Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s cold as he sinks. Scott should probably be thinking of something else but that is all his mind can focus on. That the water is cold. A cold that cuts deep into his bones and settles there, nesting deep inside him. A cold that crawls through, leaving him racked with chills that creep up his spine and up past his neck. A cold that numbs the senses, freezing him in that moment, stuck and stationary. 

Of all the ways Scott thought he might go out he didn’t think this would be how it happened. Drowning was never one he thought about, he always thought he’d die old in bed with his family surrounding him, or shot in the head in some asassination with thousands of people watching. He never imagined that when he went out he'd be this alone. Alone while he sinks further and further down into the depths of a frozen lake, as the light above slowly fades away. It’s ironic, this is the same lake they played on all the time as kids, back before… everything. Scott hopes he’s happy now at least, that he doesn’t have regrets, that he can continue to live where Scott won’t be.

It’s getting dark now, his lungs are getting tight. So for the last time, he closes his eyes and he lets the water in.

☾

It’s normally pretty dead on The Island this early in the morning. It’s a type of peace most people never experience before ending up here. No cars, no phones, just the sounds of waves crashing against the shore and the soft cries of the beasts. Most people are sleeping around now but for a few early risers, or late sleepers, the time when the sun breaches the horizon is one of peace. Pearl is no exception to this standard. She prides herself on being up and ready to work whenever the other islanders could need her; as the Postmaster she has a responsibility to the others to get any messages they need sending across the island and back in a timely manner. So she gets up early and enjoys her time alone before the chaos of the day starts.

It isn’t long however before she needs to start her rounds. There’s some letters laying on her desk that Tango or Etho must have brought over some time during the night, Etho most likely, it was game night at The Ranch last night so Tango was likely busy dm’ing for that group. There weren’t many letters, two for Xisuma, one for Cub and one for Gem. Should just be a quick loop around town to deliver, a pretty easy morning at least. So humming a wordless tune to herself Pearl places the letters into her satchel, puts on her postmaster hat and sets out into The Town.

The Town isn’t big in the first place, it’s more of a village than anything, there’s only a few hundred people on The Island in the first place and only about two thirds of them actually live in The Town, the rest are scattered about in smaller communities and homesteads. So Pearl wasn’t really expecting to see many people out and about, the few she did end up crossing paths with were greeted with a friendly smile and a wave, nothing much in the way of conversation at this hour. It was nice, everything was nice, perfectly nice.

She should go to the beach, it’s been a while since she went to the beach. It would be a good change in her routine. She’s pretty close right now as well seeing she just finished her delivery to Gem. Screw it, she’s got nothing better to do. The beach is nice, just like everything else around here, but at least it was different. It’s a short five minute walk from The Town to the beach, but somehow it feels like it’s entirely a different world away. The cobbled streets make way for dirt paths that make way for sandy shores. Simple buildings turn to grassy plains turn to crystal clear seas. The route is entirely solitary apart from a few traffikrab scuttling about. 

Surprisingly when she arrives at the beach there’s someone already there before her, lying in the sand. They must have fallen asleep or something. She can’t recognise them from here but they don’t look like anyone they know, which is odd because she knows everyone who lives on the island, even those weirdos living in the mountains have mail. Fuck this is a new guy isn’t it. She’s never had to give this speech, I mean how do you tell someone they’re stuck on some weird island with monsters for the rest of their life. She certainly hadn’t taken it pretty well and she had Xisuma to tell her, and he’d done it loads of times. Well no time like the present she supposes, but as she approaches something catches her eye, there’s a red stain slowly growing on his stomach. Fuck has he been stabbed.

☆

His chest hurts, why does his chest hurt so much? He was stabbed in the stomach. Wait, how is he still alive to think about it? Wasn’t he drowning? Oh gods there’s still water filling his lungs. Scott quickly turns over and coughs out all the water filling him, his lungs are burning. 

“Oh thank God you’re alive mate, I didn’t want to have to deal with a dead man today.” A female voice with an Helianthan accent fretted. 

“What happened?” Scott coughed out.

“I don’t know mate, you'll have to tell me how you got stabbed.” The woman replied, tearing off part of his shirt and wrapping it around his stab wound. Scott tries to get up, but his whole body flares with pain whenever he tries to move, keeping him immobile. “Nuh uh mate, don’t try moving anywhere right now. I need to get Cub to come look at you.” She demanded, worry filling her voice. “I can’t just leave you here though, the Traffikrabs would eat you alive.” She continued.

What the hell is a Traffikrab he couldn’t help but wonder. 

“Ummm, can you walk?” She said, shooting him a hopeful glance.

“Does it look like I can walk?” He hissed out, his voice struggling to work.

