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Feferi awoke with a start, gasping for air and then coughing a couple times once her respiratory system had a chance to sort out what kind of medium it was working with. She was laying on her back, and after tilting her head to the side she was greeted by uniformly gray scenery littered with generic objects of varying sizes. It didn't seem that she was anywhere in particular. Weird.
Where had she been before this, though? She tried to remember, pressing a palm against her forehead and trying to ignore the dull throb in her skull.
Images flashed through her mind. Choking on her own blood as she lay dying back in the Veil. A neon planet full of pyramids. Two funny human girls talking with her.
She clutched at her chest, her feeling of discomfort growing as she was filled with a dull aching sensation. Something was missing.
Feferi pushed herself off the ground and took a few shaky steps forward, hoping that she could make sense of her surroundings she moved around. Maybe she could find some water while she was at it--her throat was dry and scratchy and her gills were tingling in an unpleasant way.
She kept walking for some time, and eventually the scenery began to rearrange itself. Colors faded in and the vague shapes were refined into more recognizable things. Plants, trees, flowers. Feferi felt a small sense of relief as she realized that this had to be a dream bubble--she hadn't seen this kind of transformation anywhere else. She listened carefully, hoping to hear the sound of a running stream or even the ocean to guide her. The noise that soon echoed faintly through the trees didn't sound like water at all though. It sounded like...somebody crying?
Propelled forward by curiosity, Feferi quickened her steps and headed toward its point of origin, stepping over rocks and pushing aside branches to keep her hair from getting snagged and tangled. Soon, she stepped out into a small clearing, beams of moonlight filtered through the forest canopy and fell upon the form of a troll. They were kneeling on the ground, hunched over and clutching at their sides as they sobbed uncontrollably.
Feferi stared in surprise for a moment until she noticed the unmistakable blue hat and olive green coat that belonged to...
"Nepeta?" Feferi said, calling out and walking towards the crying troll.
Nepet's head snapped up and she shot a look of suspicion and confusion at the approaching seadweller. For a moment, it looked as though her fight-or-flight instincts were going to take over, but her fierce expression softened once she recognized the girl moving towards her.
"F....Feferi? Is that you?" Nepeta replied, her voice wavering as she rubbed at one cheek with her oversized sleeve, smearing the green-tinted tears.
Nepeta stared wide-eyed in disbelief while Feferi closed the remaining distance and kneeled down in the grass next to her, then placed a hand on her shoulder and gave a reassuring nod. The break in Nepeta's sobbing was soon over as she lunged forward, wrapped her arms around Feferi's waist, and buried her face against the Pisces emblem on her chest. Feferi blinked and then smiled, returning the hug and stroking Nepeta's hair gently as she resumed her wailing. Feferi noticed that something felt slightly different as soon as Nepeta had touched her. After couple minutes, Nepeta seemed to calm down enough to be capable of conversing again:
"Where are we?" she asked between sobs.
"A dream bubble." Feferi replied, reaching up to brush away some of Nepeta's tears, "And I have a susfishin that it's yours."
Nepeta sniffled and peeked out from the safety of Feferi's embrace to look around more.
"Yeah I... I remember this," she said, turning her gaze to the ground and frowning, "One time, I went out hunting with my lusus back when I was little and I wound up getting lost. I was really furightened until she finally came and found me."
"Is that why you've been crying? Because of the memory?" Feferi asked, shifting her arms down a bit to rub Nepeta's back.
"Yes." Nepeta's brow furrowed and her answer was hesitant, "No... Maybe? I'm not too sure. I feel like a lot of stuff happened and I'm purretty confused."
"Maybe you could try explaining it? I'm happy to listen, so go ahead and glub at me all you like," Feferi said cheerfully, flashing a toothy grin.
"I remember dying and then suddenly being somewhere else. There were these humans and I felt really different. And...you were there too! Except not." Nepeta clutched at her forehead, wincing as though in pain, "Then I remember being really upset and everything turning really bright and I woke up here all alone. It hurt so much--like I'd gotten ripped apart."
"Apart... Hmm..." Feferi echoed, staring off at nothing in particular and biting her lip.
"Do you know what happened?" Nepeta said, looking up at Feferi with glassy eyes.
She sat in silence for a moment, listening to the rise and fall of Nepeta's breath, relishing the other troll's warmth and their closeness.
"Oh my glub," Feferi said slowly as the last piece fell into place, "We were a sprite."
