it for a moment. "Go on! Give an encore!"

"Are you… sure?" Kirby asked one last time, leaning in a little. Bandan watched warily while Clawroline seemed intrigued as to where this was going.

"Go for it," he gestured openly.

Kirby stepped up to the plate, taking a deep breath. 

"Hey, uh, Elfilin?" Bandana Dee sidled up to him, whispering, "You should, uh, probably cover your ears. Maybe."

He rolled his eyes a little and crossed his arms, not taking the command-veiled warning.

The result of Kirby's singing ended up making them feel way less worried about whatever happened with Elfilin's song, considering that they produced the exact same effect.

" That was a fun day, was it not? " Clawroline meowed, addressing her little helper as they cleaned everything up.

" Whaaaaat?! " they called back sarcastically, "Can't hear you! Gone deaf!"

" The waddle dee told you to cover your ears! "

They grumbled to themself about taking orders from their workforce before playfully smiling up at her.

She wasn't sure how to feel about the Little One's imitation of Elfilin in their day-to-day life, but she had to admit, they seemed to be gaining a habit of being more open and playful as a result. Perhaps it really was good for them if it made them lighten up like this. She'd have to tell Leon about this little discovery.

She picked up some broken plastic shards from the floor, idly reconsidering the wording of her thoughts. Between the psychic beside her, the mention of Leon, and the word discovery , she ought to watch herself more closely as to not upset them.

Did it even matter? It wasn't as if she really spoke the language. Her thoughts were far more abstract - were they meows, to Elfilis, or were they memories, maybe? Concepts? Did those who spoke even think in their language?

Sure, Clawroline would never understand Elfilis' psychic ability, but it wasn't as if she'd ever understand Leon's perspective, either.

At this, she sighed.

Her little helper's ears perked up at this. "Something wrong?"

" Only lost in thought. " she trilled, reassuring them, " Though, come to think of it… how did I understand your song? The bandana'd waddle dee said he understood, too. "

They shrugged. "Passive psychic energy. Music is communication."

" Did you sing to Leon? "

Now, she really had their attention. They paused what they were doing and tilted their head up at her.

" Is that how you taught him the language? Through song? "

They looked away, clearly calculating, mulling something over. Fair enough - it was probably fairly difficult to translate psychic language to an actual language and then to a beastial language.

Elfilis' eyes lit up.

They looked up at her, a twinkle in their eye and a little smile on their face. Clawroline thought that in that moment, they looked so remarkably like Elfilin…

"Will show you."

At this point, their entire internal dialogue consisted wholly of uh oh, uh oh, uh oh , amidst some other far more colorful phrases they'd picked up from the many languages they'd learned over the years.

Behind them, they dragged Clawroline through the vortex they'd crafted to carry the both of them back to town, despite her resistance.

Of course, upon arriving, all eyes were on them - no, no, no attention, look away, stop looking, no ogling! - given the ruckus that she was making, yowling and shrieking while doing her damnedest to pull the paw they were holding back to her head.

A beast pack member clutching their head and screaming was a very, very large red flag, and Elfilis had many, many regrets.

"Elfilin?! What's going on, what happened!?"

"Is that Clawroline?! Oh stars, what's wrong!?"

"Hey- woah! Medic?! Medic!? "

Every spoken word only made her struggle harder, overwhelmed with information.

Whoops.

Hm. Perhaps this situation called for a little more than a whoops. They knew what would happen if they taught a beast to speak - it had taken Leon weeks to recover and return to them after they'd lashed out at him, and they hadn't even gotten to see how he'd coped with the change initially. Even then, Leon was not then exposed to more language immediately afterwards simply because his fellow beasts could not talk, meanwhile Clawroline had been thrown into the fray while still in a fragile state.

She was taken from them when they weren't paying attention. A couple of waddle dees shook them at the shoulders, trying to snap them out of their panic. Asking what was wrong, what happened, what's going on - Elfilis just wanted to escape, get away from this chaos.

Gods, how were they going to explain this to Leon?!

They just wanted to help. Elfilin would help. Elfilin would do what people asked of him. If someone asked Elfilin to teach them a language, he'd do his absolute best to do so, even if it was a language he didn't even know, just because of how dedicated he was.

And Elfilis had to be Elfilin. They just had to be.

The commotion quieted, the crowd parting to the will of none other than Meta Knight. "Give him some room, all of you! He is clearly in shock. Tend to what you can help, for now."

Ah, Meta Knight. The one that got away. A level-headed, excellent leader of very powerful will. Of course the dees would listen to him.

A shame he'd gotten away from their grasp. He would've been quite the asset - an impressive fighter, to be sure, and with sway over the Dees like that other king.

"Thank you," they spoke, doing what they could to emphasize the genuine relief in their tone the way Elfilin would.

To their surprise, they were not met with compassion.

"... Elfilin, " he began, practically narrowing his eyes behind that mask, "May I speak to you in private for a moment? It is of grave importance."

…The stream of uh oh began anew.

The whole day, they'd relished in the ability to act the way they were meant to by taking the cues of other's thoughts. Meta Knight's mental fortitude, however, made this impossible to do with subtlety, and so they'd have to fly this particular encounter  blind.

"Ah- of course! Lead the way."

The two left together, away from town and out into the woods.

Perhaps he thought the isolation was threatening. If that was the case, however, he should have led them further into civilization - they were never alone with the beasts around them.

"I cannot help but notice," Meta Knight talked as he walked, "that you've picked up a new habit."

"Oh?"

"More than one, actually." he looked at them, scanning, like he was also trying to pry details directly from their mind, "You've been doing a fine job leading the repair efforts of the town, protecting them from the flood whilst the tides correct themselves. Just as well, it is not my business what you do when out of town, and not my place to stop you from leaving."

Elfilis nodded.

He stopped. Faced them, and put a hand on their shoulders, looking them directly in the eyes.

"You are an excellent singer."

It did not sound like a compliment. It was a statement. A warning.

"Thank you." they responded in a matching tone. They knew full well that he didn't intend to be thanked.

"If I may inquire," Meta Knight continued, unflinching, "when, exactly, your psychic abilities began developing?"

Ah.

"Was born with them."

Not a lie. It wasn't their fault if Elfilin just didn't know how. Perhaps he did, actually, unintentionally use his mental abilities, but they couldn't know that.

After all, if his dreams weren't lucid, he didn't have proper control of it at all. If he didn't seek to know why the world had been turned upside down, and just continued on as normal, then he'd never learn.

They were patient with him. He'd surely pick it up eventually - and when he did, they'd have a lot of work to do.

"Of course," he responded. "Though, you weren't tearing open vortices left and right until your recent visit to Lab Discovera."

It took all their strength not to flinch. Not from being called out - but because they'd heard the name enough. They didn't need to hear it again.

"So, I will ask you again. When did you start using your psychic powers?"

Elfilis didn't answer him, keeping their face neutral.

"Elfilin wouldn't pry into the minds of his fellow townsfolk."

They backed away. "...What are you implying," they barely asked, speaking so softly.

He pulled away from them as well, passively resting a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I may not know your intentions," the Knight spoke, "but I am certain you are not as you seem. Such deception cannot go unrecognized… or perhaps, unpunished."

Elfilis remained still, their eyes locked onto Meta Knight's every movement. They struggled to understand his way of speaking - couldn't he just say his thoughts clearly? - but they knew a threat when they heard one.

They were completely alone.

Not ideal when it came to advantages. They'd much prefer Leon to be at their side. However, knowing that Meta Knight couldn't attack them without hurting the significantly more precious Elfilin gave them all the confidence they needed for the trial ahead.

Focusing psychic energy to harness Dream Matter, they forged their spear, Retrograde, in the air before them.

His eyebrows went up. Shortly afterwards, the Knight scoffed, skeptical.

"Really?"

They took a tighter hold of the weapon, holding it out before themself defensively. "Is this not… what you wanted?"

There was a moment of pause.

Meta Knight laughed, seemingly amused at their audacity, then drew his own blade.

Hey… at least they'd gotten some practice in before this, right? They could dole out hits without being touched. This wouldn't be a hard fight.

Elfilis got chills upon realizing that they couldn't afford to get hit even once, lest their other half question the damage.

The stakes were high. Their heart was pounding.

They were ready.

The two combatants circled around each other, slowly, warily. Both had their weapons drawn, held in a guarding position in preparation for the first strike.

There was always an advantage to having the first strike. Always. Your opponent could be caught off guard, you're the one who leads the charge, you have the control.

They'd forsaken the opportunity for the first-strike advantage the second they'd let him draw his sword, agreeing to the fight.

Elfilin wouldn't attack first. They had to be Elfilin. They had to prove to him that they were who they said they were.

Even if that person wasn't really them.

So, weighing their options, they considered the second-strike advantage.

Having the second strike was far, far better once a fight had already broken out. The counterattack, the ability to work with what you'd been given, work around the weaknesses and plan around your opponent's move.

Something clicked in their head. The best of both worlds. A genius plan.

Elfilis took a deep breath, steadied themself, setting a stance and gripping their weapon tighter.

Just as they'd hoped, Meta Knight interpreted the bracing as preparation for an attack and lunged at them before they could get the chance.

All according to plan.

