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"...you know i.. care.. about you, right?"
post-rain mist settled in the air, the gentle wafting of sea salt slowly diffusing through the air and into my nose in the aftermath of the storm.
"yeah." i replied calmly as i opted to look down at the nature and shrubbery surrounding the two of us.
silence settled like a thick blanket, covering the garden in a haze of quiet. blades of grass shivered and shuddered in the - greatly welcomed post-heatwave - breeze.
"..and you know that bird wouldnt want to be caged?"
the question echoed, calm yet firm in its delivery as its speaker gazed into my side rather than into the distance.
"..."
i pursed my lips. they just don't understand. ofcourse they wouldn't understand. don't they know how reckless he is? how reckless he can get? don't they know it's to keep him safe?
"i know you want to protect him, wifies." the voice cut through my quickly spiralling thoughts, snapping my out of my daze.
"that still doesn't mean he'll like it. you know how he is." they continued
i turned towards the direction of the voice. i stared blankly at my partner just as they did to me. the faint indigo glow of amethyst trims against netherite awaited me as the invisible person sat, unwavering before me.
"..it doesn't matter what he wants." i spoke up after a long moment of silence.
"what matters is that he's kept safe. that's what the prison is for, that's what this whole plan was supposed to be for, wemmbu."
the floating armour before me didn't waver as their voice, concealed by a raspy voice changer, echoed out in the desolate grass plains biome once more.
"...still," wemmbu responded. "he's stubborn, intelligent and loyal to a fault. not to mention his ginormous saviour complex."
they sighed, their invisibility slowly wearing off as their figure flickered back into view. they brushed lilac hair beneath the sides of the helmet as mauve irises stared into my own with a concerned intensity.
"..i care about you wifies." they repeated. "I don't- i don't want to have to see you suffer because you're going to have given everything you have up for him and he's going to leave you behind without a second thought."
(he's gonna leave me behind? he's gonna leave me? he's going to leave me behind? he hates me? he's going to hate me? my best friend?)
i pursed my lips once again. turning back towards the edge of the cliffside, i stared into the rafters of a large treehouse looming in the distance on the edge of the horizon, running my gaze across the masses of trees.
they were tall and clumped together as they battled for dominion over all of the light, water from the recent rainfalls and nutrients that they could get to grow - survival of the fittest coming through strongly.
i could hear them sigh quietly as they shifted, netherite clinking together as they moved into a more comfortable position, letting the silence linger as they let me collect myself and organise my thoughts into something vaguely comprehensible as a sentence.
"i..." i started, feeling tongue-tied as my mouth suddenly felt dry and my throat scratchy. pursing my lips once more, i ran my hands over the smooth netherite of my armour, brushing invisible dirt off of the pristine metal-adjacent material.
the pearl-white quarts flow trims of the poleyns casting a soft glow on my (pale. when were they pale?) fingers, continually tracing the patterns and designs swirled into the legharnesses that i had equipped.
i absolutely wasn't shaking. i wasn't. i am the director. i'm infallible. i'm undefeated. i'm not nervous. i can't be nervous. this was the story that i wrote, what reason could i even have to be nervous?
a hand on my shoulder. i flinched reached for my sword and lunged towards the attacker danger person -
..oh. it was just wemmbu. it was just sweet, sweet my friend normal wemmbu.
they placed their hand back on my shoulder. the pressure was nice comforting consistent.
their hand moved as quick as it came. everything was... loud. yet quiet? i could hear a faint humming in the distance, or was it a ringing?
how could something be loud and quiet at the same time? would he understand that better than i would? would he know how this feels? would he-
"hey, hey." they said. their voice was quiet. muffled. it sounded like they were underwater. were they underwater? am i underwater with them?
"wifies? fuck- i- are you with me? shit- uhm- can you list five things that you can see, for me?" the voice asked. who's voice was that now? i can't really remember. i can't remember much before the voice asked me. what did they ask me? oh, right. five things i can see.
five things? that i can see?
i can do that.
i can
i can do that.
i can do that.
i can't do it.
i can't do anything without him.
i miss him.
five things,
five things...
everything's so hazey.
it's unclear.
it's blurry.
life is so dark and foggy when he isn't here to light the way.
grass, that's one..
flowers, that's two...
the fog from earlier, (does that count?) could be three...
trees, might be four...
leaves, would be five...
ladybug- oh!
that's already five things.
that's six things, actually.
"okay- okay, good job! you're doing such a good job, wifies. ah- could you name four things you can feel for me please?" the voice sounded closer now, less underwater, less muffled.
ah- they were asking something.. they? he? she?
they didn't really say anything, now that i think about it-
oh, right. they said to name four things i can feel.
four things...
four things was less than five things..
four things would be... uh..
the ground it feels damp is the first one...
uh... a hand? it's caressing my.. rhomboid..? i think? he taught me what those were. that's.. number two?
so.. the third one could be... my clothes? they're kind of sticking to my skin. they feel a little warm too. am i sweating? was i sweating at some point? we didn't do too much exercise... wait, we?
who's we? who's here with me?