“I guess I’ll have to carry you then, sorry this is probably going to hurt.” She said apologetically. As she wrapped her arms around him she couldn’t help but let out a breath in shock. “You’re bloody freezing.” 

Was he? He couldn’t really tell, that’s probably pretty bad. His spiralling was broken however when she picked him up. His entire body screamed in pain, all his nerves firing off signals to his brain screaming in agony. His broken voice tried to cry out, but all it could summon was a breathless whimper. 

“I know, I know, I’m sorry but I need to get you to a doctor.” The woman says trying to soothe him as she runs to presumably where the doctor is.

It’s all too much. His voice trails off as he once again falls into darkness.

Chapter Text

He fell unconscious again. That’s probably a bad sign but it’s definitely better for him if the whimpers he was letting out are an indicator. He sounded so small, like something had come and plucked the life out of him. He’s so cold, she has no idea how he isn’t dead. He keeps shivering as she runs back to The Town, she has to tighten her grip so he doesn’t shake out of her arms. Has the path always felt this long she wonders, her steps beat against the ground with hurried thumps yet no matter how far she runs The Town seems to approach at a glacial pace. 

Once her feet hit the cobbled pathways of The Town she couldn’t help but shout, “Cub! Cub get up and ready I’ve got a stabbed guy out here!” She’s probably waking up everyone who’s still sleeping but they can deal with it. Some people are looking out through their windows at her as she sprints through the streets. Her heart is pounding in her ears, like drums keeping her legs moving forward until finally she reaches Cub’s office. Her fist pounds against his door “Cub, get the hell out here, you better not be sleeping in again!” 

“Yeah Pearl I heard you, alongside half the town.” He groaned as he opened his door.

“They won’t complain if they want their mail for the rest of the week.” She deflected, “Now let me and this guy in before he bleeds out in front of your office.”

His eyes widen, as if he’s only now seeing the bloodied man held in her arms. “Right, just set him down on the table, I’m gonna need to collect some stuff from the back so if you can get his shirt off that would help as well.” He directed her while walking into a back room.

Pearl hurries into the stark white room, placing the man down onto the operating table. She’s never really taken a good look at what the man is wearing but now that she looks closer he’s wearing clothes straight out of a fantasy novel. He’s decked out in princely regalia, his cyan shirt a complex combination of golden clasps and buttons covered by a white cloak. As she takes his top off she can’t help but imagine where this man came from, what sort of life he led, what’s shaped him into the person he is. She’s going to make sure he makes it through this.

“Alright Pearl thanks for the help, now get out.” Cub deadpanned as he walked back into the room, now wearing gloves and a face mask.

“Wait what? No! I’m not leaving now!” She protested.

“Unless you’ve suddenly gained years of healthcare experience, I don’t think you’ll be much of a help here Pearl.” Cub replied with a bit more force.

“It’s not like you’re a doctor either.” 

“I am a doctor actually, I have two PhD’s, maybe neither of them are medicine but I’ve been doing this here for years now. I don’t know who this man is to you Pearl but you’re obviously a liability here, so get out of my office before I have to force you.” His voice settling on a serious tone.

“Is that a threat?” She growls, her hand reaching for her tape.

“It’s a warning, for a fight you will not win.” He glares back at her, his own hand hovering over his tape. “Now do you want to fight in the room where my patient is, or will you go outside and let me do my job.” 

She honestly was considering battling it out right there and then. She’d gotten pretty used fighting as Littlered and she could say she was pretty handy in a fight. But Cub had been here far longer than her and had fought in many more battles, he was right in saying she would not win. But every instinct in her body was screaming at her not to leave, to protect this total stranger from anyone that could do him harm. She doesn’t know where those instincts are coming from, and that scares her more than anything else. So calmly, fighting against every muscle in her arm, she moves her hand away from her tape. Then like a clockwork toy wound up too tight, she stiffly makes her way out of the door and back out to The Town. 

People were watching her. It seems like they were attracted by the commotion she caused in her big entrance earlier, Xisuma approaches her first and foremost before anyone else could get the chance.

“Pearl, could you explain why you were out and about screaming this early in the morning, I’ve gotten a few noise complaints about you.” He chides her with a curious lilt to his voice.

“Did no one see the bleeding man I was carrying in my arms?” She asks incredulously, her breathing starting to become erratic.

“Do we know who this man is?”

“No, he’s, he’s new.” Pearl chokes up.

“Pearl, are you alright?” Xisuma asks, his concern is obvious despite being unable to see his facial expressions behind his mask.