They used that gathered strength to block, parrying the attack and drawing their spear back in their hands to wind up for a stab-

Meta Knight ducked and caught one of the tines of his sword against the shaft of their spear, dragging it along until it stuck on one of the spiraled decals and yanked, trying to pull it from their grasp-

Elfilis moved with the attack, swinging over the Knight's head and twisting their weapon, locking his blade right where it was and pushing forward again-

He took a step back and pulled, taking advantage of his trapped sword to move them around as he allowed the spear to soar past him and swung his free hand to grab them out of the air-

They dropped the spear, letting it fizzle away and throwing themself to the ground, opening a portal in the grass to fly through, calling forth a new version of the weapon and reappearing behind the Knight, blade-first, coming right at him-

Meta Knight spun in place, sword extended, and they swiftly changed course to avoid being cut as he swiped at them, their wing didn't catch the wind properly and they felt the force of the swing just beneath them -!

They tumbled slightly past it.

That swipe had very, very nearly got them.

Out of fear and habit, Elfilis cried out, hearing the sound echo along the trees. Though, that wasn't the only echo they heard…

It was far easier to process and describe as sound, both to someone who may not be able to comprehend the action, and as someone who relied quite heavily on their hearing. The cry rang out and bounced off of every thought in its path, stunning the more unfortunate victims of the crossfire and startling away the others. From the echo, they could hear the effect it carried, along with what had been changed before they'd interfered.

The psychic burst was loud, heard by beasts and Waddle Dees alike - not that the latter would understand what they were experiencing, nor be overly affected due to mental strength compared to the average bird - the wave of it washed over the whole forest, a strong, clear note because of their sheer capacity for psychic energy.

Leon sat up abruptly. He would've startled the hounds, had they not already been stirred by the same thing that had woken him.

That was not a happy sound.

It didn't help them in the end - Meta Knight himself produced no echo, practically soundproof from how locked tight he kept his mind. Elfilis dodged out of the way just in time to miss getting slashed again.

A response rang out in the distance - a thought that served as correspondence to a command.

"You cannot affect me," he affirmed what they already knew, clearly offended by the unintentional attempt, "I refuse to be influenced, in that way, or in any way again. I will not be reduced to one of those beasts."

"Was an accident," they muttered, determined, elegantly blocking another strike and parrying it aside with the length of their spear, circling around to push the blade away and stab forward.

Someone had heard them. Someone they knew. It was only a matter of time.

They just needed to stall.

He moved aside again, gliding the flat edge of the blade against the pole. They pushed off of it, spinning and taking a swing. He dodged and flew at them again.

Elfilis could hear him in the distance, fighting his way through the woods, frantic.

Just a little time, just a little more time,

They swung the blunt end of their spear to strike at his wing and hit, hearing him grunt from the impact and hiss. They knew how much that hurt. Good. It had sent him off course, away from them. They swiped again, barely even trying to hit.

He noticed the lackluster attempt, narrowing his eyes. 

Knowing what was about to happen, Elfilis backed up quickly, making sure there would be enough room between the two of them for-

Leon burst into the clearing, claws at the ready, intercepting the attacker and standing tall in front of his Great One, the echo of protect, protect, protect still the only thing on his mind.

He growled lowly, glaring down at the Knight.

His appearance seemed to have startled him. Meta Knight backed away, stunned, trying to figure out where he'd come from and why, and quite possibly how.

The Little One's spear faded into the air as he shielded them.

"...Leon." he eventually addressed.

"Meta Knight. Always a pleasure to see you." he responded politely, yet still with an intense glare on his face.

"And the same to you." he paused, considering his words carefully. "...You're aware, I'm sure, that it has been some time since fate was decided. On top of this, you are aware of certain… risks, one takes, upon choosing their alliance."

He scowled deeper.

"You are free now, Leon. You need not be shackled to the whims of psychics."

The Little One cowered further behind him. He could tell something was wrong just from the littlest motion.

"I chose the path I took long before any influence could sway me further," he spoke in a low, low rumble, "and I continue to maintain the belief that the imprisoned should remain free. You will not hurt my child, not as long as I still live."

They recoiled.

He turned to see them properly, watching as they frantically shook their head in a daze. Without a word, they flew off past the tree line.

He followed them quickly, Meta Knight hot on both of their heels. "Little One? Slow down- what is it?" he called after them.

Soon, they froze in place, still as stone.

"...Little One?"

"Elfilin, what happened?" Meta Knight also inquired.

They responded not to Leon's name for them, but to Meta Knight's. The look of confusion on his face spelled out clearly why they'd fled.

"Huh? L-Leon, Meta Knight, what's…? What just happened?" Elfilin responded, clearly more than a little turned-around mentally.

Meta Knight's eyes widened in understanding, before he lowered his head almost solemnly. It seemed that now, he understood the difference. Perhaps Leon could convince him they weren't a threat? Or do… something? Anything to help the situation they'd found themself in?

"Elfilin?!" a waddle dee called out, crashing in in a hurry, "El- ah, there you are! We've been looking everywhere for you - we need your help, we can't figure out what's wrong with Clawroline and we could use your input!"

Elfilin blinked, confused and concerned, then quickly looked up at Leon in shock.

Meta Knight snapped out of his thoughts and stared up at him as well.

The waddle dee processed their audience and watched Leon carefully, wide-eyed.

His heart sank. The world froze, feeling so, so cold.

"...C…Carol?"

Chapter Text

Elfilin numbly hammered down the last peg of the tent, securing it firmly in place right next to his house.

Some part of him wanted to see the fun in it. It was just like camping, right? Setting up tents was meant to be exciting, creating your little home-away-from-home, usually during a vacation! Vacations were great!

A glance upwards showed the medical symbol emblazoned on the white fabric, and the illusion was shattered.

Inside, Clawroline continued to growl in her sleep.

Not far from here, he could hear Leon pacing back and forth, anxious, the doctors unable to soothe his nerves. Just next door, he could hear Kirby mumbling to themself, trying to puzzle something out on their own.

He took a deep breath in and dragged a paw down his face.

He let that breath out as he saw the smeared orange makeup that was left there.

His memory was getting worse. It was getting so much worse. When Kirby'd gotten the news, they'd asked him if something had happened while they were cleaning up.

Cleaning up what? Why, cleaning up Wondaria after the whole day of fun they'd had, of course. They'd had popcorn and played with makeup and glowsticks and lasers and sang together.

He yearned to remember. He wanted so, so badly to at least remember just one of Kirby's smiles. Just a little bit of their laughter.

That spot in Elfilin's mind was scrubbed clean, perfectly blank like tv static and bleach. Empty and devoid of even dreams to fill the silence. A gap that would be unnoticeable and untraceable if not pointed out directly.

"I'm losing my mind…" Elfilin said to himself in a broken whisper.

His fur, stained orange and red in some places and a vibrant purple in others, did not answer him. No consolation or solution would come from it.

Elfilin turned to peer through the window.

No - he didn't know what, or why, or how, and as such, he couldn't comfort himself. But if it was comfort he wanted, he knew where to go.

Just the thought was already bringing a smile to his face. Safety. Kindness. Affection and understanding. Someone he could rely on. Someone he could love.

Elfilin pushed the door open and shut it gently, looking to Kirby with a tenderness in his eyes.

"How is she?" Kirby asked softly.

"She's asleep. I think it's better that way..." Elfilin idly drifted to the sink, picking up a facecloth and wetting it. 

"...the tent's really close to home. You're probably gonna get woken up by her shouting at some point…" Kirby warned.

He knew what they meant. It was all carried so well in the statement, told to him indirectly. It was concern for him and his workload, a suggestion that the medics could take care of her without his help, that he wasn't obligated, and it was an acknowledgement to the fact that they knew exactly why he wouldn't heed that warning.

Elfilin washed his fur, wiping away glow-in-the-dark chemicals and sparkling eyeshadow.

"She saved my life. As long as I live, I'll owe her for the opportunity to come back to you… so, I'll do the same for her, and stay by her side until she gets better."

Kirby nodded. They already knew.

Something squeezed in Elfilin's chest. Nerves and hesitation reared their ugly head, trying to choke him, stop him from speaking up. The last time he'd tried to convey a problem to Kirby, it hadn't gone how he wanted - he wasn't able to say what he needed to. What if that happened again?

He steeled his nerves. No - he'd just given up instead of pushing the issue. If he could just try harder, express that something was wrong , he could do this. He just couldn't give up.

"Y'know, somehow… she's not even what I'm the most worried about."

Kirby seemed surprised for only a moment, and then sighed. "I know. Elfilin, you've gotta let yourself relax. You already saved two worlds all by yourself, and you nearly died for it! You've done enough, you can stop to breathe now."

Elfilin's face fell a little. Kirby had done their best, and they really did understand him very well…

…But at the end of the day, Kirby wasn't a mind reader.

"No, that's not it. It's-"

"I'm telling you, of course it is! You've been working yourself to the bone, Elfi, if you-"

"No, Kirby, listen to me!"

That shut them up real quick.

"Wait- I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to snap, I just…"

"That was a snap? I didn't even know you were mad, Elfi, what did I do-?"

"No! No, I mean I didn't snap, really, I just didn't want you to think I did, because I'm not mad, I just wanted you to stop interrupting me - n-not that I'm upset about it, it's really good advice, I understand, but it's not what I wanted to say and I wish you'd listen instead of trying to guess, or like, solve what you think the problem is just based on what my problem normally is, I- I'm sorry. I really am, I- you're not psychic, y'know? And neither am I, I don't think - ahh, wait, that sounds mean, doesn't it-"

"It's about Elfilis again, isn't it?"

A pit formed in his stomach. "No."

