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Purpled rocked back precariously on his heels, craning his neck to peer onto the highest shelf, chests pushed back against the wall and just tall enough he couldn’t see inside. The chest beneath him creaked with his weight, a sound he dutifully ignored.
Purpled should not have been moving. He shouldn’t have been out of bed, really, and between Dogchamp’s constant stare and the pounding headache behind his eyes, he was well aware of that fact.
He had tried to do the responsible thing after realizing he was getting sick. He knew he would be more run down than usual, and would probably retire for the night early– so he’d taken it upon himself to shut down the UFO early for the night, turning off the fairy lights and disconnecting the water elevator (in case any above-average intelligent mobs decided to poke around nearby).
After at least an hour and a half of tossing and turning, Purpled gave up. The elevator was reactivated and some of the outside lights were turned back on, though he kept the interior dark. He didn’t really need the lights to see, the glow from his antennas was plenty for the enclosed space–
But it didn’t let him see any higher, which would’ve been real useful right about now.
With a heavy sigh, Purpled reached up to chest above him, fingers curling around the lid. He stood as tall as he could, but when his effort proved useless he slammed the chest shut.
The rush of air from the sudden movement and the loud thud that echoed made him reel back (nevermind the fact that he caused the sound), nearly losing his footing as he scrambled to catch himself on the edge of the shelf. The world swayed, blinking colorful dots from his eyes. His eyes screwed shut, leaning to rest his forehead against the edge of the shelf.
Dogchamp whined from somewhere beneath him.
Purpled’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m good,” he called, maybe a bit breathless. Breathless, and he hadn’t even done anything aside from sort through some chests. “I’m good, buddy.”
He drew in a breath, lifting his head, blinking away the white haze that had crept into his vision, steadily making the world go fuzzy. A static lens clicked over his vision, the violet glow reflected back in frost-covered windows starting to flicker, his head spinning.
Woah, okay. Yup. Time to sit down.
Purpled hopped down. His knees buckled as he hit the ground, dropping to a seated position, back slamming against the edge of the chest. He winced, only minutely relieved that the fog covering the world started to recede little by little.
Claws scraped against the floor. Purpled lifted his head, nearly jolting back at the wolf’s nose that was just inches away from his nose, a faint light reflected from a flash of silver in his mouth.
Purpled stared. Slowly, he stretched out a hand.
Dogchamp dropped his communicator into his palm. Purpled’s eye twitched at the new tooth-shaped dents in the side, shooting a look towards the wolf.
“Really, bud?” he asked. “What do you want me to do with this?”
Dogchamp leapt back as Purpled’s gaze swiveled over, dropping into a bow. He barked sharply up at his face, pawing at the ground, before taking off down the row of chests. Purpled watched him disappear around the corner, before a familiar clattering rang out from across the UFO.
Dogchamp’s food bowl, most likely empty. Sigh.
Drawing in a deep breath, Purpled set his communicator down. His palms flattened to the floor, shifting to push himself up-
His arms gave out beneath him, head knocking back against the chest. He hissed through his teeth, raising a trembling hand to run it through his hair.
Another bark rang out, bouncing off the metal walls. Purpled winced.
“I know, I know,” he muttered, shifting to sit up. His head felt heavy, lights blinking in and out of view. “Just– just give me a second, bud.”
A few moments of silence passed.
Dogchamp barked again. And again. And-
“Okay!” Purpled’s throat burned with the volume, despite him barely raising it. “Okay. Hold on. I’ll-” He hesitated.
He reached for his communicator.
> You whisper to Punz: hhey are you awake
Purpled’s head pounded. He quickly looked away from the screen, blinking a few times to get the discoloration in his vision to fade.
His communicator buzzed.
> Punz whispers to you: ?
Purpled exhaled.
> You whisper to Punz: caan you come tk the ufo
> You whisper to Punz: doghcamp need’/s to be ffed
Technically the truth. As annoying as it was, Purpled had a feeling he was going to be stuck on the floor for a while, and he’d rather not listen to the wolf’s incessant barking while he was.
> Punz whispers to you: yeah, i can
> Punz whispers to you: are you not home?
Shit.
> You whisper to Punz: nno
> You whisper to Punz: im oout getin; refdstone
> You whisper to Punz: just feekjd him whl’;e m gok:e
Purpled tore his gaze away, eyes shut tight, a headache pounding behind his eyes. Surely that was believable enough, right?