“Yes… No, maybe? I don’t know X this new guy appears bleeding out on the beach and I have to carry him all the way back to town or else the traffikrabs would eat him or something and then I can’t fucking leave him cause it feels like my body’s on fire now that I’m not there and Cub threatened me and it’s al-”

“Pearl take a breath.” Xisuma cuts her off. “You’re going into shock, try to keep a steady breathing pattern.” He gently instructs her. “Go back to your house and change into some clean clothes, I’ll get Etho or Tango to cover your shift today. And about Cub threatening you, it’s probably just his tape contamination acting up again. I’ll have a talk with him to try and control his instincts better, alright.” Xisuma said, holding her hands in his, occasionally giving them a reassuring squeeze.

Pearl gave him a small nod in confirmation.

“Good now head home and relax, once our mystery man is awake I’ll give him the whole ‘You’re stuck here now’ talk.” Xisuma says, holding out his hand to where she had apparently found herself on the ground.

“No. Tell me when he wakes up. I want to be the one to give him the talk.” She replies determined, taking Xisuma’s hand and pulling herself up.

“Are you sure you’re in the right headspace for that right now?” Xisuma tries to question her, but he can see a stubbornness in her eyes that tells him she won’t back down from this. “Alright, someone will come get you when he’s up.” He assures her. “Now go home and change Pearl.”

Pearl relents and trudges back towards the post office.

“Everyone else scram! You’ve all got things you can be doing, get on it!” Xisuma shouts to the other bystanders as she leaves. 

Chapter Text

Consciousness pulls Scott awake from his slumber. It’s a gradual process as his senses slowly come back into operation. The scent of blood is strong, a sharp metallic smell that undercuts the smell of sanitary products. He’s shirtless now, did someone take his shirt off? Oh right, the stab wound, he’s probably in a hospital or something. It’s a bit quiet for a hospital though, aren’t they supposed to be busy all the time? He opens his eyes and takes a peek around the room he’s found himself in. It doesn’t look like any hospital room he’s ever been in, it looks more like a research lab from some bad sci-fi film. He tries to sit up and get a better view but pain flares in his stomach and he falls down back onto the table.

“I’d suggest not doing anything too physically active while your wound heals.” A man calls out from behind him. 

“Who are you?” Scott asks.

“I’m the person who stopped you from bleeding out. You can call me Cub.” The man explains stepping to the side of Scott. The Man, now identified as Cub, has short black hair and dark green eyes. He’s dressed, to match the oddness of the room, in a long white lab coat that seems to be flowing around his ankles even as he stands still. “And as the closest thing to a doctor on this island, I’ll be your primary care provider while you recover.” He continues on.

“What do you mean Island? Where are we?” He asks, his voice slowly rising in pitch.

“Hm, well I can’t really tell you.” Cub says, rubbing his hand on his neck.

“What do you mean you can’t tell me!” Scott replies, panic creeping in on his voice.

“Two reasons really, One is that Xisuma promised Pearl that she could give you the talk, the other is that nobody really knows where we are.” Cub says, his voice trailing off.

“HOW DOES NO-ONE KNOW WHERE WE ARE?” Scott shouts, panic fully setting in.

“Woah, woah calm down man.” Cub puts his hands up in some attempt to diffuse the stress. “Why isn’t Pearl here yet?” He whispers under his breath.

The door slams open with a bang. The same woman who had found him earlier is standing now in the doorway. She has changed out of the white button up shirt she was previously wearing and is now wearing a black hoodie with denim shorts. 

“He’s awake?” She pants.

“Yeah he’s up in here.” Cub shouted back. “Just a quick warning though, I don’t think he’s going to take the talk very well.” 

“No one does.” She replies. “Now get out so I can break the news gently.”

“This is my house, you can’t just kick me out.” He scoffs

“Cub. I have had a very stressful day and I’m sure the new guy here would not like being overwhelmed with everything. So I will suggest to you one more time, to go outside.” She growled at him.

“Alright, alright. I’ll go outside, I need to ask Xisuma if anyone found more supplies anywhere anyways.” He placates her, stepping past her and through the doorway before walking out into The Town. 

She turns towards Scott, she takes a breath and approaches the table where he lies.

“Can you sit up by yourself?” She asks, her voice softening from it’s previous growl.

“No.” He replies, the pain from his wound still flaring.

“I’ll help you get somewhere a bit more comfortable.” She puts her arm out and he grabs hold of it. When she pulls him up the pain flares again and is accompanied by a wince, but he doesn’t fall back down. She pulls a chair over from the side of the room, it’s beaten up and raggedy looking but anything seems better than the hard table he’s on right now. The transfer from table to chair doesn’t take long, it’s more of a controlled fall than graceful descent but it got the job done. When he’s sat she pulls out her own chair across from him and sits.