"You said I'm not psychic, I don't think. But Elfilis was. And Elfilis was a leader, and a really hard worker… are you still trying to be like it again…?" Kirby frowned, gently approaching him with a hand outstretched.

" No. Kirby, I- I really don't wanna talk about Elfilis. Not- not right now. Or for a while. Or… ever. Okay? It's not an issue."

"Not talking about it ever? That's not… Elfi, you gotta deal with it eventually. You've been through a lot, and they're like, a hundred percent part of it. It's not healthy to-"

" Listen, okay, please listen-" Elfilin forced out desperately, "I'm having some kind of very serious problem here and I might need your help, so I need you to stop and just listen for a second, please."

"I am trying to help you!"

"I don't want help with that, though! Please, please just let me move on! I don't need to worry about Elfilis, because Elfilis is-" he stopped, choking on his words, "n-n-not a problem, not anymore. We don't need to talk about it. We-"

"Elfilin-"

"Stop interrupting me," he answered almost automatically, staring blankly at the floor,

"Elfilin, listen-"

" Stop interrupting me! "

Kirby recoiled as though physically struck, the sound of Elfilin's cry echoing against every wall of the room. It felt as though he hadn't just struck a chord, but had struck Kirby's thoughts themselves.

Kirby opened their mouth to speak, but no sound came out. They tried again and still found themself lost for words.

"K-Kirby, I'm scared! I'm- I'm so, so terrified. I-I can't think straight. I keep blacking out in the middle of the day, a-and forgetting everything until tomorrow, I don't feel like myself, I feel like I'm drowning sometimes, losing air and getting dragged further and further down, and it's so so scary because the whole time I'm so calm or numb, I just don't care that I feel like I'm dying, I- I don't remember getting my dream journal!" Elfilin paused for only a moment, holding back a sob and gasping for air, "I don't remember any of today, I don't remember overworking myself, I don't remember any of it, and I'm scared."

There was a moment of silence. Kirby still couldn't find it in them to speak, apparently.

Elfilin clenched his fists.

"And I'm upset because it's not about the past! I don't wanna think about the past, and I don't care. You know why I don't care? Because I'm terrified about the future. There's something wrong with me, l-like, maybe I'm concussed, or maybe I've got psychic powers that're getting messed up, or maybe I'm literally just dying, I don't know, and I don't have time to talk about the before because right now, right now, the after is hurting me, and I don't know what to do."

It was so quiet.

"And… and I was hoping you would care. Because I care about you so much, and I need someone to tell me I'm gonna be okay, and where to start fixing things. And that's who you are for me. You made me feel complete when I still had a missing half. And you made me feel safe when I was scared… so… right now… I need you to make me feel protected again…" he sniffled, "Please… please just… say you can hear me, and that you understand, and that you can save me from myself… p… please… "

Kirby gasped like they'd been stabbed, finally able to speak again. "Elfi-! I-I'm… I'm so sorry, I…!"

He couldn't do this.

The echo of his own plea repeated aimlessly in his mind - he never thought he'd need to beg Kirby for this, for anything, and it left him feeling broken.

For once, he wished for that numb feeling to come wash over him and carry him away from the mess he made, but no such salvation found him. Instead he turned away, shaking his head. "Wait- I… think I need to cool off, first. I'm sorry, I- I really, really need a moment…"

He couldn't look. He couldn't look. But he had to.

Kirby was absolutely devastated , heartbreak evident in their eyes.

"...g-go ahead," they mumbled to him, "take your time."

Elfilin squeezed his eyes shut and flew out the door.

Leaning against the wall, trying to catch his breath and hold back tears, he realized he didn't exactly have anywhere to go, or anything to do.

He couldn't go inside to nap or cry into his pillow or something - as much as he'd love to, considering the quickly-setting sun, that was where Kirby was. Upset as he may be, he didn't have the audacity to kick them out of their own, albeit shared, home.

He couldn't go find something to fix - that would only make him more frustrated, especially if he failed, and Kirby had been right in saying that he was deserving of rest in that regard. Even if he couldn't remember overworking himself enough times to justify the constant reminders.

He couldn't go for a walk, because that would leave him alone with his thoughts - they'd suffocate him.

Instead, Elfilin numbly drifted over to the newly-installed medical tent.

To his surprise, Leon stood in the entryway, looking out of the tent at him with great concern.

"...You didn't, like, hear any of that, did you?" Elfilin questioned, letting the exhaustion in his voice show. At this point, he couldn't be bothered if the whole town heard him shouting. As long as they didn't bother him about it for a little while, at least.

"Ah- no, no. I could hear you two talking, faintly, but nothing specific. I only really caught you… um… raising your voice, " Leon idly rubbed at his temples, "but I did not mean to eavesdrop."

"That's fine," Elfilin half-spoke, half-sighed as he fluttered closer to peer past Leon's shoulder.

Still sleeping.

"Are you feeling well, Little- ah- Elfilin?"

He pulled a slightly exaggerated little face up at him. "Little? I know I might be a bit small, but hey, you being so big doesn't help!"

"My apologies," he managed a laugh, "you only reminded me of someone else, I misspoke."

Elfilin thought on that for a second.

"...Like, the Little One?"

He spluttered slightly, flustered as though caught in a lie. "Oh- h-how?"

"You've accidentally called me that a couple times now," Elfilin explained with a soft smile and a twinkle in his eye, "Was just a hunch I had."

"...right. Elfilin, I- um… I think we should talk. There's," Leon hesitated, extremely nervous, "something you should probably know about, and, ah… I-I just believe we should maybe. Talk about it. You know. Address the elephant in the room, as the saying goes."

Elfilin tilted his head. Hm?

"It's, ah, quite complicated… if you'll walk with me, I can explain everything."

"Well, ah - alright! I should probably get away from home for a while anyways… are you sure you'll be alright, leaving Claw… Carol, here?"

He lowered his head, as though stopping to let the sorrow pass over him. "I would… also like the time away to clear my head. If you would be alright in my company, I shall be alright without hers for a little while."

Would he be alright in his company? Elfilin was still ever-so-slightly nervous around him…

Not like he could talk to anyone else.

Elfilin nodded, and the two set off away from town.

"May I ask what you and Kirby were discussing…?" Leon gently asked.

"No," Elfilin answered quickly. "It's… a lot. I don't wanna deal with it for a little while - plus, I'd feel kinda bad talking about them behind their back."

"That's understandable," Leon nodded to him, seemingly struggling with his words. He was thinking things over very, very carefully, unsure of how to go about this. "Is there… anything that's been bothering you lately?"

"Besides the town, what me and Kirby were talking about, and the near-constant headaches I've been getting recently? Nothing new, no."

He huffed a sympathetic laugh. "That much, I can relate to."

"Hey, at least my headaches aren't from psychic influence!... probably!" Elfilin joked along with him.

Leon stayed tight-lipped.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?" he pressed a little, sensing the hesitation.

"It… is… relevant, to that line of thinking." Leon rubbed his thumbs against his palms anxiously, "I wanted to, perhaps, go over everything pertaining to… that. For a moment."

Elfilin frowned. "It's not a problem, really. If it's not bothering you, that is - just know that I'm okay. Is there something I can help you with?"

He blinked at that, surprised. "It isn't?"

"What?"

"You aren't bothered by… everything that happened?"

He gave him a big smile. "Nope! Everything's all over and done with - what's in the past, stays in the past! Has something changed since your last little check-in? Sorry I couldn't be there for it, by the way, I just got, um," when was it, what was he doing, "distracted."

"I'm doing very well, thank you, it's just… are you certain that you're alright?"

"Yep!"

"No ill-will towards the Great One, or myself, or the lab, or anything? "

At that, his composure cracked just a little. "Their name was Elfilis."

Elfilin knew he made a mistake the second he made the correction. The floodgate of emotions, between Kirby bringing it up and just dragging them down constantly, and the built-up fear and hurt and sadness, began to strain and buckle under the weight it tried to hold back.

The mistake, however, was not in the breaking-down barrier. The mistake was that Leon absolutely noticed.

"...of course. It is a, ah… gesture of respect towards them, since they do not want me to refer to them by name." he began with caution, as if he wasn't about to crash through that wall Elfilin had built with his next words, "I did not know you would care about that detail. My apologies. I had figured that you may hold some, ah, resentment, towards them and I. Especially considering everything we-"

"It's fine," Elfilin deflected.

"It isn't. Elfilin, I-"

"I saved you," he interrupted Leon quickly, "your soul was shattered, scattered around this intense psychic plane, and Kirby and I found the pieces and went back to get every single one to bring to you. And now you're okay. And now we're friends. That's it."

"...Elfilin. You're still allowed to be upset."

He forced his expression to remain neutral in spite of Leon's gentle reassurance. "There's nothing to be upset about. I promise."

"I followed a command from the Great One despite knowing-"

"Don't blame them!" Elfilin interjected quickly.

Leon stared back at him, silent and stunned.

"I mean-" he corrected himself, frantic, "it's not your fault. It wasn't. It wasn't you, you didn't- it's not your fault."

"I'm still responsible for those actions, Elfilin."

"I know, just don't blame them- but, but also not- not yourself, not you either, I-" he shook his head, "It's fine. It's fine. I don't wanna talk about it."

The two spent a moment in tense silence. Leon took a breath in and Elfilin visibly stiffened. He waited a moment before actually speaking.

"You don't want to talk about what happened with them."

