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Onyx hadn't the slightest idea why everyone kept hyping up the sky around here. Sure, it was pretty, but... they were just stars. He'd seen plenty of them back at home, around Hollowvale, and even in the weird pocket dimensions the portal had dropped him through. Seeing it all around him was cool, too, he supposed. But they got old fast. Way too fast. He hadn't been in the mood to really admire them, anyway. A million thoughts raced through his head anytime he was alone for longer than a minute. Nicky had grown tired of him too quickly and Onyx himself had grown tired of the only other person who'd talk to him normally. Zyv wasn't worth getting into another fight with. He knew it'd either end in someone dead or with him feeling even shittier for possibly crying in front of the behemoth. And Bee...
The thought of someone he thought was his friend, who he respected and, dare he say, even loved, now telling him he was an asshole and hating him straight to his face... He clenched his fist on the splintering wood of the ship's dock. He wanted to punch something. No, punching would just make him hurt himself. Magic wouldn't feel good. He needed to do something physical. He looked around and found a couple of small rocks and pebbles scattered around the deck. Just debris, but it'd do. He walked around the deck, gathered the rocks he could find, and stopped a good ten feet from the edge of the ship. His arm reared back, pebble locked between his fingers and palm, before it launched forward. The little gray rock soared through the air and disappeared into the aether. A forceful grunt followed the next two. Every ounce of anger and hatred he felt welled up inside of him, making him deaf to the noises he made, blind to the rocks.
"How many of those did you even find around here?"
"AAH!" Onyx jumped, pulling his arms close to him. Corduroy stood by the corner of the cabin with their hands folded on top of their cane. Cav1ty stood close by, watching Onyx with intrigued curiosity. Corduroy cocked his head.
"You might be hitting someone somewhere, you know."
"Where the fuck did you even come from?! I'm busy, man!"
"Oh, yeah? Doing what, exactly?"
"...Anger management."
"Really? Because it doesn't seem like you're managing much of anything." Onyx huffed, turning to chuck another rock off of the ship. Corduroy took a few more steps forward until he was a good five feet from Onyx's side. "Did you and Bee speak?"
"What do you think?"
"I think it went in a direction that neither of you are particularly happy with."
"Oh, yeah? Did Bee tell you that?"
"We've spoken a little bit. They told me they had some regrets."
"Yeah, I bet they do." Corduroy sighed. He let Onyx throw another two rocks off of the ship's edge. They shuffled a little closer.
"Onyx... Tell me what's bothering you."
"You said you talked to Bee. You've got a good understanding of what could possibly be bothering me."
"I want to hear it from you, though. I want to hear your side of the story. Talking about it out loud might make you feel better." Onyx stopped throwing for a second, letting his arms hang limply at his sides. His pitch black eyes stared down at the wood. Corduroy took a step closer. "What exactly did they say to you?"
"It doesn't fucking matter," Onyx muttered. He looked back up and fumbled around in his pockets for more rocks. "They said they hated me and that's it. What else is there to say?"
"I think it goes beyond that. They didn't tell me any specifics. Just that you two got into a fight and they said some things they didn't mean." Onyx let out a sharp laugh. It echoed around the ship and into the night sky.
"Oh-ho! So NOW they don't mean it? You don't just get to call someone an asshole after telling him you don't TRUST him and say you don't mean it! If they didn't mean it, why'd they keep going? Huh?"
"I don't think they meant it in a hateful way. Onyx, people can like each other but still distrust one another. Bee and I did for the longest time. I don't... know if they fully trust me now, but we still like each other enough to reconcile and become closer again. They're open to talking."
"I don't care."
"I disagree." Onyx's lip twitched. His nose scrunched up, making the mask on his face shift. "I know that deep down, you want to talk to them again. You like them. You missed them."
"I didn't JUST miss them. When I saw my partner again, I... I talked all of you guys up so much. I told him he was the second bravest man I'd ever met. Second only to Bee. They were the first name out of my mouth. They've been through so fucking much, I compared it to my partner's own crusade against his own mad fanatic of a father! And told him he came second! And they have the fucking AUDACITY to tell me they don't trust me for some shit I did years ago!"