They sit there in tense silence for a while, both unsure where to start. Until one voice cuts through the air. “My Name’s Pearl.” The woman, now properly identified, introduces herself as.

“Scott.. of Rivendell.” He replies. And now that the tension is broke the question overtaking his mind comes rushing out. “That man, Cub, he said no one knows where we are, how is that possible?”

“Straight into it then. I hate to say but the answer really is that simple, none of us know.” She replies, morose.

“How though? People had to arrive here some way, they had to have a map, or a route of some kind.” He begs.

“Unfortunately not. Everyone arrived here pretty much the same way as you, waking up in some random place, normally the beach, after falling asleep back where they came from.” She continues.

“What is this place?” He whispers, his already fair skin paling even further.

“We call it The Island, it’s had many names over the years but that’s what people settled on. It’s a place where the rules of nature don’t apply. An impossible number of biomes pushed together in too small an area to be possible yet somehow ‘life’ still exists and flourishes.”

“And is there any way to leave?” He asks, but he already knows what answer to expect.

“No, and people have tried. Near every inch on this island has been explored and nothing. We’ve dug deep into the depths and found nothing. We’ve sailed out onto the seas only for the people never to return. We have tried so much and nothing has worked, we’re trapped.” She confirms his guess.

“How does no one have any idea about this? I mean, if people are disappearing with no body to be found or trace to follow. I mean you’re Helianthan, don’t you all place great importance on burying your dead, the cycle of nature and all that. Would people not throw up a big stink about that?” He asks, desperate for any sort of help or rescue.

Somehow her already grim expression darkens even further. “This might sound a bit unbelievable but I need you to trust me.” She warns him. “When people first arrived here they found inconsistencies between each other: different times from when they came from, differences in stories that hadn’t yet had time to drift, differences in minor things that could be explained away. But as they compared more, things started seeming impossible. Countries that existed for one person didn’t exist for another, major world history events had never happened, people who existed to one person had never existed to another.”

“What are you saying?” He interrupts her. “You can’t seriously mean…” He trawls off his sentence.

“What did you say I was, Helianthan? In my universe I’m Australian, from Australia, and I’ve never heard of a place called Rivendell. That’s why no one suspects anything has happened, because for all we can tell, no two people have ever come from the same universe.” She explains.

They sit there once again, in silence. It fills the air around them as Pearl lets the realisation of their situation sink into him. He’s not sure what to feel. He should feel upset, upset that he’ll never see his friends and family again, or angry about the unfairness of it all, but all he feels is numb. Like ice has once again frozen his heart and closed him off from the world. “What now?” He mumbled.

“Well you need to recover first; thankfully the stab wound was pretty clean so it should be a fairly quick recovery.” Cub explains as he steps back into the building carrying a box of medical supplies. “You’re not staying here though, I need the space for research.” 

“He can come with me.” Pearl jumps in, “I’ve got some spare space he can recover in.” She continues, a desperation present under her voice.

“That alright with you man?” Cub asks Scott.

“What? Yeah, sure that’s fine.” Scott replies, distracted. 

“Great, get going then and I’ll tell Lizzie to send some spare clothes to your place, he looks like he needs them.” He comments.

Pearl stands up and helps Scott up from his own chair. The pain is still present, but has transitioned into a constant low hum in the background rather than the persistent stabs of before. They shuffle out of the door and out into The Town.

Chapter Text

As they step out of the dark room the bright lights of the day outside blinds Scott as his eyes readjust. Grainy images slowly come into focus to reveal the small community that has made their home here. There is a uniformity between the houses, it’s obvious they were all designed by the same person, but the materials the buildings were made from don’t seem to remain consistent between the buildings. All of them, however, have individual touches, some have plants hanging out of the windows, others are painted unique colours, more have handmade custom signs advertising services that people have set up. The streets are cobblestones, uneven and bumpy and a dull gray contrasting the colourful houses that lay on it. Clear skies let the sun shine down on them from up above, it warms his skin but a soft breeze keeps him at a nice even temperature. Even without a shirt he doesn’t feel too cold, maybe he’s just gotten too used to the cold back in Rivendell. 

As they walk across The Town to Pearl’s place he thinks more on this place where he’s found himself. The sounds of the ocean crashing against the shore accompanied by the salty scent of the ocean air is a new sensory experience for Scott, it’s nice though, relaxing. He shouldn’t be getting used to this place, he should be searching for any way to get back to Rivendell, he can’t give up hope so soon. He will find a way out.