He breathed in deeply. "I don't. I really don't. They… what they did was wrong. All of it, every aspect is just… fundamentally wrong. Just… just please, don't blame them. At least not in front of me."

"You don't think any of it was justified?"

"I do." he paused. "I don't, but, I do."

"...I did not like being possessed. I understand them, though. I just… if it bothers you, Elfilin, then I want to help. This is something we both understand-"

"It isn't,"

"This is something I believe we can help each other with."

"I'm telling you, it's fine, I'm not hurt,"

"It's okay to be hurt-"

" And here we are, " Elfilin blurted, staring at Leon even as he recoiled in surprise, " and here we are, and here we are, and here we are. Eighty-six, eighty-seven, authenticating, authenticating. It doesn't affect me, see? I'm not hurt. It's fine. I don't need help with this, please trust me."

Elfilin stood his ground and tried to ignore the buzzing in his head.

Leon just sat there. Patiently waiting.

Tears quietly fell down Elfilin's cheeks. He offered him a hug, and he threw himself into the lion's embrace, sniffling into his fur.

"Trying to ignore it isn't good for you, Elfilin. It's okay to cry."

"I know," he blubbered, "I know it is, I… I know…I-I just didn't wanna deal with any more…"

Leon gently rubbed his back with the pad on his thumb, quietly comforting him as he waited for him to regain some of his composure.

"...do you want to talk about it?" Leon's voice was so low and so soft that Elfilin felt it more than heard it.

"...they're gone. They- they did everything they could, really. But… b-b-but at the very end, at the end of it all, they still chose to come back to me. They- they came back to me. Th-they just wanted to be whole… they just wanted to be free… they fought so hard, Leon… they did everything they could… they hurt, and they hurt others, a-and it was all… they just… they came back to me…" he whimpered and sobbed, incoherently mumbling out every thought he had. The incessant buzz of something like anger in the back of his mind droned on and changed frequencies, forming a headache behind his teary eyes.

You're okay. It's alright.

Leon was dead silent for a little while.

"...You know…" he started, "I think… that if they were here now… well, you know full well how they were. They're- they were stubborn, and strong, and persistent. Determined. Out for vengeance against the world for this- this slight against them, heh. I think… seeing you here, living happy and free, doing whatever you want without consequence… that would be enough for them to be pleased with how everything went. You and them are one, live as one. Living free is granting them that peace they wanted. But… I don't think they'd want you to forget."

Elfilin peered up at him. Leon wasn't looking at him, his gaze directed at the horizon, lost in thought.

"They were forgotten, of course. I doubt they'd want you to forget about them. On top of that, however… they sought revenge because they didn't forget what they'd gone through, no? They didn't fly off into the stars upon being freed - they fought tooth and nail to show the world that they did not forgive, and that they did not forget. If you forget what it means to be imprisoned… then you may also, in turn, forget what it means to be free. It is okay to acknowledge that which hurt you. If you don't, you might forget why it hurt, and end up hurt again." he looked down at him - he felt so small wrapped up like this, but in a good way. "Don't forget who wronged you, Little Elfilin. Be strong."

The tears kept flowing, but he managed a smile.

For a few minutes, the two stayed that way, comfortable and quietly healing.

"...I really am not mad at you, by the way," Elfilin said through a watery laugh.

"Oh?" Leon looked down at him - the motion was very slow, relaxed, leisurely as though he were sleepy or not worried about a thing anymore. "Why not?"

"King Dedede passed you the cage," Elfilin sniffled, "and you were so excited. You were genuinely so happy to help them, I know. And… you hopped into the elevator, and I got all jerked around… and… hehe… you- you were basically about to like, sacrifice me to them, but you steadied the cage all startled and you said sorry. You didn't want me to be uncomfortable. As your hostage, in a steel cage." his hiccupy giggles couldn't be contained.

Leon snorted. "Are you mocking me?" he questioned lightheartedly.

"Yeah," he squeaked, "you're- a big doof."

He fake-scoffed at the claim, "I am not a doof!"

"You're the biggest doof! You're ultra goofy!"

" No-! " he gasped as though stunned by the audacity.

"You! Are! A dork!"

Leon leaned all the way back, dramatically howling out a despairing "noooooo!" the whole way down. By the time he was laying in the grass, Elfilin splayed against his chest, both of them were laughing uncontrollably, even as Elfilin continued to wipe tears from his eyes.

For once, the silence was comfortable as the two just took a moment to breathe.

"I hadn't meant to dig all this up…" Leon sighed a little, patting Elfilin gently, "and if I'd known all this would happen, I probably wouldn't, but, well… here…" he hesitated, "We're here, talking it over now. And I'm glad we did."

"And here we are," Elfilin repeated jokingly.

Leon paused at that. He almost seemed… concerned? "Ah, right - I did bring you here to talk about something in particular…"

Elfilin could barely hear him through the ringing of their ears. Their mind buzzed with activity, something like fear and anger but still somehow perfectly numb. "Mhm?" he asked, almost unable to hear himself talk, even.

"Yes, it is in regards to your other half… I know we've certainly discussed them plenty, but-"

His head hurt.

"-Elfilin?"

"Uh…" he held his head in his hands, trying to soothe the pain-

Shut up! Shut up! No more!

"Are you alright?"

"No!"

He hadn't even said it. It sounded snappy, angry, like someone very, very frustrated, and whoever they were, they certainly weren't him. He felt like he was watching them through a window as they grumbled and rubbed his head uncomfortably, complaining and cursing about repetition and pre-recorded messages.

Slowly, the world faded away.

"Ugh…" they groaned as the world came into view around them, "did he have … to say that. Those words… ugh. "

Leon smiled a little. "Why, hello there, Little One. I'd wondered if that would catch your attention."

" Awful. Bad."

Elfilis sniffled. Yuck - apparently, Elfilin had been crying recently. They wiped their face off as best they could, disgruntled and feeling dirty.

"Here - let me help you with that," Leongar gently scooped them up.

They were reminded of just how small they were in his grasp, no bigger than one of his paw pads. Despite this, his touch was very delicate, gently smoothing and cleaning their fur.

They wanted to object, but they knew it would be half-hearted at best. Elfilis was a little starved for physical contact, even if that was because they usually rejected it. Grooming themself could prove difficult at times, given their lack of experience or need to in a flooded prison or realm of dreams, and in this new form, their arms were so small that it was hard to reach the ends of their ears.

Leon, who consistently proved just how caring he was towards them, seemed to notice every subtle little flaw and, instead of taking advantage of it, sought to fill the gaps. He was always there to help them, infinitely reliable and patient no matter what path they took.

"You have glitter… everywhere." he pointed out with an odd little grin and a confused tilt of his head.

They scoffed and just offered him an ear to help clean. "It's fine. Went to Wondaria."

"Ah, that would do it!" he laughed.

The joy faded from his tone slowly.

Hm. Weird. They wondered what had him so… melancholy?

Leongar seemed frustrated as he groomed their ears for them, continually tending to the small space beneath the hole-punched tag. Eventually, he seemed to come to a realization with an annoyed sigh.

“Hm?” Elfilis asked, implying that he should elaborate on the problem.

“You have a freckle on your ear,” Leon huffed, “I’ve been trying to clean it off for two minutes.”

They flicked the ear in question - their damaged one - as he rubbed at it. “Really?”

“Yes,” he leaned in to get a closer look, “A little blue spot… oh, perhaps it’s a birthmark, it looks more like… oh?”

“What is it?” they questioned. After a beat of silence, they tacked on, “Spots aren’t blue. Not birthmarks, either. Skin is pink.”

“I can’t clean it off… it looks like it may be writing.”

That certainly got their attention. “...Writing.”

“Give me a moment to read - it’s awfully small and hard to see… it says…”

He inhaled sharply and froze. Not a good sign.

“Leon?”

“Nothing,” he blurted immediately, “Or- nothing I can read, anyway. If there were letters there- they’ve long faded, much too obscure and small. My apologies, Little One.”

Liar. They narrowed their eyes at him while he struggled to maintain his composure.

As much as they disapproved of him withholding information, there wasn’t exactly very much that Elfilis could do about it. Whatever. They’d find out one way or another.

“Alright.” they acquiesced, watching as he visibly relaxed and returned to the task of cleaning their fur for them.

It was nice, having physical contact that didn’t make them want to fight for their life.

Though, come to think of it, they hadn’t gotten as much of a chance to spend time with Leongar since they’d taken on Elfilin’s role. Since he wasn’t busy…

“Hunt?”

For some reason, Leon scowled and sighed. “Not now. Sorry, Little One.”

They scrunched up their nose at him. “Why not? Need it.”

“You do not need to hunt constantly, Little One. It isn’t as if there’s any shortage of food in town. If it’s energy you need to work off, I’m sure the Colosseum would be interested in having you.”

“No. You’re wrong - need.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because of energy. Gaining energy. Different kind of food. More filling. Something needed. ” they looked away, displeased, “Something he doesn’t do.”

His gaze softened. “You need live prey.”

“Yes.”

“...can you go alone?”

They hid their face, annoyed at the nerve he’d struck. No, they couldn’t. Not even if they wanted to.

"...I don't want to hunt anytime soon, Little One," he sighed, a deep sadness clearly weighing on his tone. "At least… not until Carol recovers."

Clawroline.

How had they forgotten?!

…Whatever. She'd recover fine. A little linguistics lesson never hurt anyone.

"She'll be fine," Elfilis shrugged off.

