Chapter Text
Azure sat on the sandy beach of the lake, palms planted on the ground with flowers blooming between his sprawled fingers. There was no moon nor stars plaguing the sky, yet the water glistened nonetheless. A strange sight.
Even stranger was the way the waves were starting to collide with each other, forming a line from the center of the lake to where Azure was sitting. Before he could take it in, something— someone?— erupted to the surface, calmly walking out of the water. They twisted their long white ponytail to dry their hair, gaze averted.
Until they looked up and noticed him.
They had a zipper on their mouth, just like Azure, yet somehow it didn't impede their ability to open their mouth for their next few words.
"You're new here, hm?"
Azure gave a slight, uncomfortable nod. He would have preferred solitude in this moment. His head was still spinning with all the information the Spawn itself had delivered him. His unfortunate sacrificing, his gift of a second life, his new abilities and as well as restrictions. Nothing was making sense.
The other, however, seemed to notice this, mislabeling it as fear. They loosened their grip on the blades in their hands and reached up to sheath them on their back.
"You won't get hurt here. You're on my side."
Azure, perplexed, tilted his head. Side? How strange. He repositioned himself on the sand to rest on his knees, lifting his palms up from the ground. In his absence, his flowers retreated.
Who are you? He signed with a couple of gestures. As he pointed at the other, a confused scowl plagued their face. Azure's shoulders loosened a bit. Whoever they were, they wouldn't pretend to be his friend. Something about it was oddly comforting to him. He hadn't stumbled upon much honesty in the church.
"I don't know what that means." For whatever reason, however, they didn't brush him off and walk away. They seemed rather intrigued. Perhaps their spiky personality was simply their default. So, they strolled beside Azure and tossed themself beside him on the sand.
Azure leaned back slightly. Even though they were direct, he still would have preferred nobody be near him. The other picked up on this and scooted away a bit, leaving Azure more comfortable to loosen up again.
He made the sign for "who" again, then placed his hand on his own chest to signify its meaning, hoping to get the message across.
"Are you asking my name?"
Azure nodded, as well as signing "yes," hoping to get them adjusted to his use of his hands in communicating.
"Call me 1x," they leaned back and stretched. "I take it that it'd be difficult for you to tell me your name."
Azure turned his head towards the lake again, thinking. After a couple of moments of silence besides the sound of the waves of the lake coming in and out, he got an idea. He turned back towards 1x and signed "A" while making the shape of the letter with his new tentacles. 1x seemed a bit surprised by the idea, but picked it up quickly.
"Azure?" they asked when he finished. He signed a confirmation and 1x smiled proudly to themself. "How intriguing."
Azure shyly glanced to the side.
Why are you here? He gestured. 1x squinted their eyes in confusion, eyebrow raised. Azure signed again, slower, hoping they'd understand. He even incorporated his tentacles to try to give some context.
"You'll have to teach me later," 1x muttered. "For now, it's best that we get you to the cabin before the next round begins."
1x pushed themself up off the ground, planting their feet in the sand. They didn't offer Azure a hand, simply brushing themself off and waiting for him to get up himself. Despite his confusion, he brought himself upwards, caught off guard by the weight of his tentacles behind him.
"Hey, lean forwards," 1x hissed, grabbing Azure's hands before he could fall. Azure obeyed and pulled himself towards 1x just enough to be able to let go of their hands and balance himself. "Come on, the others will get you situated."