☾

People are staring. The days get pretty samey around here after spending long enough here so it’s understandable that something like this would catch their attention, but it’s still rude. Pearl certainly doesn’t appreciate it, she’d gotten a few too many invasive questions from onlookers to her earlier outburst and Scott does not look like he can handle any of that right now; the people here are generally nice but anyone stuck in a situation like this is bound to become a little desperate for some variety. The death glare Pearl is giving anyone who approaches too close is doing a good job of discouraging most from approaching, but of course some people decided to try their luck. Don’t get her wrong Tango is a pretty nice guy, he’s friendly, smart and an incredible dungeon master. But also he’s one of the more monstrous looking people due to his tape contamination. She hasn’t explained that to Scott yet, not wanting to overwhelm him, but it seems he might be due for a crash course if she can’t very quickly escape this situation. 

“Hey Pearl!” His gravelly voice calls out to her. “I heard about your situation from X, and I just want to say that me and Etho have your shift covered today so there’s no need to worry about anything.” He explains to her. “Oh is that the new guy with you? You alright man, we all know what arriving here is like.” He reassures Scott.

Scott just stands there, mouth ajar, staring at Tango. Pearl is left wishing they had run into anyone else.

“Are you okay? You’ve not said anything.” Tango asked concerned.

Pearl let’s out a deep, tired sigh and simply points to Tango’s head.

“What about my head?” He asks, confused.

Pearl just continues to point at him, surely he’ll realise at some point right.

“Pearl I don’t get it, what’s the problem?” He continues, oblivious to the situation.

“You’ll figure it out I’m sure, you’re smart.” She tells him dryly. “But we need to get moving for now, I’m taking Scott back to the post office to recover so you’ll probably see him around at some point. We’ll see you later Tango.” Pearl says as she and Scott slowly walk away from him. 

“Seeya later Pearl.” Tango says, still confused as they walk away.

☆

What in Aeor’s name is going on with this island. That man’s head was on fire. His head, was on fire. He was dressed normally apart from that, a black military style vest over a red jumpsuit. But his head was still on fire, and no one seemed to care; he has to ask Pearl about this. But as he turns to ask her the question she gives a response before he can even say anything.

“No his hair was not on fire, his hair is the fire and yes that is normal for him.” She explains. “Look, things here can cause people to… change. But don’t worry, it won’t affect you unless you do some specific stuff so you’ll be fine.”

“You do understand how this sounds right?” Scott glowers. “I wake up on some mysterious island, get told there’s no way off, and now I have to come to terms with the fact that my body could be forcibly changed by something!” He shouts. “This all sounds insane, none of this can be real. It’s all just some crazy dream my brain has made while I drown in a frozen lake to make my last moments somewhat pleasant.” 

“Scott…” Pearl reaches out to him.

“No! You’re not real, you’re just my subconscious making up some figure to comfort me as I die.” Scott argues back.

“Scott this place is real, I’m real.” Pearl firmly tells him.

“No you’re not! Because if you’re real then the fact I’m standing here shirtless is real, the fact that I’m trapped here is real, the fact that my own brother stabbed me and left me to die is real, the fact that I’m now well truly alone is real.” He shouts back at her. “So no, I refuse to accept this is real because I don’t know what I’ll do if it is.” 

They stand there in silence after Scott’s outburst. Scott’s harsh breaths the only sound penetrating the tension. A sad look enters Pearl’s eyes, her lips twist into a frown as she steps forward and pulls Scott into a hug. “Even if you can’t accept this is all real, I’ll still be here. You aren’t completely alone.” Pearl comforts him, holding onto him and grounding his presence. 

Scott stiffens in her grasp before melting into her arms, his eyes shine with unshed tears, his breaths the soft hiccups of someone trying their hardest not to cry. “Thank you, Pearl.” He whispers, his voice shaky. 

“No problem.” She whispers back. “Now how about we get going again.” She asks louder now.

“Good idea, I could really use a shirt.” Scott jokes to her, his voice still shaky, as they start back on the shuffle to the Post Office.

Chapter Text

Pearl really wasn’t kidding when she said she lived at the post office. It’s on the larger end of the buildings they walked past on the way here, but that isn’t really saying much considering everything here can be politely described as ‘cramped’. The building itself is built from the same wood as everything else here, but the walls are painted a dark red and the roof is painted teal alongside a sign with ‘POST OFFICE’ boldly written on it to differentiate the building from others in the area.

“Welcome to my humble home and post office.” Pearl introduced, gesturing her free arm towards the building. “Nice huh. Painted and decorated the place myself.” She says, obviously proud of herself and the work she put in. 

“Yeah it looks great.” Scott replies. “But can we please go inside now so I can sit down again.” The pain from his wound is still regularly flaring in his abdomen. 

“Oh right! Of course.” Pearl hurriedly agrees. 

