Chapter 1: A New Beginning
Notes:
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
- Nothing I can really think of!
- If I missed anything though pls let me know!--------------------------------
Alrighty, new fic so I feel intro ramblings are warranted:
This fic immediately continues the story of “The Stars May Not Wait For You But We Will.”
If you haven’t read it, a lot of details will likely fly over your head!This fic, in spite of being a direct continuation however, does have some different rules as to how I’ll be writing it!
First of all, the story will no longer be canon compliant. This is not because I intend to break or reshape canon in a dramatic fashion, but rather because I intend to venture into the realm of headcanons & worldbuilding. Thus, I don’t want to hold myself to the standard of canon compliancy when introducing fun new stuff :P
Second, this fic will include some headcanons about “The Island North of Vaugarde”
So, I just want to make it clear early on, that you shouldn’t be expecting answers, as I’m a firm believer that “The Island” should stay forgotten, and giving specific answers as to things like its name makes it less interesting.
(That’s not to say I won’t ever make up some info about it, just that I’ll only reveal bits and pieces, and never its name.)Third, the relationship at the center of this fic will now be Loop x Isa x Sif!
It will likely be a slow burn to get to that point though!
But similarly, to how I handled the Isa x Sif relationship in the last fic, the ship will NOT be the main focus of the narrative.Speaking of the “main focus of the narrative”, what’s that gonna be?!
Glad you asked hypothetical reader!The main focuses of this fic is as follows:
- Explore Nille’s dynamic and budding friendship with the rest of the family
- Explore Loop’s dynamic with the rest of the family
- Explore the party’s struggles with mental health and how they help one another. (With a non-exclusive heavier focus specifically on Loop & Siffrin.)
- And Lastly, as sort of just an overarching focus, the fam will have to save Vaugarde from a fun new threat :D { *ominous musical cue*I have not yet decided how frequently I will update this, and will post about it on my tumblr when I decide!
Additionally I post updates when I release a new chapter on my tumblr as well!
https://www. /probablynotamimic
Alrighty, I think that’s most of everything!
So, without further ado, here's the first chapter of: "If I Too Am Forgotten, Will You Look For Me In The Stars?"
(I need to stop making my blinding titles this long.)
(Wait does this count as "further ado"???)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The King
“One Month Ago”
Ten Months Ago
(You are so very close now.)
(Finally. You will finish your work.)
(You will save them all.)
(The whole of Vaugarde.)
(This blissful eternity is so close.)
(You’ve managed it with quite a lot of time to spare as well.)
(You look down on the shocked face before you.)
(She didn’t stand a chance, not really.)
(This Housemaiden of Change never stood a chance against the will of The Universe itself.)
(Still… you do feel some pity for them…)
(If only you could have made them understand…)
(They would all have come willingly if only they understood.)
(She needn’t be frozen like this, a look of terror upon her face for all eternity.)
(She could have smiled if she understood, safe in the knowledge that she would never be forgotten.)
(But of course, you could never convince the whole of Vaugarde.)
(What evidence could you even point to that you spoke truthfully?)
(You catch yourself involuntarily reaching for a memory but-)
(Your memories are gone.)
(You feel the sickeningly familiar spike of pain in your forehead,)
(A gentle reminder from The Universe to not let your mind wander down that pathway.)
(Of course, of course, you should focus. You should press your power out now, finish your work.)
(. . .)
(…No, you should wait for just a while longer before you make the final push.)
(You don’t want to be caught off guard by the interlopers in the floors below…)
(You felt the front gate open mere minutes ago and-)
(Oh-)
(-Perhaps you needn’t have worried after all, it would seem that one of their foolish group has already been crushed to death beneath a large rock.)
(You smell something sweet- how odd… you haven’t called upon your craft yet… and yet-)
Mirabelle
265 Days Later
(You step through the doorway into a room you recognize!)
(You’ve made it to the library.)
(Okay Loop said to ‘call’ them when you got here, so you signal for everyone to stop and hold your hand up to your head in the shape they showed you all.)
[Hello again Star-]
(You feel like you hear the sound of an awkward clearing of a throat but somehow just the idea of it instead of an actual sound??)
[I mean, how may I be of assistance?]
