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The room they're fighting in - if it can even be called a room - has no exits, but the doorknob Heart reaches for meets his grip precisely. He marches through his conjured door into a cold night, slamming it behind him.
Storming on, Heart wouldn't notice the thick snow if it didn't crunch so satisfyingly beneath his feet, nor the crisp air if it didn't sting his lungs and the splits across his knuckles. It's unbearable being in the same room as Mind most days - if his stupid, harsh light stubbornly bleeding through Heart's blindfold wasn't enough, he has to listen to the self-righteous prick's relentless droning. Sure, Heart might've gotten a bit too physical - but it's like Soul doesn't even hear Mind's viciousness towards him! No, of course he only steps in after Heart's been pushed, and pushed, and pushed until he has to make Mind understand.
Tears have nearly frozen the cloth to his cheeks when he catches his breath at the crest of a small hill. How long had he been walking...? He looks back toward the misery he'd come from, and everything boils up into a scream of frustration - Heart rips off the blindfold and throws it out into the blurred landscape. The snow only glows softly; this night's moon is new and the sky is an empty black, save for the tiny white puffs floating down so gently. Heart lays down with a heavy sigh, hands folded over his chest. Breathing in, breathing out... tracing the scars over his face as they prickle from the chill... feeling the snowflakes drift to rest on his fingers... breathing in, breathing out... cold seeping through to his back... the heavily collecting snow soothing the stress of it all to a slow, numb pulse... breathing in, breathing out...
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The other two are left fuming as Heart's door vanishes from the space. Mind's incredulous laugh breaks the silence, his sleeve wiping cobalt blood from his nose. "[Oh, perfect! Typical he'd act like such a pathetic coward, always refusing to face his mistakes-]"
"{Shut the fuck up. Would you just shut the fuck up for ONCE?!}" Soul's voice raises, his words' distortion uncontrolled. "{I'm so goddamn tired of the BOTH of you incessant, miserable hypocrites constantly taking for granted that I won't silence you for good; When will you realise the ONLY reason I haven't is to preserve the one way out of this that NOBODY else seems to care about?!}"
Mind is taken aback by Soul's outburst, but his eyes narrow at those last words. "[You think I'm not trying to work towards being one?]" He gestures to the space Heart left. "[That wretch is the problematic link here, what else do you believe I've been doing other than trying to fix what he has constantly neglected to-]"
"{You're still. Not. Listening! For fuck's SAKE Mind, what do you really think it means to be whole?!}" Soul laughs. "{The logic can't seem to figure out the truth, and the emotion refuses to feel it! It would honestly be hilarious, if it didn't seem to be happening just to torment me.}"
Soul buries his face in his hands, the energy suddenly leaving him. "{As if there even is a 'me'...}" he murmurs, "{You two were supposed to be that. Without the both of you, there might as well be nothing, but you just can't get that through your heads. I'm just so... so tired.}" The light around Soul shifts, shadows starting to obscure him. Mind takes a step forward, his hand reaching towards him to... do what, exactly? Whatever he's supposed to do, it doesn't come naturally, and it's far too late now. Soul turns and vanishes into a dark fog enveloping a stretch of the pale void Mind now finds himself alone in.
His breath is the only sound, heavy and slightly shuddering - only due to Heart's assault, of course. He attempts to steady it, gaze lingering where the door used to be. It'd be a matter of time before at least one of them returned; he could never really get away from them for long. They would return, and they'd continue... well... at least he could try to work on a solution.
Habit has Mind pacing at the edge of the smog, his eyes drawn again and again to the door's absence. The flurry of snowflakes blowing in when his other half left keeps interrupting his thoughts, and he fidgets with his necklace. That space may be as unstable as its creator, and it's unlikely Soul was in the mindset to attach a tether before Heart left. If Soul doesn't recover soon enough to assist... Mind's stride stops with a resigned sigh. Fine. Clearly he needs to start putting things back together, or else they may have worse problems to contend with. Despite the Heart's numerous issues, Mind isn't sure what might happen if his counterpart were to actually... he dismisses the thought. He creates a door of his own, trying to approximate where Heart's was while focusing on his glimpse of the place he left to.
Mind steps out into a vast white landscape of hills smothered by a dark, starless sky. How appropriate. Seeing no sign of Heart after scanning his surroundings, Mind begins his search straight forward into the quiet snowfall - his door deconstructing behind him. The hills roll far into the horizon, but following the drift somehow seems the right direction. Peaceful stillness gradually becomes disturbed by winds turning into all but a blizzard; he's surely getting closer. Cold is no stranger to Mind, but these gales cut into him and slow his progression as much as the knee-high layers he pushes through.
It's only when Mind's mechanical joints start to stiffen with ice that he considers turning back - until his eye is caught by a dark strip of cloth, fluttering half-submerged.
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........
"[Hey. Get up.]" Heart wakes as he feels a firm nudge to his side. He squints at Mind standing over him, brighter than the snow but... not quite as blinding as usual. Heart grumbles, his speech slurred as lethargy pulls him back towards sleep.
"(Go away... asshole...)"
Mind's boot meets his ribs harder this time. "[I'm not asking. Just get back inside already, I'm sick of waiting.]"
