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“Give me the knife, Martyn,” Scott demanded, holding his hand out. Martyn glowered at him a little.
“What knife? I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about,” he sniffed. Scott’s whiskers twitched.
“The one you killed Olive with, give it here,” Scott said pointedly.
“It wasn’t my idea!” Martyn protested. Truly, it wasn’t. He wasn’t completely sure what happened- he had been mostly joking around, and then he got this itch-
“That’s not what we do here, Martyn!” Scott shouted, snapping him from his thoughts. Martyn squinted at him a little.
“What d’you mean, that’s how things always are. Gotta be the toughest rat to survive,” Martyn said with a frown. A flash of… something, crossed Scott’s face. Martyn couldn’t decipher if it was hurt or confusion before Scott was back to fixing him with a disappointed glare.
“Give me the knife,” Scott said, quieter than before. And yet, Martyn found himself sighing and reaching into his pocket, aimlessly flipping his knife out and twirling it a little so that the handle was towards Scott. If Martyn hadn’t been so busy sulking about having to give up his knife (even though he definitely had the materials to make a new one) he would have noticed Scott’s near flustered expression at his movements before he gingerly took the knife. Scott tucked it into his front pocket, grimacing a little. There was a faraway look in his eyes, and despite not knowing the other rat for that long, Martyn’s heart twisted with guilt.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly. Scott bristled, tail lashing.
“I’m not the one you need to apologize to,” he snapped.
“I already apologized to Olive! You just looked… sad, I dunno,” Martyn said, rubbing the back of his neck. Scott sighed, and took off his hat to run a hand through his hair- dyed a pale teal color, with flowers braided in. Martyn wasn’t sure how he hadn’t noticed it before. In any case, Martyn was more focused on the way Scott’s ears drooped and how he clutched at his hat. He was tense too, like at any moment he would bolt if startled.
“Things are just… so different here,” Scott said, voice tight. Martyn frowned.
“How so?”
“I used to live in a field, all wide open spaces and a cozy burrow to go back to- but here it’s dark and cramped, where I have to figure out how to use this stupid chisel and- nevermind. You don’t care,” Scott said, abruptly ending his frenzied ramble and shoving his hat back on. He turned to walk away- but was halted by Martyn shooting forward and grabbing his wrist. An action that surprised both of them, frankly. Martyn sheepishly let go of him, an ear flicking nervously.
“I… I do care, actually. We’re all here together, right? So we should… care for each other,” Martyn said softly, not quite sure where this was all coming from. Scott squinted at him suspiciously.
“Like you cared for Olive?” he pointed out. Martyn winced.
“Not my best moment, I’ll admit. But they did sort of betray Oli’s trust- y’know what? Not important. I messed up, okay? And it seemed like you were stressed as it was so… I feel bad for making it worse,” Martyn explained. Scott relaxed at his words, only slightly.
“I… thanks. I think,” he said, giving a tight smile. Martyn huffed out an irritated breath, running a hand through his hair. This wasn’t going how he wanted it to- how did he even want this to go?
“What I’m trying to say is… I think I have something that might help? If you’d do the honor of letting me show you?” he asked, holding out a hand that definitely wasn’t shaking towards Scott. Scott blinked, staring at his hand as if it would somehow hurt him. However, after considering for a moment or two, Scott took his hand.
Martyn led Scott to the big window he had been crouched at before, wishing on stars so that the door would open. It was still nighttime, but morning would come soon enough. He and Scott could probably watch the sunrise.
He hadn’t told Scott where they were going yet, Martyn wanted it to be a surprise. But of course, since he wasn’t telling Scott what was happening, he was incredibly suspicious of the whole thing. He kept glancing around frantically, probably wondering if this was some sort of trap. That is, until they finally reached the windowsill.
“Up here, c’mon!” Martyn said, scrabbling up the wall. Scott followed, still a little suspicious- but that suspicion changed to pure awe once he saw the view. Sprawling countryside, with the night sky shining bright with stars and turning purple at the edges where the sun was slowly making its presence known. Yet all Martyn could look at was Scott, and how the stars reflected in his eyes.
“This is…”
“I know it’s just looking through a window, and not the same as actually being out there-”
“It’s beautiful,” Scott interrupted in a hushed voice, turning to look at Martyn. Something in the back of Martyn's mind said "you too." Where had that come from? Martyn shook it off and just smiled at Scott.
“I know it’s not the same as actually being outside but… I figured it’d help,” Martyn said instead. Scott smiled, bright as the stars, and looked back out the window.
“It does,” Scott was quiet for a moment, before he spoke up again. “I used to make up stories about the stars when I was younger.”
“Oh?” Martyn asked, intrigued.
“Yeah! I know the actual constellations now- it’s good for tracking the seasons and knowing when to grow what- but I used to make my own and tell stories about the pictures I saw in the night sky,” Scott explained softly.
“Can you tell me one?” Martyn blurted, before he could really think about it. Scott startled a little, but smiled and nodded.
“Sure- the Wolf Witch is out tonight,” Scott said, pointing to a cluster of stars that looked neither like a wolf nor a witch, but Martyn was willing to take his word for it.
“Sounds interesting,” Martyn mused.