Any facade of cleanliness or order the outside may have given Scott is instantly cleared when he sees what’s inside. Letters and packages are strewn across desks and the floor. Each desk has a name tag written on the front of it: Pearl, Tango and Etho. He's met Pearl and Tango now but hasn’t seen who Etho is yet. Pearl’s pile seems to be where a lot of the mess is coming from, Tango’s mess just being constrained to his own desk rather than spilling over and onto the floor like Pearl’s. Etho’s pile is fairly organised and neatly stacked, yet his pile also seems to be the smallest as well, only having a few letters and no packages. 

“Sorry for the mess, I promise it’s normally neater in here than this. Today has just been a hit hectic and I haven’t had a chance to really clean and organise it all.” Pearl apologises to him, obviously embarrassed at the state of the room. 

“Pearl it’s fine, but can I please get some place to lie down?” Scott asks, impatience starting to build now that he’s so close to some relief.

“Oh right! Of course, the bed is just upstairs.” 

She directs Scott through the mess to a small flight of stairs leading to the floor above them. The stairs themselves are only wide enough for one to go up or down at a time so in order for Scott to make his way up he has to grip onto the railing while Pearl supports him from behind. The going is slow and painful but eventually they make it to the top without any of Scott’s stitches tearing out. In comparison to the mess of a room downstairs Pearl’s bedroom is much cleaner; though it couldn’t be called neat. Neat implies that there are things that could be disorganised, this room is just sparse. The room has a double bed, a bedside table, a closet and a window; everything a bedroom needs to be functional, but there’s no personal touches anywhere. No little trinkets, no gifts from friends, nothing hanging on the walls, not even any work brought up from downstairs. It’s as if Pearl tries to spend as little time in this room as possible. On another day if he wasn’t feeling as terrible as he is right now, Scott may have brought it up to her. But right now, he’s too tired and in pain to do much beyond trudge over to the bed and have Pearl help him lay down. The bed is comfortable at least, the mattress is soft and the blankets give him a nice warmth to fight against the cold that’s felt ever present recently. It’s not until he’s laying down and under the covers does he think that this is probably Pearl’s only bed. “Hey Pearl, where are you going to sleep tonight?” Scott asks her.

“Oh I was just going to sleep on one of the chairs downstairs.” She replies.

“That doesn’t sound particularly comfortable.” Scott says, guilt colouring his voice.

“Aww, don’t worry about it, you need the bed far more than I do right now and those chairs are comfy enough that I’ve fallen asleep on them plenty of times.” She brushes off his concerns with a practiced ease. “Worry about yourself, you need to focus on rest and recuperation, stab wounds don’t just disappear overnight.” Scott is too tired to argue her point, so he relents and gives her a nod.

“Good. You try and get some sleep, I’ll just be downstairs sorting getting some work done so call if you need anything.” She says.

Scott once again gives a small nod in response, already drifting back off to sleep. 

☾

Scott’s fallen asleep again. Thankfully it’s because of tiredness rather than pain like the last time. He looks far more peaceful this time, she prefers him like this, the pained grimace he had on before didn’t suit him. She should probably stop staring at him while he sleeps and actually do the work she has to do, but pulling herself away from him while he’s so vulnerable feels impossible, like she’s tearing out a part of herself that’s stuck to him. This isn’t normal, she knows it isn’t. No one feels like this for a stranger they just met, this intense care and protectiveness. 

But she can’t bring herself to care all too much. She knows that she can’t stay here forever though, she does genuinely at least need to sort her deliveries ready for tomorrow. So slowly she inches away from Scott and walks down the stairs, her eyes focused on him until he slips out of her vision.

She lets outs a breath she didn’t even realise she was holding, as if a weight was just pulled off of her shoulders. A tension that filled the room was gone and she feels like she can finally relax for the first time since she found him. 

“You alright there Pearl?” A voice asks from behind her. Pearl’s hand darts towards her tape. Her finger hovering just over the play button as she finally realises who had scared her.

“Don’t do that to me Etho!” Pearl hisses.

“You’re normally not that easy to scare.” He rebuts.

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m a bit on edge today.” She lets out a harsh breath. “Sorry for snapping at you. It’s just… been a long day.” she sighs.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” He asks awkwardly, his eyes glancing around the room as he shifts around his posture.

“Has no one told you what happened?” 

“What happened with what? I just got back from delivering stuff to the mountain, I headed straight here like normal.” He asks, eyes widening a fraction.

“It’s a long story, but basically a new guy, he’s called Scott, washed up bleeding on the beach. I found him, carried him to Cub and now he’s asleep in my bed upstairs.” She explains.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘Oh’.”

“What now then?” 

“Honestly, I need to get some work done. Tango agreed to deal with my deliveries today but I still need to do all the sorting for tomorrow if I want to keep on schedule.”