It took all of his strength to open his eyes when the communicator buzzed again, squinting down at the screen. His vision blurred. He caught a glimpse of the word ‘okay’– enough of a confirmation for him to turn the screen over, casting the room in darkness.
There wasn’t much left to do except wait.
Purpled shifted a bit, trying to find a spot comfortable enough to wait in for however long it took Punz to leave. He settled with his side leaning against the chest, arms resting over the top to use as a pillow. It wasn’t ideal by any means, but it was a spot he could rest his head and close his eyes. Just until Punz gets here and gets out.
Purpled let himself drift off a bit. He didn’t think he had actually fallen asleep at any point, but there was zero way he was fully awake, the ground consistently spiraling out from beneath him, the world fading in and out. The quiet hanging over the room was only interrupted by the occasional shuffling from Dogchamp, loud whining growing distant despite the cold nose that poked at his side every couple minutes.
Eventually, Dogchamp padded away, leaving Purpled to rest.
Purpled woke to the sound of rushing water, a quiet whir sounding beneath the creaking of metal. He heard the telltale sound of claws against the floor, a voice murmuring something too quiet to hear. Dogchamp whined.
Purpled was content to ignore it. That was their problem to deal with, not his.
It wasn’t his problem.
It wasn’t, so why was the sound getting closer to him?
Footsteps approached. A quiet, steady rhythm. A rush of air passed him by as Dogchamp no doubt sped past, only for the weight on the floor to shift, the wolf pausing next to him.
Purpled didn’t dare lift his head, keeping his eyes shut. It wasn’t worth the energy to try and move. Maybe if he was still enough–
Something nudged at his arm.
“Dogchamp, quit,” Purpled mumbled, expression twitching. He turned his face away.
Dogchamp shifted at his side. Another nudge.
“Purpled?”
The voice was close. Much closer than he’d last heard the footsteps, opposite of the wolf. Maybe if he just stayed quiet…
A weight settled on his shoulder. He was halfway through another Dogchamp-aimed complaint before the situation registered in his mind and his mouth clicked shut. He cracked his eyes open.
Familiar blue eyes peered back through layers of static, eyebrows creased.
“Hey.” Punz’s voice was quiet. Unnaturally soft.
Punz. What was Punz doing there again?
“I’m sure your bed would be a hell of a lot more comfortable than the ground, Purp.”
Purpled hummed. That was… fair. Why was he on the ground-?
The weight on his shoulder disappeared. He snapped to attention just as Punz rocked back, using a shelf as a lever to stand. He held a hand out.
“Come on. Let’s get you off the floor.”
Purpled stared. That sounded like a lot of effort, requiring a lot of energy that he did not have– but after a moment, he reached to take it.
Punz tugged him to his feet. His vision went black, pain flaring behind his eyes, but a hand landed on his arm and a weight settled behind his back, urging him forwards. Purpled stumbled with the pressure, vision fading in and out as Punz led him down the row of chests, tripping over his own feet with each step.
The floor creaked behind him, a gray-white blur following at his side a second later. He would’ve smiled if he had the energy.
Purpled’s attention shifted to Punz as they walked, focusing in on his face as best he could. His gaze was set straight ahead, violet light reflecting in pools of ice.
It was so odd. Part of it didn’t even feel real.
It didn’t make sense. Why was Punz there? Had something happened? Did–
Purpled’s knees hit against the bed frame, stumbling back so he didn’t tip forwards. He was half prepared for a laugh, but Punz only steadied him, guiding him to sit down.
Dogchamp was next to him within a matter of seconds, sniffing at his face, a cold nose looming ominously close. Purpled shoved him away with shaky hands, falling back against his pillows, the wolf only relenting to curl up at his side.
Purpled rested a hand in his fur.
Punz barely moved. Purpled glanced over, squinting at the brief flicker of light in Punz’s eyes, a hand hovering in the air as he swiped through his inventory. After a moment, the light flickered out, Punz’s gaze flitting over. He raised an eyebrow.
Purpled dropped his gaze.
Punz sighed. “What?”
“When-” Purpled swallowed. He almost didn’t want to ask. “When are you leaving?”
Silence.
“Leaving?” Punz echoed after a long few moments. “I’m not going anywhere, kid.”
“You’re not?”
Punz stared. After a moment, he rounded the bed, shifting to sit against the headboard. Purpled rolled to face him slightly, wide eyes blinking up at him.
Punz’s eyes softened. “Get some rest, kid. I’ll be here.”