“She was- she only found solace in the wolves after her soulmate abandoned her- or so she claimed. Her soulmate said it was the other way around, as she had grown close to another instead of finding her true soulmate. So he found a different soulmate as well, one he could choose. Funnily enough, the soulmate he chose happened to be the soulmate of the one the Wolf Witch had gotten close to,” Scott explained.
“Wait. What? I’m confused- how many people are involved here? How do they know who their soulmate is?” Martyn asked. Scott huffed out a fondly exasperated breath.
"Four, including the Wolf Witch. And her true soulmate… we’ll call him the Last Champion. The one he chose is the Undead Flower, and her true soulmate… the Wayward Wanderer,” Scott said, pointing to more stars as he spoke. Something about “Wayward Wanderer” struck a chord with Martyn, but he couldn’t quite place what it was.
“Interesting names,” was what Martyn commented instead.
“The Last Champion had won a deadly game, actually with the help of the Wolf Witch. But when they found each other again… their camaraderie wasn’t the same. The Undead Flower had helped him too- it’s probably why he chose her as his soulmate. Soulmates were connected by the pain they shared… and the Last Champion and the Undead Flower both shared the pain of their soulmates choosing someone else first,” Scott explained.
“I thought this was about the Wolf Witch,” Martyn said with a frown. Scott playfully shoved at him.
“I’m getting to her, don’t worry. The four of them had found themselves in yet another deadly game, where only a single pair of soulmates would survive. And they were the final four. They had come to an uneasy alliance at this point… and all it took was one to betray them,” Scott said.
“The Wolf Witch?” Martyn asked. Scott shook his head.
“The Wayward Wanderer. He was determined to survive, and as he felt he had reconciled with the Undead Flower, he attacked the Wolf Witch. Which in turn, caused pain to the Last Champion. The Undead Flower didn’t want to fight the Wolf Witch, for fear of hurting the Last Champion. But at that point, it was too late. The Wolf Witch set her pack on the pair, and it was just her and her true soulmate left standing,” Scott said.
“She killed the Wayward Wanderer? Even if she had chosen him initially?” Martyn asked, a chill going through him.
“He betrayed her first,” Scott said with a shrug before continuing. “So then it was just the Last Champion and the Wolf Witch. They weren’t sure what to do at first… until the Last Champion finally realized something. The Wolf Witch had helped him win once, and it was time to return the favor. He regretted not allying with her sooner- but with a final goodbye, he ended his life. And in turn, the Wolf Witch died as well- but the Last Champion had fallen seconds before she did. Technically making her the winner.”
“That’s… grim. Not really the kind of soulmate story I expected,” Martyn said with a nervous laugh. Scott shrugged again.
“I dunno how much stock I put into soulmates. Romantic ones, anyway. And this story… I never quite pictured them as romantic. Just… friends who were always meant to find each other. I think the Wayward Wanderer and the Undead Flower could have been something to each other… but it was too messy. And maybe if the four of them had managed to work something out…” Scott trailed off, voice a little dreamy.
“What would’ve it been like? The four of them?” Martyn asked. Scott let out a sigh.
“Well for starters, the Last Champion never struck me as a guy who liked women. Probably kinda rolled his eyes at the universe for sticking him with the Wolf Witch. So things with her probably would have been the same as they were with the Undead Flower- fiercely devoted life partners who would go to the ends of the earth for each other,” Scott said.
“And what about the Wayward Wanderer?” Martyn asked, heart rate picking up for reasons he couldn’t explain. Scott turned to look at him again, blue eyes sparkling.
“I think he and the Last Champion could have been very close. If things were different,” he said softly.
“Maybe things could be different,” Martyn murmured, his hand drifting towards Scott’s. Scott slowly reached towards him too-
And then the sound of slow, heavy footsteps startled them apart.
“Humans,” Scott gasped, darting to hide behind a plant on the windowsill. Martyn scurried to hide along with him, having to press close to Scott in order for them both to stay hidden. The close proximity seemed jarring now, even if it was what Martyn had wanted before. He was practically curled around Scott, and for a moment he tried to give Scott a little space- but then he grabbed him by the shirt and tugged him closer with a hissed “they’ll see you!” And no, Martyn was not at all thinking about the ease Scott had yanked him or the tone of his voice or replaying the moment over and over again in his head. That would be ridiculous.
Fortunately, the human had left soon enough. (And unfortunately, a ridiculous part of Martyn thought, that meant that he wouldn’t have to stay huddled close to Scott anymore.)
“We should probably head back,” Scott said wistfully, glancing back at the view one last time. The sky was lighter now, the sun beginning to peek over the earth.
“The window will always be here for us,” Martyn pointed out softly. A mischievous grin came to Scott’s face.
“Us?” he asked with a giggle. Martyn felt his face heat up.
“Or just you! Sorry, you probably don’t need me tagging along all the time, you know where it is-” Martyn was halted by Scott’s finger to his lips.
“Us sounds nice,” Scott said with a smile decidedly softer than the mischievous one he had before. And with that, he leapt off the windowsill with ease and landed with grace, leaving Martyn utterly speechless in more ways than one.
He shook himself slightly, scrambling down after Scott. There was an apparent “us” to explore with him, after all.