For some reason, Leongar glared at them for that.

"What?"

"Right now, she is suffering. I will not leave her."

"Didn't say to. She is fine."

"Little One. She has been screaming in her sleep, attacking anyone who speaks. She is not fine. How can you not see that I'm upset about this?" Leon paused and brought up a paw to rub at the bridge of his nose, sighing, trying to calm down. "Nobody even knows what's wrong, and it's stressful. I'm worried about my partner, Little One."

They glanced away from him, sheepishly, guiltily breaking eye contact. "...Psychic interference."

He looked at them, confused. "What?"

"That's the problem. Psychic interference. She'll be fine."

Leongar abruptly slammed a hand against the ground, spreading his claws and tightening his grip against the grass. He shook and inhaled very, very slowly. He was so tense.

" You did this?" he managed to ask softly, delicately raising the issue.

Elfilis shifted somewhat uncomfortably in their seat. "Was to help… that's all. She'll be better."

"No- Little One- better than what? "

"Than before?"

"You can't just go around making- what, improvements to people's minds, Little One!"

That angered them.

"Do not . Command. Your Great One. She was helped. "

Leon stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, but- no. No, Little One. You aren’t in the right, here.”

They squeaked with fury. “How dare you! You-!”

“Little One, I am serious-”

“Not your Little One. ”

Elfilis practically hissed the words out, a scathing remark as they backed away from him, flaring out their wings to appear larger. They exerted just a little psychic pressure so he could feel their strength.

He didn’t even flinch. He held his gaze steady at their attempt to intimidate him.

“Your Great One. Hear that? Great One. Forgotten miracle. Not your little… child. ”

At that, he flinched.

“You said child. Not. You need guidance. Leadership. Useless without it!”

He growled at that.

Growled.

“Listen to me, Elfilis.”

They recoiled.

“I have dedicated my entire life to you. Risked it, for you. Sacrificed myself, for you. I have been taking care of you, your health, your needs, and your wants. If you do not want to be perceived as a child,” his voice picked up to a roar, threatening and loud, “ then stop acting like one! ”

Elfilis steadied themself, backing away further and staring up at him with wide eyes, tracking his every movement, watching for his teeth and claws. They kept their stored energy at the forefront of their thoughts, just in case.

“Because no, you aren’t a Great One, not anymore! You know that full well - you may have knowledge, power, and abilities beyond anyone’s comprehension, but hey, in the end, Kirby and Elfilin and you are all just kids . And children like you make mistakes, and that is why I am telling you not to hurt anyone anymore! Elfilis, my wife is in horrible pain because you hurt her. That is not okay. And I’m tired of you trying to excuse your actions just by claiming that you’re better than anyone else!”

He huffed, catching his breath. They continued staring, shaking a little.

“Elfilis,” he breathed, just sounding tired, “I have done so much for you. Listened to your every command. Would it be too much to ask for you to listen to me as well?”

Silence.

Leongar - no - Leon looked at them. Really looked at them. He was finally able to process what he was seeing.

Elfilis continued shivering, hands up, ready to defend themself, heart beating out of their chest and breathing hard, tears nearly forming in the corners of their eyes.

“E-Elfi- Little One-?”

Leongar was predictable.

“Little One, oh, it’s okay-”

Leongar was safe.

“You’re alright, hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to yell-”

They knew Leongar better than he knew himself. Every action, every thought, they could predict and anticipate and react accordingly.

“I’m so sorry, wait-”

They trusted Leongar.

Shaking their head as he tried to reach out to them, Elfilis threw open a rift and darted through it, escaping his clutches, away into safety.

The last glimpse of him they got was his horrified, regretful, guilty expression, before the vortex slammed shut.

A tear slid down his cheek.

Elfilin blinked, just barely getting a glimpse at a vortex slamming shut right in front of him. "... Leon…?"

He recoiled, looking around frantically for some sense of direction. Where was he?! Just outside of town. How did he get there? By portal, apparently.

What had happened between then and now?

Absolutely zero idea.

"Don't freak out," he mumbled to himself, trying not to hyperventilate, "Do not freak out, it's okay. Just, just a little memory loss again, that's all, it's all gonna be-"

A horn sounded loudly nearby.

Elfilin jumped, startled out of his stupor.

Uh oh.

He knew that sound.

The last time he’d heard that sound, the town had been overrun by awoofies and dark birds carrying cages, destroying everything in their path. Anything the beasts didn’t destroy was caught in the crossfire as the town desperately fought back. Elfilin did not like fighting.

If he was hearing that sound again, it couldn’t mean anything good.

He threw himself back in the direction of town, frantic, off to find out why the alarm had been called-

Elfilin could smell the sea from here. His heart sank.

The tides were rising once again.

The wall that the worker dees were building - when had they started building it again…? - was still too short, seafoam cresting over concrete and brick scavenged from the forgotten civilization and splashing against the dirt below. All around him, those dees were scrambling to lay more brick and steel as though it would last the onslaught.

"Elfilin!" one of them called upon seeing him, relief evident in their tone.

They all cheered like he'd come to save them.

He froze up.

"Y-Yeah?!" he answered, "What do you need!?"

The Dee gestured to the situation at hand.

"What can I do?" Elfilin cried out, looking for orders or instructions or some kind of lead on where to even start.

"Whatever you can!" a worker answered.

"Find something and help!" another responded.

"But…" Elfilin whispered, overwhelmed.

The waves splashed over the walls, wearing them down quickly and washing away all their hard work. The water pooled and spilled and swept away at the grass, creating slippery, salty mud and making it harder for everyone to move, tripping over each other in the chaos. People in the town behind him were panicking, running and screaming and making it hard to hear. Nobody could get anything done, too hectic, too unstable and unsteady, trying to help those caught in the wet earth and only getting stuck themselves.

If the water rose too high, there would be another flood, carrying debris through the waves and doing serious damage to anything and anyone in their path.

Who was in charge?

Who could get things in order?

Who was even leading this whole operation in the first place? Where were they?

" Elfilin! " someone called to him, "What should we do?!"

Why did they want him to lead?!

"What should we do," Elfilin breathed to himself, stressed out of his mind, "what should we do, what should we do…"

What should…

"What should we do," he repeated again, pulling a nearby Dee back to their feet, saving them from the mud, "What should… we… what should…"

"... stop…"

They blinked, confused.

Who were they telling to-? Repetition was bad, so bad, once was enough, no more. What should we do? What should we- ugh!

Their head hurt. Their vision was blurry. What was wrong with them? Oh - they weren't crying, were they? It would make sense, after-

"Elfilin!" A nearby Waddle Dee cried, making them aware of their surroundings.

Waves were crashing over the wall their people had built, soaking the terrain. The tides had come sooner than anticipated - or they weren't working fast enough.

Screwing their head on straight, they realized that something needed to be done, fast, right now.

What should we d- augh! And here we are again.

At least now, they understood why it had happened.

"Hey!" they barked, "Don't go alone!"

This got the attention of a few of them - good, but they'd need to speak up more to be heard over the ocean. Awful, but whatever.

"Single file! Not one at a time! Travel in groups - form chains! Rescue the trapped!"

And in short time, they began following orders nicely. Perfect. They could fix this just fine.

There was shouting in the town behind them - ugh. Couldn't they think for themselves? Couldn't they just shut up and get to high ground where the water wouldn't reach them instead of making such a fuss?

…Be nice…

They recoiled, blinking away the static in their vision. Why did they have a headache, of all people? With how tired they were, they'd love to sleep it off. Hey - maybe they could. Nobody could stop them from portaling to safety and sleeping the night away.

N-no! I would never! People need me!

Their head hurt really bad, making him rub his eyes and groan to himself.

Elfilin had to get those people out of town - they didn't know what to do, he'd have to show them the way!

He blinked.

What… just happened-?

A cracking sound got his attention as the dam strained.

No time to worry about himself! He had to save everyone before it was too late!

The worker dees were now holding onto each other, hand in hand, keeping each other steady and balanced, able to stabilize each individual in the chain as they worked together to pull people out of the mud. Slowly, everyone worked in perfect tandem, getting the less fortunate out of the mess.

How had he known to do that?

…How'd he know what needed to be done with the townsfolk? They needed to get away from town, head inland and uphill so that they'd get away from the rising tide. It made perfect sense, thinking about it now, but… when and how did he come to that conclusion?

It had been something innate, something he'd managed to pull from his mind just by pushing for the answer over and over.

Was it a result of focusing? If he poured all his thoughts into trying to fix something over and over and over, would he actually be able to get it done?

Elfilin arrived overhead of the town, and he shouted down to the panicked dees below. "Hey! Listen up - you guys have gotta get out of here! There's some tall hills out that way," he pointed, "and you've gotta get high up to get away from the water!"

People listened.

Somehow, someway, nobody questioned him, nobody struggled to hear him, and everyone actually started doing what he asked.

What changed? What did he do to make these people accept him unquestionably as their leader?

…He wasn't sure he liked it. It made him feel like Elfilis. He liked it better when people didn't blindly follow him as if he'd forced the thought into their heads.

Then again, it was very helpful in an emergency like this.

Elfilin turned back to see all the workers had gotten free of the mud, and were now struggling to find a way to stop any more water from getting past the barricade.

"What now…?" Elfilin thought out loud.

What could he do to reinforce the wall and make it taller, as fast as possible?

He rubbed his temples. "What now, what now, what now, wh-what… what now,"

Stop,

"What now-?"