"wifies? can you name one more thing you can feel?"
oh! they're here with me.
they're here with me.
who are they? where are they? why are they still here? why haven't they just left me yet? why haven't the left me like he did? who's wifies even?
one more thing i can feel..
that isn't the ground or the hand or my clothes?
i can feel...
i can feel my hand clenched tightly. it's starting to hurt a little.
i uncurl it and i can feel their hand - probably the one belonging to the voice, since they're (they? she? he? they.) the only person whos spoken yet (have i spoken at all? can i speak?) - move from the muscles of my shoulder to my hand. they were rubbing circles into the reddened skin. it somehow made it feel a lot better and less cold. cold? when was i cold? where even was i?
"you're doing so well, we're almost done, yeah? can you name three things you can hear?" their voice sounded closer still, like we're slowly making our way back up to the surface from the bottom of the ocean.
wait, hear? three things i could hear?
..that would be hard. it's very quiet here.
(where was here? where am i?)
i can hear...
i can hear their voice, i think that counts? could that be number one?
i can hear the wind blowing, a little? it's very quiet. that would be number two then, i think. i'm not sure. i should probably ask the voice later.
"it counts." i heard them say. that's really cool, could they read my mind? that's pretty cool. their voice was also a little further away now, was that meaning i was drifting under a little more? maybe i should name them all quicker and we can float to the surface faster and not drown. that's a good idea.
if those count,.. then the last one could be..
i can hear... a bird chirping? it sounds almost like a bluejay... (he taught me all about birds. he loved loves them. i wonder where he is. does the voice know? they seem very smart.)
"so close, mhm? we're almost done. you're doing so well. do you think you can name two things you can smell?"
their voice is a little louder. maybe we're getting closer to the shore? hm. what can i smell? two things i can smell? that's hard. my sense of smell is practically gone (all that working is getting to me, wasn't it? first my joints hurt, then the fever, now this? i wish he was here to help me).
i guess i should be able to smell.. the dew? the aftermath of the rain? would that be one thing or two? i think it should be one since they're practically the same thing, right?
well, if that counts as one, then what should the second one be? what else makes a scent? what else can you find outside? (in a field? in a forest? something like that...) maybe apples? do apples have a potent scent?
"we can move onto the next one if you want? there's only one thing left anyway."
oh. i can move on? i didn't even finish it? wow. they're very nice to me. they saw i was struggling and let me move on. that's very nice of them. they're very nice to me.
i should thank them. i do want to move on to the next thing. the last thing? the last thing. the next thing? the last thing.
"wifies?"
i heard their voice again. oh. they're talking to me again. their voice is a little faint still. am i drifting back under? i should stop getting lost in thought. i think i'm nodding. i'm trying to nod. it doesn't feel like i'm nodding. (i can't feel anything without him.)
"can you name one thing you can taste for me? that's it. that's the last thing. do you think you can do that?"
their voice sounds clearer now. it sounds nice. smooth.
i can do that.
i can do that.
what can i taste?
gunpowder.
smoke.
blood.
mint.
mint tastes nice.
mint.
that's the first one, then
then nothing.
we're done?
we're done.
he's done with me. he hates me.
"can you open your eyes for me?"
their voice is close. it wasn't this close before. it sounds like they're directly beside me. when did they get there?
what did they say? my eyes were closed? when did they close? is that why i can't see?
i blinked my eyes open. a face greets me.
they look concerned and a little relieved.
"glad to see you back to the land of the living, hm wifies?"
they said. to me. they were talking to me. their voice sounded so much like the voice. that's funny.
i nod at them. they're funny. they're cool. they'll never be him. they're nice. i hope we can stay like this for longer.
"..we should head back to ash. he's... he's gonna give us another task soon, most likely."
i nod to them again. that's true. despite how strong they were, together as a duo and seperately, they were still working under ashswag.
still, though, it wasn't too big of an issue. they could leave scott free. it didn't matter their names or identities. they could easily destroy him. he was practically at their beck and call for their wishes, hence why he didn't boss them around at all much compared to the other no-name members.
they were getting up. i could see them brush off the droplets of water and grass shards that clung to their armour still.
"you coming?"
they asked, glancing back at me. i began to get up myself, nodding. (i could feel myself nod. i can feel. i can feel without him. i can get better. i can be better. i can be better for him. i can change for him. i can make him love me.)
i glance back at the view one last time. it was beautiful. just like he was. just like he will be.
goodbye parrot. i'm sorry. maybe in another life you'd understand. maybe in another life we could stay friends.
maybe in another life you loved me too.
Password accepted.
Welcome back, Wifies.