“We made it to the library now Loop, you said to-”
[Oh! Perfect, in that case you need to do two things here.]
[I think we should probably hurry though…]
[So let’s ~multitask~, could you put the others on the line?]
“Loop wants to talk to all of us.”
(You watch Bonnie, Madame Odile and Isabeau raise their hands to the sides of their heads.)
[Perfect~ Now that we’re all in the loop here-]
(Bonnie sounds annoyed,)
“Was that a crabbing pun?!”
[~Yes.~]
(Bonnie stares at the floor for lack of a face to look disapprovingly at.)
[Alright, The Kid, Fighter, and Researcher should stay here, there’s a book that contains a key you’ll need.]
[I don’t recall the title, but if you’re standing in the doorway, it’s the farthest shelf on your left against the far wall.]
[You three should try and find it, but The Housemaiden needs to do something else.]
“What’s that?”
[There’s a secret passage, the switch is just to the left the broken statue.]
[You’ll need to go through and sneak by a sadness- assuming he didn’t already come through here that is...]
[Once you make it past, you’ll find a smaller, secret library.]
[Within you’ll find a book on how to craft shields, you’ll need to learn that in order to withstand The King’s attacks-]
(Bonnie interrupts,)
“How come Belle is the only one that gets to go to a secret library?”
(Isabeau shakes his head and gestures towards the bookshelf Loop described,)
“Because we need to find the key Bonbon, come on, let’s get started.”
(You can tell he’s trying to stay upbeat- but his voice isn’t in it… you’re all very worried about Siffrin, but Isabeau seems exceptionally distraught.)
(Loop doesn’t say anything else, so you figure they must’ve told you everything you need to know and you all drop your hands.)
(You start to move towards the wall loop described the switch in, and start pressing your hand to random bricks on the wall.)
(Madame Odile startles you with a light hand on your shoulder,)
“Mirabelle- are you certain you don’t want any help sneaking past that sadness?”
“W-well- I figure if it was hard to sneak past or exceptionally dangerous, Loop would have warned us right?”
(She makes a noise of uncertainty.)
“Maybe… I just feel like there’s so many things they aren’t being completely open about- that doesn’t make me inclined to trust them wholeheartedly.”
“I’m sure Bonbon and I can find the key M’dame, if you want to follow Mira, that’s fine with us.”
(You shrug your agreement, and jump in surprise as your hand presses against a brick, and a loud click sounds as a doorway opens!)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(Flipping through the dusty tome with the very creative title of “Shields”, it doesn’t take you long to find the basic guide.)
(Change! It’s that simple?!?)
(Huh- well that’s good you suppose, you’re pretty confident you could craft one now!)
(On a whim, you decide to keep flipping through and find a more advanced section.)
(After-all, if having a shield is so crucial that Loop wanted you to go and learn, having an even better shield probably won’t hurt!)
(Seems there’s a way to craft a shield that’s capable of reflecting attacks!)
(You find the guide and-)
(Oh yikes- this one is wayyyyy more complex…)
(You don’t have the time to learn this one.)
(Oh well- you’ll just have to hope the one you have is good enough!)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
“Ummmm- Loop, nothing’s happening.”
[Wh-]
(Their thoughts are harder to pick up now for some reason, ever since you all reached the third floor)
[Where aRe you-? -hat’s not haPpening?]
“You said to ‘just wait for something to happen’ when we found my change god statue- but nothing’s happening…”
[Stars- gReat- Blinding Use-less- G-od UGH- …Okay! We need to hurry up here Mir- Just, try placing youR hand on th- stAtue would you?]
“Um- alright…”
(You reach out to the statue with your free hand… but- nothing happens…)
“What was this supposed to-”
(!!!)
(Everything’s different!)
(You look around frantically- you’re in a bright room- or maybe not a room? A bright place at the very least- the only thing you can see is- Loop??)
(They look at you, clearly just as confused as you are,)
“Oh- um- this is… unexpected…”
Whoopsies! Didn’t mean to bring you in here!
╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
(You heard a voice- and at the end of the sentence the sound it made felt like- an emotion???????)
Don’t worry! You wont remember a thing!
٩(`・ω・´)و
Bye! *Table flips you away*
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
(Loop sounds worried)
“Wait! What?!?! I-”
(Loop flipped backward and was suddenly gone…)
(You look around the bright void- desperately trying not to panic.)