"What?" Nepeta stared back at her in disbelief, "You mean the kind from the game?"
"Yup. We must've gotten prototyped after we died."
Nepeta frowned and gave an indignant sniff, "How is that even pawsible?"
"Whale I'm not entirely shore," Feferi said, scratching her cheek nervously, "But I'm starting to remember a lot of things, and they definitely aren't things that I used to know."
"Why not?"
"Because they're your memories, Nepeta." Feferi replied calmly, looking Nepeta in the eyes, "I didn't reely understand it until now, though."
Nepeta searched the features of Feferi's face to see if this was some kind of joke she was playing, but the seriousness of her expression told her everything she needed to know. As she gazed back at the seadweller, she felt a warm blush spread across her cheeks, and she clapped her hands against her face in embarrassment.
"Y-you're right!" Nepeta stammered, scooting away and putting a bit of distance between them. Her eyes darted around as she started to remember, "It's like we were the same purrson. Why else would I know all of this... super detailed stuff about you?"
All Feferi could do was give a shrug in response.
"Nope, nope! This is.... scary. I shouldn't know these things." Nepeta stood up and began to pace back and forth, scratching at her hair behind one of her ears, "I didn't even know my meowrail that well."
"Oh no," Nepeta breathed, suddenly stopping in her tracks and slumping to the ground again, "Equius..."
"He died too." Feferi said in an even tone. Nepeta looked back at her and was about to ask how she knew, but the words caught in her throat once she realized. "Do you want to go look for him?"
"No... No I don't think so," Nepeta said, her expression darkening noticeably, "H-he lied to me, Feferi. He said he would purrtect me and he... He kneeled befur that stupid fucking murderclown!"
Nepeta slammed a balled-up fist into the ground and growled angrily, "He didn't care! He didn't care at all! He just wanted to indulge his sick little fetish for the hemeowspectrum."
She continued to pummel the ground, her eyes widening in rage as she felt overwhelmed with betrayal, her voice rising to a scream, "HE DIED AND LEFT ME AND HE DIDN'T EVEN CARE!!!"
Hot tears were running down Nepeta's cheeks again as she continued to thrash furiously, until suddenly a pair of arms encircled her and she froze. She hadn't even noticed Feferi move, but there she was. The seadweller girl pulled Nepeta into a tight hug before she could protest and made a low, soothing sound like waves crashing on the shore:
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
Nepeta hissed in surprise, "Feferi what're you--"
"Shhhhhhhhh," she said again, reaching up and gently papping a hand against Nepeta's cheek.
Nepeta wanted to resist and continue with her fit, but the way that Feferi rocked the two of them back and forth was unbelievably nice. She felt herself relaxing into the other girl's embrace and losing all desire to struggle. They stayed like this for several minutes, saying nothing, until Nepeta was able to look Feferi in the face again.
"You're really good at that," Nepeta mumbled.
"Hee hee, thanks. It just kind of comes naturally. Here, lie down." Feferi gave Nepeta a light push and then sank down into the grass next to her. They found their way into each other's arms yet again, sighing contentedly from the touch.
"Feferi?"
"Hmm?"
"Could you maybe... rub my back? Like you were before?" Nepeta asked hesitantly.
Feferi nodded and began running her fingertips up and down Nepeta's back in aimless patterns; the touch tingled and made Nepeta start to purr softly in response. Pressed together like this, a thought dawned upon the two girls. That dull ache and feeling of discomfort they'd both been feeling since waking up here had completely subsided. Now they were calm and almost...connected? It was strange, but also somehow completely reassuring.
"This is because of the sprite stuff, huh." Nepeta said, not really even expecting an answer.
"I was just thinking the same thing myshellf." Feferi replied, "Is it strange?"
"Kind of. But not really, I guess?" Nepeta said, "I mean it's weird that we were the same purrson and all. Knowing everything about someone who used to be a part of you and now they aren't is pretty..."
"Intense." Feferi finished.
"But this," Nepeta paused to stretch out a bit and then nuzzle against Feferi's neck, "This feels right."
"I think we can agree on that," Feferi said, giving Nepeta a squeeze and touching their noses together. Nepeta giggled and then stuck her tongue out, licking at Feferi's cheek with a few smooth strokes.
Had they been feeling ambitious, they might have set off to hop between bubbles and try looking for their other friends. The way they saw it though, death kind of precluded their being able to accomplish anything significant at the moment, so what was the rush?
For now, they decided just to seize the opportunity to rest and enjoy being reunited.