Chapter Text
Nom felt.. Well, he was tired.
He had no idea how long it had been since he said goodbye to Katie, 4C and Scott on that cliff.. Sure, he hadn't been conscious since then nor did he remember moving, but.. He was not where he had ‘died’. Everything looked so different, so pale, empty and dead. His limbs creaked uncomfortably as he moved them, joints snapping around instead of moving fluently. Nom felt strong, the same unnatural power he'd felt with the creaking king, but he knew he was weak. He couldn't fight like this, not when he could hardly move and didn't have a weapon. Whoever those sounds of chatter were coming from, he hoped they were friendly.
Soon enough, two people appeared, talking while walking through the trees. Both of them had snow white hair, pale skin and were dressed in black, white and red. One had long, curly hair and a dress, while the other had short hair and a simple, black outfit. They didn't notice him at first, but when he moved, creaking very loudly, they quickly froze. Nom swore he saw sharp claws appear on their hands. “Woah! What are you?!” the girl said, strangely enough, seeming more fascinated than scared or creeped out. The boy beside her seemed more wary, but neither moved. “..bit rude”, Nom said simply, causing both of the strange people to quickly back up at the sound of his rough voice. “Oh my god it talks”, the boy said, clearly creeped out. “‘It talks’- Of course I talk!” Nom quickly said, limbs cracking and creaking with every move. It was getting easier to move, though.
“We're so sorry!” the girl said, hurrying closer to him. Nom only just now noticed their eyes, too. Both had blood red eyes, and the boy's were pitch black otherwise. What on earth were they?” I'm Shelby! That's Pyro, ignore him, he's a bit.. Special”, she continued, seeming increasingly fascinated by him. “We.. Uh, we weren't expecting to meet anyone unfamiliar. We're kinda stuck inside this border thing, you see”, the girl, Shelby, explained, even holding a finger up as she spoke. Normally it probably would've annoyed Nom, but she kinda reminded him of Mae..
“You're not from the town, are you? What's your name?”
He hesitated for a moment, watching as the boy, Pyro, observed from further away, almost examining him. “.. Nominal Gra- Bravery”, he said eventually, quickly realising telling random people his actual surname was Gravy could've been an unnecessary annoyance and choosing to use Katie's. It was technically his surname too, just not the one he usually went by. “Nominal Bravery..” Shelby repeated quietly. “I think I read of some knight with a similar name in a history book once!” she said happily, seeming to not notice his armour and overall.. Very different style of clothing than theirs. The two's clothes seemed much more.. Modern, in a way. Certainly strange.
“You're thinking of Sir Nominal Gravy and probably Lady Katie the Brave”, Pyro said simply, and Shelby nodded. “Yes, that's who I was thinking of”, she mused. Nom was quiet for a while, lost in thought. He and Katie? In a history book? That couldn't be good. And it also meant that he was probably way into the future. “..What happens- Happened to them?” Nom asked cautiously, and Pyro raised an eyebrow. “You don't know Nominal Gravy and Katie the Brave?” Shelby asked, clearly in disbelief. “They're like- Some of the most important people from the war!” she continued, quickly followed by Pyro. “Actually, Lady Eloise and Ser Bek of House Yamon are commonly argued to be the most important-” “Shhhh!!”
Pyro hmph'ed, crossing his arms, while Shelby looked Nom up and down. “So.. What are you? You don't look human, at least not fully”, she said, eyes lingering on the scaly wings just barely visible from under his armour. They'd never been big enough to do much, but they did add to the aesthetic. “That's.. A good question, actually”, he responded, lifting one wing slightly. “I used to be human. Well, part dragon, but close enough”, he mused, paying no mind to the way both of the other's eyes went wide and mouths dropped wide open. “Then I became a creaking, I think? And.. I probably became a tree, until now”, Nom finished. There was silence for a moment, until Shelby spoke. “Wow.. You're part dragon?! And- What's a creaking?” “Creaking like the Creaking King? That's ancient, dude. How old are you?”
“That's not important..” Nom mumbled. “What are you guys? You don't look fully human”, he asked, eyes lingering on Pyro's. “Oh! We're vampires”, Shelby said happily, showing her fangs. Pyro seemed to brace for a bad reaction, and Nom didn't miss the hint of tension in Shelby's demeanor either. “Oh, cool”, he said simply. Vampires weren't a new thing for him, one had lived next door when he was a kid. “That's it?” Pyro asked, clearly confused. “No.. No ‘oh you're a monster’?” he asked quietly, raising an eyebrow. Shelby looked surprised, but it quickly changed to excitement. “That's how people react nowadays? Jeez..” Nom said, grimacing. “Gosh you're strange.. Next you're gonna tell me you're from, like, a thousand years ago”, Pyro said with a sigh. Nom was quiet for a moment. “Well..” “Do not say I was right.”
“How long has it been since this.. ‘Sir Nominal Gravy’ died?” he asked sheepishly, and Shelby gasped, quickly covering her mouth. “Shut up! You knew Nominal Gravy?! Wait- Don't tell me you are him-”, she said, both of the vampires staring at him in shock. He hummed slightly, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “I might be..?” Nom said quietly. It was quiet for a moment, before Shelby squinted and moved her hand from her mouth to seemingly cover one side of his face. “Well, if you ignore the tree parts, I guess you kinda do look like the old paintings and statue..” she hummed. “Wait- statue? And am I not fully tree looking?” Nom asked, now confused himself. “No, you're about half”, Shelby said as if it was obvious. “Oh”
“..This is so weird”, Pyro said eventually, running a hand through his hair. “Um, if you're curious, I have a few history books about the war back at the castle”, he continued. Nom was definitely interested. “I'd definitely be interested in reading some. I wanna know what happened to the kingdoms and..” he mumbled, trailing off. ‘and Katie’ was left unsaid, but these practical strangers didn't need to know everything.
“We can take you to the castle”, Shelby said, smiling brightly. She really reminded Nom of Mae. Even had the same mannerisms. Soon enough, they were out of the ‘dead woods’ as these two called them, and into a forest just like those around Blue Kingdom. As they passed the water, Nom glanced in and noticed how he looked significantly less tree-y. He stared for a moment, and the two vampires stopped too. “Helloo? Sir Nominal Gravy?” Shelby asked soon, tilting her head slightly. Nom was quiet for a bit. “Nom. Just say Nom”, he eventually said, lingering on his reflection for a moment longer. “I didn’t realise I looked more.. Normal”
“Oh yeah, you do look a bit less tree-like”, Pyro mused. “Well, Nom, should we continue? We’re gonna have to go by town, though.”
“There’s a town?” Nom asked, and Shelby nodded. “Uh huh! That’s where all the humans live”, she said, finger once again up as she spoke. “And.. these humans are the ones being kinda racist? I mean, with the whole ‘ew vampires’ thing?” Nom asked, frowning. Shelby and Pyro stopped, sharing a look for a moment. “Uh.. I've never thought of it like that”, Pyro mused, clearly thinking about a lot. “I-I don't think they're.. Racist.. I mean- We- We've been a bit.. Monster-ish..?” Shelby mumbled, audibly conflicted. “Mhm.. Okay, I wanna hear both sides”, Nom eventually said, shrugging. “Let's continue, then”