“Are you sure you’re in the best condition for that right now?” He asks as he looks her up and down.

“Oh don’t you start as well. Yes I may be a little bit stressed but that doesn’t mean I can’t just not do my job. The mail needs sorting Etho, you know this. We’re what keeps this island interconnected, without us things would take twice as long, we can’t just stop working.” Silence fills the room for a while as he tries to formulate a response. Seconds feel stretched into minutes as she waits for him to say something, until finally his voice once again comes out from behind his mask.

“Fine. But as soon as you’re done sorting, take a break Pearl, you look like you need it.” 

“Thanks Etho, I just need some sense of normalcy today.” 

Relieved, she walks herself towards her desk and sets about the task of organising the mail. It’s relaxing, her and the rest of PET Postal have developed a system over the past couple years and have been working off of that ever since. Pearl organises the mail and does deliveries to The Town, Tango delivers to the more rural areas outside of The Town like Jimmy’s Ranch and Etho heads out to the people who decided to live in truly remote places, like those medieval larping weirdos in the mountains. It’s a tried and tested system and has become second nature to her at this point. Thinking of Etho though it looks like there’s a large package he needs to deliver out tomorrow so would need to bring the cart. But as she looks up to tell him all she sees is an empty room. 

She’s alone. It’s fine though she’s worked plenty of time alone in this room in the past, hell before she arrived on The Island she was alone most of the time so she knows how to do alone. So why now, is being alone making her feel so empty... Maybe Etho was right, she should probably get some rest, just a quick nap should be fine then she can get right back to work. She lays her head down against her desk and closes her eyes. The stress of the day catches up quick and near immediately, she falls asleep.

Chapter Text

Rivendell is cold year round, it comes with living in the mountains, but the winter is when it truly becomes a biting cold. Everyone is covered up in their thickest clothes, rushing between buildings to escape the freezing air. Snow is near constant as it piles up in the streets and the paths are iced over in the chill. It’s times like these that Scott is usually found where he is right now, bundled up in warm blankets by the fireside with a warm mug of hot chocolate in his hands. It’s nostalgic, he used to do this all the time as a kid, but ever since he got older and his princely duties started ramping up he just hasn’t had the time. Though for this moment, this brief moment in time, he can indulge again in childhood joys. 

“You're looking real serious there, what’s got you so down?” A familiar voice asks from behind Scott as they manoeuvre to the chair next to him.

“Just thinking back to when we were kids. Everything was so much simpler back then.” Scott answers.

“Yeah it really was. It was just us two against the world, no one could stop us.”

“I don’t think anyone had the guts to, even if they wanted to.”

“Yeah you’re probably right there. I don’t think anyone wanted to be the person telling the two ‘young princes’ no.” 

“Aeor knows I wouldn’t have wanted to deal with us as kids, we were menaces.”

“I don’t know where the past tense is coming from, you still are a menace through and through. I was a delightful child in comparison to you.” 

“Well obviously I did something right, that’s why they chose me after al—“ Scott freezes before he can finish, “I’m sorry I brought it up.”

“Scott, it's fine.” 

“No it isn’t, you’re obviously the better choice to be king. You’re older, smarter, stronger and you actually want to rule.”

“Scott please, I’m not in the mood to talk about this.”

“I’ve tried arguing with them but they refuse to budge, I don’t even want the stupid crown.”

“CAN YOU PLEASE JUST SHUT UP SCOTT! I don’t want to hear you complain any more about being able to live my dream and not even want it!” 

“I know you’re upset Xor but—“

“Don’t call me that!” They shout as they jump up from their chair. “Just shut up! Stop talking! Please!” They’re losing steam as they keep shouting, the anger draining out of them.

“I’m sorry.” Scott’s voice is quiet. He stands up to face his brother, Xornoth’s purple eyes dark as he looks downwards. 

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry too.” Xornoth harshly shoves Scott causing him to lose his balance and tip backwards. But rather than hitting the floor as expected all Scott is met with is being plunged once again into water. Freezing, biting water that numbs his senses and nests deep inside of him.

He sinks, his body refusing to respond to his calls. Dead weight falling down further and further, deeper and deeper, darker and darker as he descends. This is impossible, he can’t be alive this far down, no one can be. The weight of the water above should be crushing him yet he still lives, just sinking down into an endless lake. He can’t tell how long he’s been sinking, seconds stretch into minutes stretch into hours. Does it really matter, this is it after all, where he dies, it has to be, it’s where Aeor will come to collect his soul. The water is cold and no light pierces through, this is no place of refuge, only dark things take root here. The water is filling his lungs, strange how something so cold can burn so hot. Things are moving in the darkness, outlines disturbing the current but having no substance; creatures unable to be seen yet still he knows they have too many eyes and they are watching him. They are watching him, their eyes are open, and they can’t wait to see what he does next.