“Um- hello? Voice? Please- uh- please don’t hurt me!”
(The voice comes from your left this time,)
Oh! I’d never hurt you Mirabelle!
(^ω^)
Don’t worry ‘bout them, they’re fine!
(You turn to look- it’s… Isabeau?)
“Isabeau??”
*buzzer sound*
(You heard a word but it felt like a noise???????)
(You watch as Isabeau- or the thing that isn’t Isabeau suddenly changes- and now it’s Bonnie- or just looks like Bonnie???)
(They changed shapes?! How did they change shapes?!)
Mirabelle!!! I can’t believe u can’t recognize me againnnn
(⋟﹏⋞)
“Wait- you just- You just changed and-”
(Bonnie makes a motion as if to signal you to keep thinking- and they start to look like Euphrasie?!)
Come onnnn you can figure this out! ლ(◕ω◕ლ) You’ve already done it once before afterall!
“Th-The Change God?!”
Yep!!
•ᴗ•
(They look like Siffrin suddenly.)
Now hold on, before you do your whole crying thing- and just let me say something pls!!
(ᗒᗣᗕ)՞
(What?- Before you do your whole crying thing????)
First of all, I don’t care that you lied about me blessing you!
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
And second, you’re doing great!
(♥ω♥*)
So don’t worry about not changing enough or anything! You’re doing great just the way you are! Promise!
(Oh- you had been so worried about everything that had happened over the last 48 hours that you’d almost managed to forget about all that…)
(Your heart skips and relief floods into you-)
“Wait- r-really? I- but-”
(They look like Madame Odile now!)
Yep! So don’t forget it!
(◕♡◕)
Oh wait- nah I forgot!
(ಥ﹏ಥ)
You’re gonna forget everything I say!
Sowwy!
But I still wanted to tell u anyways!
Anywhoooo- I called you in here to give u somthin!
(ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ
(You feel dizzy all of the sudden-)
“Wha-”
(They look like Loop now.)
There! I can’t give the weapon your lost little friend wanted me to- (︶︹︺) cause the other them has it!
(And now they’re Siffrin again?)
But I can give you that! You can use your shield to reflect attacks now!
Using it will have no negative consequences whatsoever!
(´°ω°`)
The author made me promise not to laugh
ʘ ‿ ʘ
(“The Author”????)
“But wait- w-what does that mean-?!”
Sorry! I promised not to break the fourth wall any more today!!
( ͡°ω ͡°)
Alrighty I gotta send u back now!
*beans u away*
*✧♡ (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*
Siffrin
One Week After Loop Returned
“Isa.”
(He doesn’t respond, so you try again,)
“Isa…”
(He blinks his eyes sleepily at you- cute!)
(Then he gives you a sleepy smile which is somehow more adorable.)
(His voice is groggy,)
“Mornin, Sif.”
(You ruin the beautiful moment by telling him what you woke him up for,)
“Our tent is being gently attacked by a kite.”
(He blinks some more, this time in confusion, which is fair.)
(You probably could have explained it a little better.)
(But honestly, you’re pretty confused by this development as well so…)
“Sif? If that’s a joke, I’m gonna need like twenty minutes minimum before I wake up enough to laugh at it.”
“Not a joke- There’s a kite with a rope tied to it, and every time I poke my head out, it tries to gently swing a rock or something at my face.”
(You try to convey that you’re not messing with him by shrugging your confusion.)
(You see a look of recognition click onto his face,)
“A messenger kite you mean?”
(You don’t know what that is.)
“I don’t know what that is.”
(He looks confused for a second-)
“Oh, yeah. I guess if you’ve seen one before, it would have been a while ago for you right?”
“Cause there weren’t really enough unfrozen people to run the Vaugardian mail system near the end there.”
(Isa sits up and moves towards the tent entrance and holds out his hand.)
“They’re crafted kites designed to send mail to people!”
“They’re not super fast, but if they catch a good wind, they can be faster than sending a message normally!”
(You hear the soft thump of something falling into his palm and he pulls it inside.)
“The kites take a lot of effort to make and maintain though, so I guess it took people at least this long to start using em again!”