Stop!

They shook their head and glared. Where was that coming from?!

…Hm. The Waddle Dees were all evacuating now. Had they done that? They must've.

They were so tired. So, so tired. Emotionally, physically, mentally exhausted. Let them sleep away the storm around them and fall into a familiar, safer dream. Let them exist in a world they could trust. They were miserable. Let them rest for a while. They didn't have what it took to be Elfilin right now.

…What now?

Stop that.

…Oh, no.

Meta Knight swooped down from his treetop vantage and landed heavily in front of them.

Frightened and nervous, they backed away from him, bracing themself for whatever was about to happen next.

The Knight, for his part, didn't seem to know what to do. He looked to them with indecision and anxiety, a hand held tight to his sword.

He turned to see the evacuating Waddle Dees, all organized and getting their affairs in order. He looked back to watch the emergency crew toiling away at last minute defenses, following plans that they had made.

He looked back at them, cowering, but still trying to stay aware and keep track of every little thing, doing their best to help. Their breathing was heavy with fear and anticipation of an attack.

Meta's expression shifted rapidly from distress, to defeat, to determination, and then finally he took a deep breath and visibly relaxed, seeming more sure of himself, his face showing only acceptance.

He nodded to them. "What do you need me to do?"

Understanding filled them with surprise and relief. He… trusted them? He would listen? He would follow? Even… knowing?

They met his gaze. Yes, both of them knew.

But they also knew what needed to be done.

That same expression of determination and acceptance graced their own face. Understood, and well met.

It was mortifying, but they felt so seen and heard and still accepted.

"You! Fly overhead - tend the rest! Lead the people. Keep them organized - keep them safe. Get them out. Find stragglers. Help wherever. Go!"

Meta Knight nodded once more, and then flew off towards the town.

If anyone was shocked about him taking orders from them, they hid it well as they kept up the hard work.

They had work to do. They couldn't avoid it. Everyone was watching.

How could Elfilin do this? Did he work while in pain, under duress?

Elfilin had put his life on the line when he needed to.

Elfilin had been ready to die for Kirby and these Waddle Dees.

And if that's what it took to help them, he'd keep going, even if he couldn't, and even if it hurt.

…Don't understand.

He just had to.

Elfilin took a deep breath and flew back into action, chanting to himself that he could do this on repeat like a mantra. The pain behind his eyes pulsed to the beat of his heart, and his mind was absolutely spinning.

He could do this.

They could do this.

The pain was un bearable.

Kirby's world was falling apart around them.

They'd gotten so caught up in trying to solve this mystery by themself, so utterly blinded by their encyclopedic knowledge of Elfilin that they believed they knew what was best for him better than he knew himself, so, so sure of themself and of him that they didn't just ask him about it normally and when Elfilin granted them that little bit of mercy by initiating that conversation himself, they threw it away and made him feel ignored just because they thought they knew everything , and now they had no idea what they were going to do and Elfilin probably hated them at this point.

Oh, yeah. Also the town was flooding again.

Way less important.

Kirby effortlessly helped up Waddle Dees and led them along from atop the Warp Star, ushering them forward like they were directing traffic. Just nearby, Meta Knight helped them out, doing the same thing. Though, he seemed a little bit… distracted?

Once the Dees were all heading in the right direction, they flew up to him to ask what was up, only to find he'd beat them to it, gliding over to talk.

"Kirby," he began, sounding almost cautious, "I believe you should go see… Elfilin… and ask what you can do for them."

They clammed up a little, hesitant. They did not want to do that. It was hard to express just how much they didn't wanna go bother Elfilin while he was probably struggling enough as is.

But there was something about the way Meta asked it, in the way he looked at them. It didn't seem like a suggestion. It felt like a warning, or maybe, a hint.

So Kirby swallowed their pride and nodded, determined.

Flying back over to the wall, they saw it was holding up alright! This was good news - if the wall was actually tough enough to hold the water back, that was great!

It just wasn't tall enough yet. So it wasn't being super helpful… just a little helpful.

Down by the bottom was Elfilin - one hand on his head, the other hand gesturing as he shouted commands.

It took all of Kirby's willpower to not turn right back around.

They took a deep breath and then landed just behind him. "E-Elfilin!"

He turned, surprised, a look of utter shock on his face. He winced, rubbed at his head, and his expression faded to one that was just numb and tired. He looked… very, very out of it, eyes unfocused.

"Elfilin?"

He shook his head. "Hear you. What is it?"

"I- I'm so sorry," Kirby blurted immediately, "I don't know what I was thinking - well, I kinda do, but it wasn't right. I'm so sorry for not listening to you, o-or not asking you what was up, and just absolutely failing to talk to you about this normally… but if you need me, right now, I promise I'll hear you out. I'm here for you, no matter what!"

They watched his face shift as they spoke - first to confusion, then to pain, then surprise, then he put a paw to his mouth and teared up a little at their words.

"Kirby, I-I- thank you. Thank you so much, I-!"

He shook his head again, putting both hands on his forehead and shutting his eyes.

"Elfilin-?!"

"It's okay-!" he stuttered, stumbling over his words, "My h-head hurts- need to work- I just need to figure out- what to do… to stop flooding…"

This was Elfilin as he normally was.

And then it wasn't.

And then it was.

And then it wasn't again.

His tone kept flipping, priorities shifting rapidly, he sounded so exhausted and hurt, struggling against himself as he tried to keep at fixing the water problem and focus on everything else around him.

"Okay, woah- slow down, Elfi! Breathe - are you okay? Did you get hurt or something? Do you need, like, an ice pack?"

The side of him focused on solving the problem won the inner struggle, eyes lighting up in recognition. "Ice?"

"Yeah - c'mon, let's go get you a-"

"No, no- ice! Blizzard Ice! Go get it! Quickly!"

"Whuh-?"

Elfilin snapped back to himself with a gasp. "Oh-! We- we could freeze the waves! Kirby, if we freeze the water at the top, we can make a kind of glacier that can hold the water back until the tides recede!"

Oh.

Oh! Wait! That's genius!

Kirby didn't acknowledge the command in any way beyond sprinting back in the direction of town, fully intent on quite possibly breaking into Smithy Dee's shop.

Turns out the door wasn't locked, but kicking it open just felt right anyways.

They tucked and rolled to the right, snagging the lovely sparkly hat and skating their way out without even closing the door behind them, gathering up strength in the form of ice magic the whole way.

"Hey-!" Elfilin called out from above, swooping down towards them.

They raised both their hands and Elfilin took them, lifting Kirby into the air with ease and gliding off in the direction of the waves, not even swaying in his determination.

Working in perfect tandem, the two waited for the opportune moment to strike…

A huge wave crested the top of the wall, and Elfilin cried out, "Now!"

And with little more than a breath, the seawater crystallized into a huge barrier.

The Dees below cheered as the two landed, Elfilin's flight pattern only faltering a little as he murmured out an exhausted, " Finally… "

His hands came back up to his head.

The crowd was cheering for them, thanking them again and again, asking them what they should do next and praising their every action. Kirby couldn't care less about the attention. Not while Elfilin was still hurting. They'd failed him enough by not listening to him before - now, he had their full focus.

"Elfi…?" Kirby gently questioned, hoping he could still hear them over the roar of the crowd.

"G-Gimme one second," Elfilin barely got out, squinting as though the headache was making it hard for him to even see , flying out above the group towards town.

It took a lot more effort for Kirby to wade through them all, but they wouldn't be stopped - they needed to be by his side.

By the time they escaped, they had no idea where he could've gone. Kirby walked slowly through the town, listening close and scanning over everything.

How had he lost them so easily?

Was he… okay?

This whole time, they'd been able to clearly distinguish when Elfilin was Normal, or Weird. It was less a difference in how his day had gone or whether he was happy or sad, and more a change in attitude and demeanor.

It's not your emotions that define you as a person, but the way you respond to those emotions. Something could upset him, and it would be normal for him to be upset, but not normal for him to lie his way through it, continuing to smile while balling up his fists. It was normal for him to want to work and to help, but not normal to prioritize it over everything else, micromanaging every little task being done.

Kirby knew Elfilin, and Kirby knew when he was being Elfilin-like.

But now, they were confused.

It was such a clean switch, a clear-cut difference that anyone could see. From the way he carried himself to the way he talked, the difference was night and day.

If that difference was night and day, then they were experiencing a little deja vu, because the sun and moon were battling for dominance of the sky.

The little gemini they knew had been going back and forth between these two temperaments, and it was hurting him to do so. Causing actual pain in his head. This thing that Kirby was seeing was a physical difference , not just Elfilin switching things up for some reason. It was like they were two different people.

Who would they find, when they eventually did stumble upon him again?

They could hear him talking. Reassuring someone, hushing them.

Kirby looked towards the tent next to their house, and quietly approached.

Inside, Elfilin was at Clawroline's side, taking care of her with a gentle voice as he explained that the water had been stopped, offering her a drink or medicine or anything he could help with. He kept his expression neutral and calm, as if it didn't hurt to live.

It reminded them a little of when he'd closed the rift between the worlds. Smiling at them and thanking them while he bled out power.

Maybe they were wrong.

It was Elfilin-like to keep it together while everything fell apart around him…

…No. Not while everything fell apart around him. When he was falling apart. Elfilin would smile through pain.

The Not-Elfilin wasn't afraid to show pain and hurt.

Elfilin had given his all for them, all while forcing a smile. Who was going to save him in return?