Onyx chucked a larger rock he'd found in his pocket through the air. It sailed through like a comet, disappearing amongst the stars. Onyx breathed heavily, standing there tense and angry. Corduroy nodded slightly. Onyx ran a hand through his hair.
"That must have hurt. Quite a lot," Corduroy said.
"No shit, Sherlock." Onyx closed his eyes, scrunching up his face. "Sorry, I--"
"It's okay." Corduroy gently placed a hand on Onyx's shoulder. Onyx pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry they said that to you."
"I deserved it... After all this time, they're right."
"But they still shouldn't have said that."
"Well... By the sound of it, at least they know they shouldn't have? I don't fuckin' know, man..."
"Do you regret what you did? Back in Hollowvale? With the library and the fight?"
"I can't tell if I regret it because of what I actually did or because Zyv almost fucking killed me. I... feel bad for betraying Bee's trust, I guess. Fuck, maybe they're right about me not being trustworthy."
"I don't think that's the case. I think you're trustworthy. I think you just... get a little overzealous sometimes. You had good intentions in the library. You wanted to find that circus, find that ringmaster, and get revenge for Jingles. You didn't just go looking to make him feel bad. But... you should've stopped when asked. Some missions aren't ours to undertake." Onyx's jaw clenched. He threw himself down onto the deck, sitting cross-legged, and folded his arms. Corduroy eased himself down to the floor at his side. "I know you just want to help. And I, for one, thank you for being so... so loyal to all of us. Every single one of us appreciates you."
"Except for Zyv."
"Mm, I think it might've missed you, too. Just a little bit." Onyx shrugged.
"Doubt it. I bet they only missed having something to beat up on."
"I disagree."
"Sucks to be you." Corduroy sighed, letting their head fall to the side. Onyx turned his head away from them. His shoulders rose up to his ears and he held onto his arms tightly, pulling his legs up to his chest. Corduroy scooted closer. "Man... Being wrong sucks."
"Yeah... It'll get easier with time. You'll be able to take it in stride soon enough. I have faith in you." Onyx sniffled, making Corduroy's eyebrows raise slightly. The second Onyx's hand came up to his face, Corduroy turned away. He waited until he heard the shuffling of the mask once more to slowly turn back towards Onyx.
"Oh... Bro, you didn't have to do that," Onyx said, catching the last of Corduroy's movements.
"I didn't want to infringe upon your privacy."
"Oo, Shakespeare over here." Corduroy laughed as Onyx wracked his brain for who this Shakespeare figure could be.
"Do you... want a hug?" Onyx snapped out of his thoughts, head whipping towards Corduroy.
"You know what? Yeah. Kinda. That'd be nice." Corduroy opened their arms and Onyx leaned forward into his embrace. "For a guy made outta stone, you're surprisingly warm."
"Oh... Really? I thought that..." Corduroy shook his head, instead choosing to press it against Onyx's shoulder. Onyx ignored the slight jab from his friend's horns and hugged him tighter.
"I don't wanna lose any of you...," he whispered.
"You won't," Corduroy replied. He patted Onyx's shoulder and Onyx sat back, sniffling again.
"Fuck... I'm tired now." Corduroy laughed again. Onyx rolled out his shoulder, massaging it gently. "I am not an athlete, dude. I think I just dislocated every muscle I have in my arm."
"That's... probably not the case, but you were throwing them rather forcefully. I can have Cav1ty make you something to eat before you go to bed. If you're hungry."
"I dunno..." Cav1ty stepped forward and, after a few minutes, produced two plates of food. Corduroy took one of them from him. Onyx craned his neck to see what had been made.
"I have some pasta with me. And some sauce. If you'd like," Cav1ty told him. After a second of consideration, Onyx took the plate of pasta and put it into his lap. He and Corduroy ate slowly, taking in the view of the stars all around them.