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Ever since Sixer had shown up in the Realm, things for Noob had been…. Tense.
They had grown shakier. Their stutter had gotten worse. They didn’t want to socialize with the others like they usually did. They stopped talking during mealtimes. They stopped talking much in general.
Obviously, the other Survivors had noticed it. They weren’t idiots. It was easy to link Noob’s general unease back to one of the newest killers. It was even easier to pin it down as Sixer, since Noob always got worse during those Rounds.
It hurt, that Sixer didn’t even recognize them. They hated to admit it, since their old friend was clearly out of her right mind, but that didn’t make it any less true.
The first time Noob had seen what had become of their once friend, they had begun weeping openly. Even as Sixer demolished the Survivors, Noob hadn’t been able to stop crying the entire Round, greatly impacting their performance. Not like that mattered much, due to new Killers always winning their first few Rounds from sheer inexperience against their abilities.
Sixer was massive, fast, and incredibly deadly. A terrible matchup for most of the Survivors, due to his sheer size. It was incredibly comical to see the much smaller Sentinels, especially Two Time, trying to stun the massive demon.
Noob hadn’t been able to face them since they were first introduced in the Realm. How could they even try, when Sixer was more interested in flaying them alive than having a conversation?
At least, they were before today’s Round.
Occasionally, a Killer would have a fully peaceful Round. It was very rare, as the Killers got too antsy if they weren’t able to complete their goals often enough, but it did happen.
It seemed that today was Sixer’s turn for a peaceful Round.
Noob crept closer to where they knew that Sixer would have spawned in, intimately familiar with all of the locations on this particular map, the Pirate’s Bay. They made their way through the underbrush, before seeing her.
He was curled up, head resting on his…. Paws? Hands? Hands, they supposed, with large claws nearly bigger than Noob themself. His tail was merely swishing idly through the air in a lazy motion. Despite it all, there was awareness in those glowing red eyes.
Their Sixer was still in there, despite the changes.
Putting forth all of their confidence, Noob stepped out of the brush, wiping off any stray plant foliage that had possibly gotten on them. Nearly everything about the environment of Rounds was meant to hurt, so they wouldn’t be surprised if all of the plants had been replaced with Poison Ivy or Poison Oak, just to ruin the Survivor’s days even more.
Two Time would probably know more about that. They’d have to ask them later, when they weren’t busy.
Pushing absent thoughts aside, they awkwardly cleared their throat, flinching at how quickly Sixer’s head turned to look at them. She had become so much bigger than them, she towered over even the other Killers just standing on all fours.
“Nnnnnooob?” A creaky, static-laced voice called out, nervous and hesitant from the monstrous form of the Guest. From the transformed body of Noob’s once-friend.
“Sixer…. You’re…. You’re really still-still in there….” Noob breathed out, shaking lightly as they looked up at the massive face still resting on its claws. Sixer looked downwards at them with a pitiful expression.
“I’mm sssssorrry.” Sixer sniffled, their flexible horns pulling backwards like a cat experiencing something unpleasant.
“Ddon’t wannaaaa hhhhurt you. Sssssooooo hungry, cccan’t, hheelpp it.” It explained slowly, its words dragging along and creaking painfully.
Every word sounded painful, on some level, and Noob couldn’t help but wince in deep sympathy for the Guest.
“It’s…. It’s not-not your, your fault, okay?” They stuttered out, offering a half-smile up at the demon. Sixer just made a low, mournful sound.
“You’re…. You’re just as stuck here, just as-as everyone else is.” Noob spoke slowly, trying to reduce their stutter as much as possible for the sake of clarity.
“I’m not mad at you.” They admitted.
“I missed you.” They laughed, a little broken at the edges and overwhelmingly sad.
“Mmmmissssed youuuu too.” Sixer rumbled, and Noob smiled at her.
“I’m sorry, for what happened.” They apologized, frown forming on their face as they sniffled.
“Nno. I’m sssorrry. Nnevverr shooould hhhhave uuused sssscriptss. Llllook at mmme.” He glanced at himself with a pained look in his red eyes, and Noob felt their heart break at the expression.