Kirby already knew the answer.

"Elfilin," he asked gently, hoping that sound didn't aggravate his headache, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

He looked to them with surprise. "You don't have to apologize, you know. You already did."

They steeled themself. Nope - they were doing this. They had to do this. If they wanted Elfilin to appreciate himself more, to care about himself more, and to love himself more, they first needed to show him how others around him loved and cared for him.

They could make up for what they'd done. They could help him heal from whatever was wrong.

Kirby was going to do this, and nothing short of divine intervention would stop them.

"I know," Kirby said, grabbing his hands and pulling him along, throwing open the door to their house and shutting it behind them, all while a bewildered Elfilin was dragged along for the ride.

"Kirby-?! What's-"

"I don't think I've thanked you enough," Kirby blurted out immediately.

"What?" Elfilin responded, then spluttered, "For what- Kirby, oh, you don't have to, just having you with me is-"

"No, no, you don't get it, like, it isn't clear enough." Kirby took a deep breath, looking away from Elfilin's confused little expression to try and regain their thoughts. "It's- you're- you..."

There was quiet for a moment as he granted them the patience to let them think it through. Eventually, they tried again.

"I've met a fairy from Ripple Star. Her home was getting eaten up by Dark Matter, and her only defense got shattered across the stars, so I went to help her. We made a great team, and we're still friends, she's super fun and friendly and we faced the darkness together, no matter how scary."

Elfilin tilted his head, but Kirby kept frantically rambling on, "And I met a prince from a knitted world, and he was brave and ch- chiv- he's cool, and a little cocky, he was barely older than me and together we stitched his little world back together."

They inhaled, not sure when the last time they did so was, "A long while before that, I met Bandana Dee. I went to fight Dedede and he was the last person to stand in my way. He must've been so scared but he was the only one willing to go against me."

"...did he win?"

"Nope. But now he fights battles with me. He fought a four headed dragon once, and won! And I'm really proud of him."

Kirby took another breath and paused. Thinking about their next words hurt, but they needed to say them.

"I was friends with a jester that used to work for Dedede. He knew all kinds of fun tricks, and was great at making people smile, and pulled the best pranks in all of Dreamland, maybe in all of Popstar."

They stopped.

Elfilin waited.

"One day, the sun and moon began to fight, and he was able to tell me how to fix it - with a magic comet in space." Kirby shut their eyes tight. "When I got it to appear, he kicked me in the head and stole its magic. I was so caught off guard. He was one of my buddies. I was scared. I had to fight him to save my home."

The now-stunned Elfilin moved to comfort them, but they backed away. They still had more to say.

"Another time, a sailor flew in on a magic ship and crash landed. He begged for our help in fixing it, and when we accepted, he became one of my best friends." Kirby squeezed their eyes shut again. Don't cry. Breathe easy. "He complimented me a ton and even helped me train a bunch. We played games together and he showed me his home world when the ship was all better. His- his- flattery, that's the word, he's a flatterer. It was even more than you say to me. You reminded me of him."

Elfilin smiled softly.

"He was a liar."

His eyes widened. "What?" he asked so softly it nearly broke Kirby's heart all over again.

"He was a liar. He broke his ship fighting a guardian to try and steal its crown. Thanks to my help, he finally got it. He tried to take over the whole universe. He nearly died. It- he- you-" Kirby's next breath shook a little, "you reminded me of him. You reminded me so much of him, I-"

They shook their head a little, taking a step back. Elfilin moved to follow them hesitantly.

"...when I met you," Kirby began, "I was... afraid. Worried. But..."

Elfilin leaned in further. Kirby gently took hold of one of his paws.

"But you aren't Ribbon. You aren't Fluff. You're not Bandan, or Marx, or Magolor. You were in the rubble of a wrecked-up town, put in a cage. You looked scared and confused, and these guys who put you there were hurting Waddle Dees, so I got you out. And you?"

There was a pause for a moment. No sound from either party.

Kirby giggled. Full-on laughed. They couldn't help it.

They looked up and met Elfilin's gaze, those shining starry eyes matching their own. "You said thanks, and then immediately were like, 'oh no, the waddle dees!' You didn't care who I was, you just wanted to help. You just... wanted to help. I've never really seen that before. You barely knew who the waddle dees even were- you just- you wanted to help them... just because you could."

"Of course I would," Elfilin breathed out.

"Of course you would. It isn't even a question for you, you don't need to wait or think, you just go. You just help. Elfilin- oh, Elfilin, you showed me why trusting people is worth it again. I forgot! That's so sad! But I remember now!" Kirby pressed their face so close to his that they could count all the strands of fur on his nose, "When I learned what you were, I was- amazed. You're just like me. Elfilin, you're just like me! People kept calling me- still call me a demon! A destroyer! A glutton who eats whole worlds! Someone you can't fight, because you'll lose! And you're perfection itself. You're power. You are strength, and smarts, and speed, and space. But if you actually look at us, we're like- two little kids going on cafe dates. We're heroes for the fun of it, because it's right, and it's good. And that's what I like about you."

His little face was so pink. Adorable. They were starting to tear up, however, so they needed to talk faster.

"Our worlds were gonna fall into each other and get destroyed. That was scary. I didn't know what to do. You flew right into the absolute worst part of it- you threw yourself at it, you needed to help, again, you just had to, and the portal was closing and I th- I thought- I thought- thought you were gonna die. I really thought, I," they sniffled, "it was like something I knew, like a fact, ' oh, Elfilin is about to die ,' and I had no idea what to do about it. I didn't- I didn't-! I didn't know what to do. At all. I couldn't do anything, I just had to hope."

Kirby wiped their eyes before tears could fall. "And now, here we- um. Now we're here. You're okay. I'm okay. It's you and me, side by side, and we can keep going on our own little adventures together forever. I love that. So- I-"

They hesitated one more time.

"Thank you. Thank you so, so, so much, Elfilin, for being someone I can trust, and someone I can be with, and someone I can count on, and someone who will help me and who I can help, and for being- being someone I can- I can-"

Elfilin gently placed his forehead against Kirby's. Little droplets fell onto Kirby's face - that was another thing they loved about him. He wasn't afraid to cry.

Someone I can love. The word went unspoken.

The word wasn't enough. Kirby loved everyone and everything. Kirby found value and love in all of life. This wasn't enough. They still couldn't quite do enough.

"Can I kiss you?" they asked.

Oh. Oh no. Oh no, they actually asked, they actually did it, this is what's happening now, oh gosh, oh no,

Elfilin squeaked. His once cherry-pink face was now a bright strawberry red, practically glowing in the dark. His eyes were wide, and the crying had stopped immediately, stunned in the face of the question posed to him.

"Sorry, sorry, I-!"

"Yes?!"

Kirby blinked.

Yes!?

"Yeah-?! I- I mean- yeah-! Okay! Sure!"

"Really!?"

"Yeah!"

And if that wasn't an answer enough, Elfilin pressed his lips against Kirby's.

There was something that the two of them had in common - something that went unspoken. An appreciation for some of the finer things in life; a simple pleasure, yet also a basic need.

One could feasibly compare the two through their pasts. Two great gods of destruction, reduced to mere children who giggled and played and delighted in the mundane. The routine. But perhaps, in the end, that just overcomplicated matters.

Perhaps it was that to which Elfilis had related to the beasts, as well. After all, the hounds chased down the scent of tea and cake the very same.

Food was good. Taste was better.

A hungry star and an eater of worlds could both easily sustain themselves on pure energy, fueling themselves or each other like a furnace, stoking the flames with nothing more than the air around them. Instead, it was gluttony and greed that drove them.

They wouldn't settle for less, no matter what - they didn't hunger for power, they hungered for joy , for life, they yearned for carefully crafted treats, delicacies, decadent, perfection in the form of fruit and frosting and the careful chemistry required for perfection.

Three course meals, full buffets, sugary sweets. The two of them were just so hungry .

Hungry, greedy little things who always wanted the most and the best of everything, the simplest of life's offerings at the highest quality.

Elfilin was on cloud nine. He indulged himself again in another kiss.

He was shaking from the sugar rush at this point, giggling to himself with Kirby, utterly lost and yet found.

The two of them had just been craving each other, wanting to be able to enjoy even more of each others' personality and company and laugh and taste and love, and now that they both had it, they didn't even know what to do with themselves.

"I missed you," Kirby giggled almost drunkenly, planting a kiss between his ears and holding him close.

Elfilin hadn't even been gone for a day. "I missed you too," he snuggled into them.

Like ice cream on a midsummer day, or hot chocolate on a cold winter night. That was how he needed them - the world didn't feel complete without that little bit of joy in it, the familiarity and comfort of a special treat to make life seem a little more worth living, a little easier, a little more satisfying. Without Kirby, he'd be sadder. With them, the world was a better place - for both them and him.

So sweet, so sweet, so sweet, sweet, sweet!

Elfilin flapped his hands and twirled unsteadily in the air, laughing and floating around aimlessly. He had so much energy he needed to get out, and yet still so exhausted he couldn't think straight.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you,” Kirby lowered their head, still pressed against him, “I love listening to you! This past week or two, I’ve been trying to figure things out by myself, but… I shouldn’t have treated you like a puzzle to be solved.”

“And I wish I didn’t make myself a puzzle,” he laughed in response, continuing to snuggle up with them, “My whole life has been a secret - but it doesn’t have to be! Not anymore. I should’ve told you what was wrong at the first opportunity… I’m so sorry for not telling you when I could!”

