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The cloth mannequin sat, patiently waiting inside the large amusement park, sitting on a crumbling, very weathered bench. Bored, Climber stared at the park’s sign, 'Castle of Nations’ … rearranging the letters in his head to make new words. He tiredly fiddled with his pickaxe, nothing really coming to mind as he did. Climber's mind remained empty and blank as he soullessly stared at the sharp tool he carelessly carried around with him 24/7. But still, patiently he waited in the spot, the spot him and Clarice always met. She had left recently, but Climber held onto the hope she’d meet him there again.
He’d been moping around ever since the Law of Talos. The fight he had gotten in with Karl had shook him up since they’d been such good friends. How could a friend practically rip out all your stuffing?
And just as if it was a miracle to save him from his endless boredom and sulking, Clarice stepped right into said room .. at-least, that’s who Climber thought it was. He looked over to the sound with a smile, before he tilted his head at who it was. Karl plopped himself right next to the cloth doll, Arma calmly perched on his shoulder. The shorter hummed as he turned his head to face the cloth boy directly, seeing as how Climber had instantly perked up, slightly on edge, differing from his previous expecting look. The pirate feels a smirk form across his face, not being able to control it doing so.
“What? Did you think I was that silly human girl?” The statue snarks, a mocking smile on his scarred face. Climber metaphorically huffed, looking away, stubbornly. Climber had been avoiding Karl ever since the competition, not out of hatred, just the feeling to. Karl’s smile only grew wider. “Oh, cloth boy, don’t ignore me. I apologized for our little duel.. or is it Arma who you want to apologize? Mind you, she doesn’t talk much.. she only coos!” The statue let out a purr of one, nudging the doll’s shoulder. “Didn’t she leave.. say .. goodbye, hm..?”
“Why are you acting so.. normal?” Climber mutters, their mud face scrunching up in a bit of a sour look. “I mean, you stabbed your bird through my chest, for Castle’s sake.” He emphasizes, pitying himself. Karl snorts, chuckling as he leaned his cheek against his hand.
“Well, it certainly didn’t have the effect I hoped..” The statue quietly sighed, while Climber turned his head to look at Karl, offended.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Climber crosses his arms, facing Karl.
“No matter. You’re fine. Now you can continue to waste your days with a human.” Karl snickers as he looks into Climber’s painted on eyes, leaning lazily against the concrete fence.
“.. i.. I’m not .. ‘wasting my days’! Clarice is nice, you know that,” The mannequin defended. “.. that has nothing to do with—“
“You named her?” Karl cuts Climber off, sniggering, a hand on his chest. “Musn’t get too attached now, cloth boy! Humans are a short ride; remember!” Karl opened his mouth to speak again until Climber shoved his pickaxe, blade first against Karl’s chest, causing the shorter to stumble back a bit. The statues face contorted into a slight bit of confusion, still mixed with his mockery. “Settle down. I’m just messing around..” He giggles. “It seems that competition has put you in a dangerous headspace.”
Climber’s hand relaxed, his pickaxe hesitantly leaving Karl’s chest. The doll sighed softly, his grip loosening on his weapon, looking back out across the park. Karl relaxed too, his back resting against the back of the bench.
“Do you think she’ll come back?” Climber breaks the silence. The pirate looked at the doll, watching how his face became more and more hopeless. “.. she said she would visit..” Climber’s shoulders slumped, visibly dejected.
Despite picking on the mannequin, Karl didn’t particularly like watching him mope and pity himself so pathetically. He let out an audible sigh before he got up. “Come on, eunuch, let’s go to that Ferris wheel you love so much.” Karl holds his hand out for the cloth boy.
Climber looked up, a smile replacing the frown on his face, getting, or almost jumping, up giddily, ignoring the hand. “Really? You always said it was dumb!”
“.. well, it is.” Karl agrees. “But watching you sulk and mope over nothing is getting on my nerves.”
“But you don’t have any?” Climber mumbles. The statue gave him a look before starting to walk, the doll quickly following behind.
The two trekked through the abandoned park, creaks of old rides filling the silence, the occasional shift of some rubble. The statues footsteps were heavy in contrast to the cloth doll’s light but stumbly ones.
They quickly make it to the rotting Ferris wheel, which was in surprisingly good condition in comparison to the rest of the park, possibly due to Climber’s care. Climber happily stepped in front of the shorter male, slipping into the control stand and turning it on. Karl just watched.
Climber returned to Karl’s side, grabbing his stone hand abruptly and pulling him into one of the nicer looking carts. The wheel slowly took them up, Climber excitedly watching out the side of the cart, while Karl sat lazily with crossed arms. The ride had just started and he was already over it.
“You know, you can see the whole park from here!” Climber chirped, to which Karl grunted. “Me and Clarice used to stay at the top for hours! Um, probably because it kept breaking down.. but it was still fun!”
“Was it?” Karl mumbled. In all honesty, he didn’t care about hearing about Clarice. That’s all Climber talked about. You might even say he was jealous.
Not of their relationship, not of their love, just jealous he wasn’t the center of attention.
“We saw you and Rachel sometimes!” The mannequin tried to keep their weak conversation going, gesturing to Pirate’s Cove. “We heard your music. It was pretty! Clarice liked it.”
“Was it…” The statue repeated, looking at Climber, tired of hearing about his human crush.
“Yes it was!” Climber happily answered.
The two sat in silence, the Ferris wheel reaching its peak.
“Me and Clarice used—“ The doll started, cut off by Karl grabbing his fabric face, shoving his stone lips to Climber’s painted on mouth. It worked to shut the mannequin up, who had frozen.
After a few moments, Climber pulled back, his drawn on mouth slightly smudged by Karl. He looked in his head with his limited vocabulary, unsure of what to say, or how to act. The only other person who show’d him that affection was Clarice.
He stammered for a minute, while the statue simply smirked.
“.. i....” Climber closed his mouth, then reopened it. He did this for a moment before he blurted out the only thing he thought he could say.
“I love you!” After realizing his mistake, the doll, just as quickly as he said it, physically covered his mouth with a gloved hand.
Karl’s expression seemed to falter for a second, before he put on a wide smile, putting his hand on the mannequin’s back.
Karl patted Climber on the back, chuckling. “You’re all right too, cloth boy!” He took his hand off Climber’s back, who still had his hand on his mouth, stretching his stone arms, as if he needed to. “My back is killing me! I think I’ll go back to the cove after this, don’t you think, Arma?” He said to his feather companion, who silently shifted.
Climber watched as the cart slowly rode back down. The wheel stopped with a slow hiss and a sharp creak. Karl gave the boy a last pat on the back before walking off, leaving Climber to dwell in what he’d said, and the fact Karl didn’t say anything back.
“I wonder when Clarice’s visiting..”