Work Text:
You do not whatsoever understand the emotional turmoil that your… work partner for a lack of better words has been going through over the course of the past month, but if carrying out this task too overwhelming for them would bring them back home, who were you to deny that opportunity? It’s not like anybody was going to see those folks again, were they?
From what you understand, this is the place that those three are most often seen together, wherever this is. Two swordsmen and a flowering figure, yeah? That’s the trio? You’ve admittedly never spoken to any of them at all, but you lost your previous chance with Her very recently. You suppose there is one good thing that she’s done, and that was find an exit to your home that wasn’t previously known to any soul.
You were somewhat familiar with his friends, too, but only saw the relationship as merely work, like all of yours are. Were they friendly towards him? You weren’t sure, and you didn’t have the highest opinion on them. Anyone, really. The most you could harbor towards anybody was a mild like or a powerful dislike, but those scales would rarely tip for anybody. Though, as you sob angry tears at the sight of the new arrivals, you can’t tell if they’re entirely yours. Perhaps that’s part of the reason as to why They sent you on this mission in their stead.
You approach a closed door, picking the sound of some mild chatter on the other side, but their words are lost on you. As you knock on the door, you can hear the discussion interrupted as a kettle seems to slowly begin to shriek a little. A gentle “Come in” leaves the mouth of one individual involved, presumably one of the swordsmen, as you do just that.
As you open the door, the sight of a cookie of all things, adorned in various blues, sits on the shoulder of a robot who must be at least a foot taller than you, had it been standing. It had adjusted its hat slightly in order to cover its eyes completely at the sight of you, kettle flaring up a little more in the process. You don’t react to this.
To your surprise, the third figure in the room is one you’ve never even been alluded to. Is this a recent addition? Whatever she was, she wasn’t your desired target. This strange hedgehog (assuming that’s what she was supposed to be) crouched her long legs down to the robot while still keeping some distance, saying reassuring things as she fidgeted with her hands and watched as it slowly calmed down.
She held out her hand adorned in a bright scarlet, and the cookie climbed onto it with no issue as she then arose, meeting your height once again. She let out a small, slightly strange chortle as she approached you, rubbery legs moving strangely but with no real issue. You’ve seen and met stranger folks and happenings in your own home land, anyway.
The hedgehog holds her hand out to you, and the cookie begins to speak.
“Voidbreaker, was it?”
You nod.
“Sea Nymph Cookie. She told me a lot about you.”
You ponder his words briefly, mind still a little tripped up in the presence of this hedgehog-like entity that’s taking the place of Her, but eventually you can retrieve your voice again.
“Where is he?”
“Home. She finally returned home a little over a week ago,” Sea Nymph Cookie answers, bowing his head.
“Has he been replaced?”
Another question leaves your mouth, and the crimson-clothed hedgehog seems rather upset at what you’ve said. You look her way, but don’t say anything. You don’t feel bad, but apologies are difficult for you, even more-so than the golden monarch that seemed to be related to your desired target.
“No. Dandy and I would not replace a soul.” He glances over at the robot, then again at the hedgehog holding him, and then at you once more. His voice is not angry. “There’s always a third person in the party. It just happens. That was Litany, but now Redglove is joining us.”
Everyone in this room has such unique names. You knew for certain that certain people had spoken about both blue figures, but you honestly weren’t expecting Dandy to look or act that way. You couldn’t quite remember what you expected at all right now, to be honest. Redglove seems to have gotten over what you have said rather quickly, as she simply bores into you with those creepy eyes and creepier smile. You’re not intimidated, and not sure if that was her plan, but you return your gaze exclusively towards Sea Nymph Cookie.
“What was Litany like?”
Sea Nymph Cookie’s little legs dangle from side to side slightly as he gives your words some more thought. You didn’t know either of them, so any form of understanding is more than lost on you. They are both swordsmen, that’s all you really knew. Would that fact have drawn them closer together or further apart? Your brain starts inching towards the former, given Sea Nymph Cookie’s compassionate voice and gaze he’s shown you the entire time. However, you can sense a great bitterness in his heart all the same, almost as if it’s half frozen, and you can’t tell for the life of you if this is related to Litany or not.
What did your heart look like?