Scott shoots up in Pearl’s bed, wincing as he’s swiftly reminded of the wound in his abdomen. It was just a dream. His heart is still racing, he can hear the blood rushing in his ears through the silence of the world around him. The room is dark, he can barely see anything beyond vague impressions in the darkness. He’s hot, sweat pools underneath him yet still that pervading chill still rests in his core. The sheets wrap around him and stick to his skin, keeping him trapped in his own heat. He can’t stay in this room any longer, Pearl’s probably asleep seeing whatever ungodly hour he’s woken up at so he’ll have to figure something out by himself. 

Carefully, he unwraps himself from the blanket cocoon he made and pries himself off of Pearl’s bed. The wound twinges with pain again as he stands himself up; come to think he’s still wearing the same bandage from earlier, it probably needs changing, that’ll just have to wait until the morning though. Trying to be as quiet as possible he inches across the wooden floor, hoping none of the floorboards are creaky. Thankfully none of the boards betray him and he makes it to the stairs; going down them while still difficult, is far easier than having to go up them. He’s choosing to ignore the question of how he’ll get back up later as a future Scott problem.

Pearl is asleep at her desk when Scott arrives downstairs, her face pressed into her arms still wearing the same clothes as earlier. The stress visible on her face throughout the day has melted away into a face that looks truly at peace. The chair she claimed was comfortable looks nothing of the sort, it’s a simple wooden thing with a cushion placed onto it. It barely seems good to work on for a couple hours, let alone to sleep on. There isn’t much he can do now about it though, so he leaves her alone to her sleep. He sneaks past her towards the door, he isn’t sure where he’ll go but he knows he needs to get out somewhere. A cool breeze blows against him as he steps out into the night.

☾

Pearl’s eyes flick open. She’s still lying on her desk, apparently the day had taken more out of her than she thought. She notes that her arms are numb and her back is stiff as she sits herself up. As she looks around she sees It’s dark out, the only light coming through the windows being that which is reflected by the moon. A cold breeze blows through the room, pushing various papers off of the desks. Realisation strikes her like lightning as she turns towards the open front door, something got in. She rushes up the stairs to where Scott was sleeping hoping to see his unconscious form still there. Yet what greets her is an empty bed, blankets tossed aside onto the floor. Whatever or whoever it was that has come into her house has taken Scott. She sprints down the stairs taking them two at a time, air rushing through her ears. She runs through the gap in the door, knocking herself against it as she looks around outside, head rapidly turning in every direction. Her eyes spot a flash of teal cresting over the hill at the edge of The Town, seemingly alone. Her legs are moving before she even realises she’s even set off, she’ll make sure he’s safe no matter what.

She finds him just sitting there at the top of the hill, looking up towards the night sky above. “You can’t just leave in the middle of the night Scott!” She stresses, “I thought you’d been kidnapped for god’s sake.”

“Sorry Pearl, I just had a bad dream, needed some air.” They sit there in silence, unsure in the other's presence. Pearl opens her mouth as if to speak but closes it again before any words can make their way out. She reaches out her hand but pulls it back before she touches him, as if he’s a frightened animal. All she can bring herself to do is look at him in a way that she hopes says ‘I’m here for you’. 

Eventually Scott speaks again. “The Stars are different here. Back home, in Rivendell, I’d memorised every constellation in the night sky, we knew all of their stories and when they could be seen. Banrigh a’ Chuain, Dà Dhamh, Caoraich Fhuilteach all of them were constant and predictable. But here… it’s all different, the stars don’t tell stories across the night sky, it's just empty. Even the moon is bigger!” His voice sounds strained to the edge of itself. “I’m not getting home, am I Pearl?” He sounds so small when he asks her, it breaks her heart to have to answer him.

“No Scott, none of us are.” She resigned herself to this fate long ago now but Scott is new and it seems the reality of the situation is finally crashing down on him. 

Tears start leaking down Scott’s face. It’s obvious he’s trying to hold them in, to try and save the little face he can. Mentally saying ‘Screw It’ Pearl once again pulls Scott in for a hug. Her arms wrap around him and hold him tight. “It’s just us here, you can cry I promise.” Pearl says softly into his ear. As if a dam has burst Scott lets out all the emotions he’s been keeping through the day. His face is wet with tears and his nose sniffles continuously, sobs wrack his body as he shakes in time with the sounds of his gasps. He cries into Pearl, desperate and yearning for something he knows he can never get back, mourning a life that was taken from him far too soon. All Pearl can offer him is her support.

“I’m sorry.” She soothes.

“I’m here.”