Work Text:
Ralsei was feeling... a little strange, you could say. A lot's happened, that much is obvious, and processing everything one at a time has taken her the better part of however long it's been since the last dark world. A few hours? No, it must've been at least a day, both her and Susie have had a full night's rest. Regardless, in all that time, she still hadn't quite parsed everything, though sleeping on it helped. She was... she. Them? He? She's not quite figured it out, yet, but some subtle experimentation could fix that, or at least, she hoped. The only problem with this was concerning Kris, or rather, the soul inside of them. She knows it has access to her profile, and if it does, it almost certainly knows her change in identity.
She would never be outright happy that the soul was so confined in what it could say, but in times like these, it was helpful to recognize small blessings when she was given them. She couldn't imagine the teasing, or the questions, or the- The- Uh? "Kris? What- What are you doing?" A rapid series of blue entering and exiting her view breaks her out of her thoughts, as it seems Kris (read: the soul) is walking back and forth, directly in front of her. Once it has her attention, it begins maneuvering Kris around her, in circles, as if expressing some kind of- Emotion? Or perhaps it's simply bored?
Even Susie seems confused, standing next to Ralsei, with a hand on the back of her head. "Yeah, I dunno what's up with 'em. The second we got in line, they took a step, stopped, and now they're, uhhh... doin'... that." The soul stopped for a moment, when Ralsei started the conversation, likely being unable to move Kris during it. But the moment Susie stops, it forces Kris back to running circles around Ralsei. Is it trying to say something??
Maybe she could provide it with a choice, to set the record straight. "Uhm, Kris," Kris stops dead in their tracks. It's a little unnerving. "Is there some sort of reason for this, or...?" A moment passes. Then two. The soul deliberates with whatever unseen options it's been presented with, as the world holds its breath for a response. Theoretically, it could take hours to answer, and it would only feel like seconds having passed. Mercifully, it is actually only a few seconds before Kris is given an answer to relay.
"Congrats," they say, in a monotone drawl. It's hard to tell, but they seem equally as perplexed as she is to hear that word.
"Con... grats? Congrats for-" Some part of her that's realized what they mean fills her with an overwhelming sense of doom and despair, at the thought of giving the soul the ability to answer that question. She coughs. "Y-Yes, Kris, thank you very much." Both Kris and Susie look at her, each perplexed in different ways.
"What, is like, today your birthday or somethin'?" Susie gives a wide grin, and Ralsei can only imagine how much of a field day she'd have if it actually was, but-
"No, Susie, that's, er... not it. And I don't... know if I want to discuss it, right now?" Before the idea of her hiding more super important information can form in Susie's head, Ralsei continues, "just because it's personal! And I don't know if-" Ow?? Susie flicked her head???
"Dude, ya don't gotta, like, explain yourself if you don't wanna. As long as you know not to hide the shit we need to know, which you should," she pokes her in the chest, lightly. She's a little embarrassed to admit it still sends her back a few inches, but that's because she wasn't expecting it! "Then, whatever, man. Keep a secret or two. Just know that I'm probably the last person in Hometown who'd judge you for stuff you got goin' on." That's- Actually really nice to hear.
Ralsei nods, "thank you, Susie! I trust you, I really do, I just want to be... sure, before I discuss it with others." Susie simply shrugs.
"Eh, whatever it is, you can tell us when ya feel like it. Right, Kris?" She turns her head to look at Kris, who hasn't moved an inch this entire time, and punches them in the shoulder. They still don't flinch.
And once again, the soul deliberates, before having Kris say: "Right, princess."
Wha- Huh?! "Uhm-" Luckily, very luckily, Susie seems to get the wrong idea, punching Kris in the arm again, this time, repeatedly.
"Hey, who you callin' 'princess', dork?! Don't make me go back to shoving you in lockers!" Kris, decidedly not influenced by the soul in this action, tilts their head up at Susie, and pouts. She just laughs at them, and ceases her assault of their shoulder, stepping away. "Arright, arright, if you're done bein' a weirdo, Kris, then lead the way." Ralsei nods, breathing a mental sigh of relief, and doing her best to ignore Kris' gaze as everyone gets back in marching order. That was a close call. The soul had the best of intentions, she's sure, but she's never opening up a line of conversation that could allow for something like this to happen ever again!
At least... not until she's ready, that is.