You back away slightly. You don’t want to think about it.
Sea Nymph Cookie opens his mouth.
“Litany was a unique character, a lot of what you may have heard about her came from rumors. It’s true, true that she has a realm of his own and an army of the unwavering, unthinking at his fingertips…”
The grip on his sword grows tighter.
“…But Litany herself was rather soft, suffering from the fate that he was designed to give out, convinced that he was a faulty creation. Tell me, had Dozer said a word about her?”
You didn’t often think about Dozer, and did anyone aside from those they already knew? Dozer was merely just an afterthought to you then, and merely just an afterthought to you now. Though, to say the two of you had never spoken whatsoever during their time in your home land was a lie. Granted, all of those interactions were initiated by Dozer themselves, but they had still occurred.
“Dozer would praise her and call her useful.”
“And that is all?”
You bow your head, and his grip loosens slightly.
“I see.”
“Dozer…” Dandy finally spoke for the first time, its voice nearly ineligible, but you’ve heard worse. It remains in thought for an uncomfortably long time, briefly moving the veil from one eye, giving you the briefest glimpse of a horribly disturbed yet equally homesick gaze before covering it back up just as quickly. “…Nevermind.”
Are these words a first for it as well? With how much time Litany spent with these two, you’d have believed Dandy had gotten to know her background a little better. You assume Litany was much closer to Sea Nymph Cookie than he was with Dandy, the two both bearing blades and all, and push those unclear words out of your mind.
“This is all new to me, I…” You remark, hesitating for the first time in your life. “I… I wish I could have met him.”
Sea Nymph Cookie smiles softly, tears in his eyes as thoughts rush through his mind.
“She… would have loved you.”
Before you could say anything more, Sea Nymph Cookie unexpectedly bursts into tears, his sword falling out of his hand and far onto the floor, sticking into the ground unscathed, thankfully. Dandy, having also not expected this, buries its head in its knees as its kettle picks up further, traces of steam slowly trickling out of itself as it covers its ears.
Your gaze falls back onto Redglove, who retained the same expression she had on the entire time you were here as she holds one more hand below her, catching the tears that fell. Did her face ever change, actually? You believe that this was irrelevant, and as soon as you decide this, her attention falls back onto the crying cookie. Though, your own attention remains on her. The more you think about her, the more you think about all three of them, a strange feeling resides in you. Something that you cannot recall if you have ever felt before in the past.
It’s a nice feeling.
With time, Sea Nymph Cookie retains his composure.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he apologizes. “I feel as though I felt her crying just now.”
You begin to wonder if your missing work partner was crying at the same time. They probably were. For some reason, you feel as though if you paid less attention to Redglove and more on Sea Nymph Cookie, you would have been crying just as hard. Part of you wishes those tears could have left your eyes. Yet you still don’t feel bad about anything.
“Sicherlich…!” Redglove muttered. “I’m sure of it! I remember seeing him on his way out…!”
Everyone’s gaze falls back onto her as you slowly speak once more.
“Did… did he have anything to say?”
“Mhm!” She nods, giving it some thought. “In my head. Telepathy, yes? He said… what’s it… Danke… Viel Glück… Spread the love…”
Sea Nymph Cookie smiles once again, wiping the last remaining tears from his eyes. “Did you thank him back?”
“Ja! Of course! Kind fellow. I’d like to see her again, too!”
Everybody’s mood had improved substantially afterwards, including that of Dandy’s, as the steam began to subside and the shrieking began to slow down. Eventually, it slowly stood up for the first time since you had arrived, face still covered with the veil but growing to become slightly more open.
“…I regret not speaking to her.”
“You’ll have your chance one day, I’m sure of it,” Sea Nymph Cookie reassures it. “How about we invite Voidbreaker when that happens? It’ll be a good experience for all of you, won’t it?”
You freeze for a moment, but you slowly nod. Still, you don’t actually have any real opinion on the proposition, but if getting to know the cold-eyed knight you never met really meant that much to your work partner, surely it was fated to happen.
Who knows. Maybe you’ll actually like him. She clearly keeps nice enough company, anyway.
With that, you wave goodbye and be on your way back home, paying no more mind to the folks you’ve just met, but a strange satisfaction taking root in your gut, anyways.