Heart sits up slowly with a groan, the frigid layers shifting off of him like a blanket. His entire body aches as he moves, and his fingers are almost fully numb as he flexes them. His knuckles' tears widen - violet and blue - and he keeps his gaze anywhere but Mind. Heart's words come out breathless, far weaker than he intends. "(Then don't wait... I know Soul made you come out here, just... tell him I already froze to death or something. I'm sure you'd prefer that anyway.)" Mind's retort is unusually delayed, and Heart watches him in his peripheral. The slight pause tempts a glance to try and make out his expression, but he can feel Mind roll his eyes as his voice remains cooly annoyed. "[God you're dramatic... stop being a child and just come back. I'd rather not deal with the inconvenience of digging you out because you decided to off yourself in the laziest way possible.]"
He grabs Heart's wrist, pulling him reluctantly to his feet as they start to walk back down the slope. Legs weak and threatening to buckle, he's forced to rely on Mind to steady him.
"[Oh, right-]" Mind pushes an icy cloth into Heart's other hand. "[Found this on my way... figured you'd throw a fit after realising you lost it.]" Heart grips the blindfold as he shoves it in his pocket. He definitely would've had difficulty finding it again between his poor vision and the new snow, or manifesting another that fit just right... a rare sense of gratitude stirs in his chest, but is quickly replaced by the earlier anger flooding back. He stops in his tracks, pulling Mind to a halt as well. "(Y'know I came out here to get away from you two, you think you can bring me back there just to yell at me more?)"
Mind's hold on Heart's wrist tightens slightly. "[If I wanted to "yell at you", I would've done so when I found you. And of course you neglect to note that you raised your voice first-]"
"(To defend myself!)"
"[I was not the one attacking!]"
"(Well it definitely felt like it!)" Heart rips his arm out of Mind's hand, who seems ready to argue back before a sudden gust of wind causes him to stagger. Mind closes his eyes, taking a breath, then looks up to watch the increase of snowflakes swirling around them.
"[That is the issue at hand, isn't it?]" Mind muses, the edge in his tone softened.
"(What, are my feelings inconvenient for you?)"
"[Yes. And my lack of understanding them clearly is for you.]"
Heart struggles to find words. "(I... well, that's not-)"
Mind's gaze snaps back to Heart, and his voice regains its stiffness. "[The matter of importance here is that this space is not safe. You made it in a... troubled state, and it would be wise to relocate.]" He extends his hand back out to Heart, more an invitation than a demand. "[So would you be willing to cooperate just for this?]" Heart stares for a second, but quietly accepts. The feeling in his hands has started coming back, and Mind's palm is warmer than he'd expected from the metal. They start walking again and he presumes Mind is leading them towards Soul. Both of their tracks have been covered by now - but if he sent Mind out to find him, Soul's tether would allow them to get back to neutral ground a lot faster.
Step after silent, tense step. The flurry is much calmer, but they've been trudging through the snow for a bit too long. His hand fidgets in Mind's. "(Um... Mind.)" A sigh. "[Yes?]"
"(It's been a while... Aren't... you tethered?)"
Another sigh, more strained. "[Not... exactly-]"
"(Fuck do you MEAN ,,NoT eXaCtLy"-!?)"
"[I MEAN, Soul did not insist I drag you back home tooth and goddamn nail, so we'll need to find him as well.]" Heart is pulled along as Mind quickens his pace.
"(...You looked for me by yourself?)"
"[Obviously, and I wouldn't have bothered if I knew you'd go this far out! It didn't help that Soul also decided to go wallow on his own - I'm truly the only functioning resident of this hellscape anymore.]" Silence...
"(He did seem... even less stable than usual.)"
Mind scoffs, but quiets abruptly. "[...Correct.]"
Onward still. Now that both the air and Heart's head are clearer... his hand starts to feel a bit awkward in Mind's. Their initial argument at once feels years away, yet continues to writhe red-hot in his chest. Or maybe it's the nerves coming back from his impromptu sleep. It's a relief either way when Heart finally senses Soul's presence, Mind also alerting to it. "[There we go.]" Mind's door materializes again into the now-melting snow. His hand hovers over the handle for a moment, but he opens it into a warm and comfortable room lit only by a brick fireplace. Soul is silhouetted, sat staring into the flames but turns after hearing the door.
"{Holy shit-}" He gets up, staggering towards Heart and gripping his shoulders. "{Where the hell were you?! You can't just leave like that, you know you can't control the space when you're worked up, what were you thinking- no, of course you weren't thinking, you-}" Soul stops as he feels Heart's shivering, his startled expression no longer impeded by his blindfold. He lets go, and avoids Heart's gaze.
"{No... I should've kept things in line better, I'm just...}" He trails off and finally notices Mind is also covered in the swiftly melting frost. He quickly breaks eye contact as Soul stares, brow furrowing. Heart can tell gears are turning in his head, but he eventually looks away with a bemused huff. "{It doesn't matter.}"
Soul turns and walks to the hallway, pausing to speak over his shoulder. "{There's blankets next to the fireplace. We'll work it out tomorrow, just... get some rest. We all should.}"
Heart suddenly finds his voice. "(Soul-!)" His host stops. "(I... ah... thanks.)" He doesn't look back, but nods before disappearing into the dark. "(Hm... hey, what happened after-)" Heart turns to realise Mind is already gone - but in retrieving one of the blankets his attention is caught by a glint of bright blue on the mantle. His hand finds that it's a mug, full of fragrant cinnamon tea and warm to the touch.