“Well, nuzzlenose, I guess we’re even,” Kirby pulled him forward, “C’mon - you said you’ve been blacking out and forgetting, like, whole days? Let’s, uh… maybe go tell a doctor about that, huh?”

Oh.

Yeah, that was probably a good place to start.

The two stepped outside, and immediately were greeted with sound.

“Elfilin! What should we-”

“Oh, Elfilin, you’re back! Do you think we should-”

“Elfilin, can you-?”

“Elfilin, there you are, we need a-!”

Kirby loudly cleared their throat, breaking through the crowd.

Elfilin blinked, grounded back in reality by Kirby’s disgruntled face, looking at the whole group of desperate Waddle Dees with disappointment and displeasure.

“Excuse me,” Kirby began, frustrated, “but Elfilin needs a doctor and a nap, not all your problems on top of what he’s already dealing with! Look at him - he looks like he’s gonna pass out any second now!”

He didn’t actually know what he looked like, but apparently his pain and frustration and exhaustion and shock showed pretty clearly on his face, because the Dees sheepishly backed off.

…He hadn’t realized how badly he just needed someone to shout for them to leave him alone.

That someone could always be him.

Elfilin took a deep breath.

“If you need a rift to Popstar, you can use the one in the town square! I’m sorry, but- actually, no, I’m not, I can’t help you! I don’t know how, and I don’t know how I did it before either, and I don’t wanna disappoint, but my partner and I are going to visit a medic, so please, stay out of the way for now!”

…Just a child.

“...I’m just a kid. Gimme a little time to breathe, alright?”

The townsfolk nodded in understanding and all dispersed, some of them muttering apologies and condolences to him. Meta Knight looked down from on high, nodded, and began giving commands in his stead.

Kirby squeaked.

Elfilin looked down at them.

Their face was a sweet strawberry red, brighter than a cherry, and their eyes were wide with shock.

“...Uh. Medic time, right?”

“ Partner. ” they repeated thoughtlessly.

Oh. Oops!

“A-ah, sorry, I forgot to ask! I don’t really know anything about, like, romantic partnerships, but I like the way we work together and help together and- hehe, love each other! So, uh, nothing needs to change, really, and I don’t have to call you that if you don’t want me to, but-!”

“ Yes please! ” Kirby blurted in a pitch so high that only Elfilin and the average awoofy could pick up on it.

“O-Okay!”

“ Kirby! ” a familiar voice called in the distance.

Both of them looked to see Bandana Dee sprinting up to them, breathing heavily. “Kirby - uh, the Popstar tides!”

“Oh- shoot!” Kirby exclaimed, winding up to absolutely book it to the rift-

- before stopping dead in his tracks, turning back to Elfilin. “Uh-?!”

Elfilin held their hands. "The rift to Popstar is always open. Go protect your home, then meet me back here."

Kirby smiled softly at him. "You'd better rest."

"I will - I promise."

Bandan shot him a knowing look.

Without another word, the two Popstarlings took off towards home, and Elfilin fled in search of someone who could figure out what was wrong with him.

“Hey-!” Elfilin called out to the first nurse he found, “I- uh- I need help!”

They met up with him quickly. “Who’s hurt?”

“I- uhm, it’s… it’s…”

“Yes?”

“...m-me. There’s something wrong with my head, I think…”

Every medic stopped what they were doing to look at him in surprise.

Was it really that outrageous to hear him ask for help for once?

…aaaand he answered his own question.

“Of course - here, come along this way and we’ll see what we can do. If you’d be more comfortable… you have a medical tent down by your house, no? I could treat you there, if you’d like.”

…Just like that?

Huh.

…maybe he should ask for help more often.

His chest burned, but he pressed on.

It felt like he was trying to hold water in his hands - it seeped through every little crack, pouring away and doing its best to escape. He struggled to contain it all, holding it as tight as he could. His hands shook against the force of it pressing back, pushing against him as it fought against his every move.

Still, he harnessed that power and kept fighting.

A sharp crack against his skin of a well-placed strike, the flinch, the rush of power escaping his grasp, overwhelming and scorching on its way out. He held tight. It hurt. He had no choice.

He had to fight. He had to keep fighting. If the star trapped in his chest wouldn't cooperate, he would have to just try harder. There was no other option.

Souls licked at the back of his eyes like a migraine, ethereal magic scarring his ribs and lungs, he shrieked silently and unleashed hellfire, storms, lightning, windshear. Anything and everything.

He could barely see. He could barely hear. All he knew was pain and anger, and he needed so desperately to let it out. This was freedom - this hell he'd become.

This was freedom.

Wasn't it?

Another blow to his chest had him gasping for air. He was amazed at his own strength, expecting the crunch of broken bone that never came. He staggered, falling back to the earth in a heap, desperately trying to regain his breath as the star forced its way from his body.

It hurt.

It was a special kind of agony, one he fought against, he had to fight, he had to fight, they could fight this, they could win, throwing their spear and praying for anything to stop-

The lifeblood of the gods came loose, leaving them weak and helpless. They cherished the moment as a second without pain before the worst of it hit. The gravity was so immense, the star collapsed in on itself, the density rising from the sheer quantity of soul and weight of suffering, and they soon found themself pulled beyond the event horizon.

The force was too intense. They tried to scream, but couldn't. They'd stood within the roche limit of this divine creation, and it tore them to shreds. Weeping, wishing they'd just given in at this point, they felt themself splinter and shatter into so many pieces, so many pieces, they'd never, ever be able to be whole ever again-

"No-!"

The world went still and quiet. Elfilin breathed a sigh of relief as the chaos came to an abrupt end.

He picked himself up off the ground and looked up to see another him, nearly brought to tears.

"What…" he began, expecting his voice to at least feel sore, but he was entirely painless. "What just happened?"

His doppelganger wiped their eyes, shaking their head. "Something terrible. A grave error. A memory. You weren't… supposed to see."

Elfilin stood and approached them, wanting to offer his condolences and comfort, but they backed away.

"I'm so sorry…" Elfilin offered instead, "I wish I could've helped you. That… you didn't deserve that."

They scoffed. Smiling up at him, they repeated, " Still don't understand. That's fine."

He tilted his head.

"...You're wrong. By the way. You've helped enough. Helped so much. And… deserved? Maybe… but you didn't. Not your nightmare. Not for you… to have."

Not his nightmare to have.

Not… his…

"Nightmare…?" Elfilin repeated slowly.

It was their turn to give him an odd look with a tilt of their head.

"A nightmare… I was having…? Am…?"

His eyes widened as he suddenly came to a realization, one he felt he should've realized long ago.

"Am I dreaming?"

The realm of the Isolated Isles stretched out before him, the helicopter pad below his feet giving away his precise location. The world felt so surreal now that he knew to question the nature of it - the horizon twisted and turned uncertainly, the sky shone brightly without a sun, the buildings blurred in the distance as though to prove their unimportance.

And standing before him, equally stunned, was none other than Fecto Elfilis.

They were small. They really did look remarkably like him, not like their original dream form or any imitation of a complete form they may have had. Elfilis' left ear remained twisted and tangled onto itself, likely rendering them unable to fly, and their patchy fur gave way to bright pink skin underneath in many places, like their chest and nose. Despite this, however, they didn't carry that same intimidating or disturbing aura. They were just… scars. Birthmarks. It was simply how they looked.

"...whoops," they stated simply after a moment. Their voice was dull, soft as a whisper and distinctly uncaring. Devoid of emotional tone.

"This is a dream," Elfilin repeated, stunned, "This- I'm dreaming. I- didn't know I could be aware in a dream, wow, this is amazing, I-!"

"Don't," Elfilis interjected quickly, seeming uncomfortable, "repeat that word again. Too many times… repetition is bad."

"Right, sorry," Elfilin responded automatically before pausing.

He stared at them. They stared back.

"Wait. Are… are you real? "

This comment frightened them. "Um. Well."

Elfilin continued, rambling on, "This is the dream realm place, right?! Your dream realm place! If you're here, then- if, if it's actually, really you, then-!"

"Please don't-"

"You're alive? "

They didn't respond, but the look on their face screamed " uh oh. "

"...you're alive. What. Even after…? Y-You're alive! Here, with me! I thought I, like, became complete or something?! But," Elfilin began pacing, trying to keep his thoughts together, "but that's not really how it works, right? Not anymore, you can't fix this, I know that because of you, we know that - because when you took me, to make yourself whole, Kirby just kinda… popped me right back out again. Staying together is a choice, o-or an action, and it's one I've been taking without realizing, because I thought getting your soul back was… different? But it's not! I- I saved you!"

While they were in a stunned silence, he darted forward and squeezed them tight in a big hug. The action startled them, apparently, because they squeaked sharply in fright and protest and made a half-hearted effort - hehe - to escape his embrace.

"I saved you… I… I'm so glad…"

Elfilis slowly pulled away, looking at him with bewilderment.

They looked away, lost in thought, trying to piece something together and failing. Eventually, they posed a question to him.

"...Why?"

They awoke with a start, as well as quite a bit of surprise. Of the two to wake, they'd expected Elfilin.

Not a problem - as long as Elfilis was here, they could perhaps do some damage control. Quickly, as though in imminent danger of swapping back, they grabbed their shared notebook and flipped to the most recent page, intent on writing a note to their likely confused and frightened other half.

He hadn't seemed afraid, but shock was a powerful and dangerous emotion.