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“Wasn’t I just with someone?” ___ said to himself, fiddling absentmindedly with a half-melted bowl of ice cream. His eyes darted around as he wandered forward, observing the fluttering blue banners and well-trodden paths. The distant hazy glow of wheat near to the horizon seemed familiar, like a farm, but everything else felt strange. Hadn’t he been in a city?
He pauses for a moment, staring down at his boots. There’s road grit on them that he doesn’t remember gaining, mixed in with fresh mud. Strange.
When he glances up again, his eyes latch onto a glimmer of green and gold. Wait. Is that-
“A statue!” He gasped “I’ve always wanted to see a statue!”
He bounded off the path with ease, heading to the grand stone carving overhead. Ducking beneath the overgrown vegetation, it took only a moment until he found himself in the shadow of the monument. It loomed over him ominously, and for a second, doubt struck. Wait… did he really want to go that high? What if he fell?
…but he loves climbing!
Without a hint of hesitation, the slime began to scale the sheer cliff. His fingers found small nooks and crannies naturally, sometimes within the rock, other times from the thick branching vines which traced the hillside. It took only a few minutes until he finally leveraged himself onto the crown of the statue with a huff, and looked up.
A vast land stretched out before him, shining in the light of the midday sun. To his left, a small river trickled down from an ancient stadium, complete with a small bridge arching over it. To his right, a stark castle overlooked the wheat fields that he hadn’t spotted earlier, 3 towers stretching like fingers into the sky.
“Wow…” ___ breathed out. He’d never seen anything like this before!
He leaned back against the spokes of the crown, admiring the sun and the whisper soft breeze, when a quiet voice broke the quiet.
“4c? Did you come up after me?”
He startled, twisting around. From the shadows of the cliff materialized a curled up figure, a green hood pulled low over their head until just a hint of their ginger hair peeked out. The rim of their hood shifted back slightly as they looked over at him, and mossy green eyes met his.
He didn’t know them, or this ‘4c’ character, but they looked sad.
“No, sorry. I didn’t know you were up here.” He paused, biting his lip. “Do you want to talk about it? You look sad.”
Their breath hitched, but they weren’t crying when they blinked at him. ___ tilted his head, offering a soft smile.
They didn’t need to be crying for him to see their tears.
…what was he thinking about again?
Oh right, the other person! They were talking.
“-wain just keeps reminding me that it’s not my place. To step into the light. That as a rogue, my place is in the shadows.” There was a stifled pause in their words, grief noticeable in silence rather than sound. Their next sentence was even quieter than before. “Out of sight, out of mind.”
“Well that’s wrong.” ___ stated defiantly, straightening up with all his meager height as to lock eyes firmly with the huddled rogue. “I don’t know who told you that, but you make your own place. Don’t listen to anyone else, it’s your choice.”
The figure blinked at him then looked away, fiddling with a knife. They still looked upset, if contemplative, and he didn’t know what else to say.
A wisp of memory floated through his mind; a carrot and a frying pan. Food shared is suffering halved; sometimes the best thing to do is to tell someone else that they’re not alone.
With sudden decisiveness, he pawed through his backpack. Surely he had food? Surely he had- ice cream! Oh, he loves ice cream. Ice cream makes everything better! Especially strawberry, which ___ was happy to note he had several still frozen packages of.
“Here! Have some ice cream!” He chirped out, forcing the bowl into their hands. “Ice cream makes everything better.”
The figure looked taken aback, but accepted the spoon he handed them with hesitant bemusement. “I don’t know what that is.”
“Just try it! It’s like medicine.” With happiness and whimsy in his heart, ___ dug into his own bowl of ice cream with glee. Oh, strawberry! His favorite. The rogue beside him followed along, with hesitation that quickly melted away once they had their first spoonful.
As he ate, he looked around. It was so beautiful up here, even if he didn’t know how he got up here to begin with. The sunlight was shining over a nearby castle, and ___ wished he could explore it. Although it was strange; hadn’t he been in a city?
Oh wait, he was with someone! They also had ice cream; they must’ve gone to an ice cream truck together!
“This might be weird, I realize we’re eating ice cream together, but… what's your name again?” He gave a sheepish smile, even as the other person froze and turned to him slowly. With one hand, they pushed back their hood, exposing their face; the other dipped out of sight to a knife he wasn’t supposed to have noticed.
“It’s Maezes, but you call me Mae…” they stated slowly, eyes sharpening as they analytically looked him over.
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you!” ___ gave them a bright, cheery smile. He loved meeting new people! But he still felt like he was missing someone. There was a letter on the tip of his tongue. S?
Perhaps Mae knew them?
“I think I’m looking for someone.” ___ lowered his voice conspiratorily, causing Mae to lean in. “Their name starts with S?”
“Are you looking for Shan? She was at the castle earlier.” Maezes was still looking him over, picking out details they’d overlooked before. “Listen, 4c, are you feeling alright? Where’s your cloak?”
Shan? The name didn’t sound right. ___ hummed to himself and tilted his head in thought.
“I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s supposed to be Sp… something. But I’m feeling fine, thank you for asking!” He stood up then, balancing on the crown of the statue with ease. There was a sense of urgency starting to stir within his gelatinous heart, a sensation like he was missing something important. Like he was lost.
“Wait, 4c, I don’t think you should-” Mae started to say behind him, but he wasn’t listening.
He jumped off.
And then ___ was standing in the pale morning light, surrounded by the crumbling skyscrapers of a once grand city. He blinked hard, slowly turning in a circle, when there was a sudden cry behind him.
“4c! You’re okay!”
He barely had the time to pivot before the familiar figure crashed into him, trapping him in a tight hug. He caught himself stumbling back into the ice cream van behind him from the force. The sight of pale brown hair stirred up something from his subconscious. The rest of a name.
“Spidey?”
“4c!” her grip tightened for just a moment before she let go, giving him a shaken look. “I thought- you said you wouldn’t leave me, but you were gone and I couldn’t find you anywhere-”
“Oh.” The slime cast his mind out, trying to recall what he’d been doing. Something about a maze? …had he been playing a game?
He’s distracted from his thoughts by the morning light growing brighter, the sun peeking over the horizon with tentative inevitability. The bright light makes his bandaged arm itch.
What had he been thinking about again?
“Sorry, Spidey.” The slime gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile “I just wanted to watch the sunrise.”
The brunette makes a sound somewhere between a muffled sob and a sigh, sitting down beside him on the hood of the ice cream van. The sun rises over the two of them, shining brilliantly, and for a moment it’s just the two of them against the world.
“It’s okay.” Spidey spoke then, curling her knees to her chest. “Just don’t do it again, right?”
“Of course!” ___ smiled cheerily, glancing away from the sun to look at her. “Don’t worry, I will never leave you. I promise! And my memory is great.”
Spidey gave him a weak smile in return, and then it was quiet.