“It’s…. Not-not okay, but…. I forgive you.” At that, Sixer gave a big, sad sniff, releasing a soft rumbling trill in response. Noob smiled softly at them, before-
“Noob? Where are you?” A voice in the distance called, and both Noob and Sixer flinched at the sound. It was relatively close, after all, and both worried that their conversation would be horribly interrupted by an overprotective teammate.
Sixer didn’t want to hurt anyone, but if he was provoked, he couldn’t make any promises. He whined softly, nervous, but Noob shushed him gently.
Sixer, admittedly, felt a bit like a spooked horse being soothed by its rider. Would Noob want to ride on its back sometime? That could be fun.
Maybe when it had apologized more the two could consider it? To make up for lost time.
“It’s-It’s okay, Sixer!” Noob exclaimed, hands outstretched in a soothing motion. “It’s just 07! He won’t hurt you, okay? He’s-He’s really, um, really nice!” A bit of an exaggeration, but if it worked it worked. Sixer settled back in place, tail still lashing with increased anxiety.
Finally, 007n7 himself popped out of the underbrush, watching the scene with wary eyes.
“Oh, there you are, Noob…. The others were, uh, getting worried about you….” He glanced nervously at Sixer, unable to keep his eyes off of them for more than a few moments. “They, uh, couldn’t find you.”
“Oh, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t, um, mean to, um, worry anyone.” Noob rubbed the back of their neck nervously. “I-I-I just, um, wanted-wanted to, uh, talk to Sixer. For a minute. Properly.”
7n7’s eyes softened, and he relaxed minutely before nodding.
“Sorry to interrupt, then. Is there anything I can do for either of you before I leave you to it, then?” He offered, glancing at Sixer to make sure she felt included in the offer as well. Sixer perked up for a second, horns angled upwards in their usual resting position.
“Yyyyou’re…. The kid’ssss fffatherr?” They asked slowly, and 7n7 gave a small nod.
“I am, is he alright?” His hands flapped slightly at his sides, frowning worriedly as he lost all nerves at the sight of Sixer’s massive form. It trilled down at him, a soft comforting noise that made even Noob feel a little bit better.
“Hhhe’s fffiinee. But you’rrre a deeemonn, rrrright?” It asked, looking at him with curiosity and hope. Noob was able to quickly put two and two together.
“Sixer wasn’t, um, born like, uh, this. Obviously. Hah.” They laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of their neck and running their fingers through their hair in anxiety.
“Annny tipss?” Sixer asked genuinely, and 7n7 hummed for a moment, putting a hand to his chin as he thought.
“....Get used to nests. And being very territorial. Also, if you’re actually a demon of some kind, you’re probably fireproof now. You’re going to develop a mild allergy to water, and a sensitivity to light. Uh, mild chance of growing wings? Might not happen, but be wary of any back issues. Uhh, if there’s anything else, I can’t remember off the top of my head, I’m sorry.”
Sixer took a long second to process, blinking slowly as they thought. All in all, not too bad of a list of effects. They could live with this. Hopefully. If they tried really, really hard.
“Wait, is that, uh why you’re always-always um, red, after you shower?” Noob suddenly asked, and received a heavy nod from 7n7’s pensive face.
“It’s not as bad for me as it is for c00lkidd, but yeah, that’s why. Water allergy.” He gave an awkward laugh, before pulling out his GUI, hovering over the Teleport button.
“Well, I should leave you kids to your conversation. Sorry for intruding!” He smiled awkwardly, hitting the button and waiting for the process to finish loading.
“You’re, um, not a bother, Mr. Seven!” Noob called, right before the other Survivalist vanished. They wilted slightly, before smiling softly at Sixer.
“Just, um, us again.” They folded their hands in front of them awkwardly, and Sixer glanced away for a quick moment, trying to regain her bearings after the interruption.
“So, um, sad stuff aside…. How have you been?” Noob decided to ask. It had been so long since the two had been able to just sit down and talk about their days, about what had been going on while they were separate. It was nice to be able to ask that question again.
Sixer smiled, wide and toothy and unfortunately kind of terrifying given their massive size. Wiggling slightly to try and get more comfortable, the newly transformed Demon began to regale the Canine Hybrid with tales of the Killer’s Campsite, with occasional snippets of what it’s been like for Noob with the survivors.
It was nice, to catch up with each other again.
A shame it couldn’t last forever.