(Isa is holding a small wooden box in the palm of his hand, no kite to be seen, or string for that matter.)
(Maybe it was crafted to let go of the package once Isa grabbed it?)
(He prys open the box and it makes a small popping noise.)
(He pulls out a folded sheet of paper.)
(He reads it for a few moments…)
(You try to be patient, but curiosity wins over,)
“Soooo, what’s it say?”
(Isabeau reads the letter aloud,)
Hello there! I’m not super used to writing letters! So, sorry if this is a bit atypical!
But uh, well if you’re reading this message, you’re hopefully one of the Saviors! Um- so this message is a formal request from the House of Estaires!
(Assuming I crafted this right of course! I’ve never done it before!)
(So I guess if you’re not one of the Saviors, just uh send this back please?)
We’re having a bit of a sadness problem at the moment- and quite frankly our town defenders really aren’t up to the task of getting rid of them.
They did try! But, well, they just weren’t very successful!
If you’re not too busy or far away, we could really use the help!
-Lucien, Housemaiden of Estaires
(The Housemaiden that helped to organize the surprise party!)
(Not sure if you’d remember my name! So I just thought I’d mention it!)
(Isabeau seems bemused the whole time as he reads it out,)
(You tilt your head slightly in confusion,)
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh! Uh, I guess it’s not, they need help! But it’s just really not how you’re supposed to write a letter? Like at all?”
(You didn’t notice anything odd about it.)
(Isa sees the look on your face,)
“I mean they didn’t even put a date on it or anything!”
“It’s just a little silly is all, but we should go and ask M’dame Odile to see the map and find out how far Estaires is though.”
Odile
Three Days Later
“I mean, I wasn’t sure you’d come! But I’m really glad you did and-”
(The Housemaiden, -Lucien, the letter said- is rambling.)
(Mirabelle in her apparently infinite patience, is taking care of the conversation as he guides you past the lake Estaires is built around.)
(Gems, this whole giddy fan thing is getting just a little bit annoying.)
(You give Siffrin a look and let out an exasperated sigh, and to your amusement they smile and nod before rolling their eye.)
(Still, you try and pay attention in case he gets around to any useful information, as you still don’t know the details of exactly what you all came here to fight just yet.)
(Just when you’re considering butting into their conversation, someone beats you to it.)
(Loop sneaks their way to the front and manages to put themselves between Lucien and Mirabelle,)
“Terribly sorry to interrupt, but would you mind explaining to us what we came here for~?”
(The Housemaiden stammers, previous conversation abruptly derailed)
“Oh! Right! Sorry! You’re uh- Siffrin... right?”
(In spite of the fact Loop’s back is to you, you can practically hear the wink in their tone of voice,)
“More or less~”
(You hear Siffrin let out a groan under their breath and they move to get behind Isabeau.)
(Lucien, however, doesn’t question this objectively strange answer,)
“Well- um okay, so a few days after you all left, we had a problem.”
“There’s a local landmark, kids play around it and stuff, a big boat out in the woods!”
“We call it the ‘Forest Ship’!”
(How creatively named.)
“And that was all well and good, but two big sadnesses showed up and started putting anyone who got close in danger.”
“The few defenders our town has tried to go and fight it, but they kinda barely got away with their lives?”
(Lucien lets out an embarrassed chuckle as they finish their explanation.)
(You make sure to take note of the details as you all continue to walk.)
“And where exactly is this ‘Forest Ship’?”
“Oh! I’m taking you all there right now, the path into the woods is just behind that house over there.”
(Lucien points towards a small house.)
“Just follow the path until you reach a fork, then go due west from there, it’s a really short hike!”
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(You’re all a decent way along the path now, and have thankfully left the mildly annoying Housemaiden behind.)
(Though now instead of worrying about battle strategy, you’ve been distracted by young Boniface, who is currently attempting to protest against the “homework” you assigned them.)
“But Dile! I don’t need to learn math! I already know it! Multiplication is dumb!”
(Pétronille gives you an awkward smile before attempting to end the argument on your behalf,)
“Bonnie, if Madame Odile is gonna teach you, then you need to listen to her when she tries to do that.”
“But I don’t need to do multiplication! She could just teach me useful stuff!”
“Like that! Why don’t you teach me how to use that thing!?”
(You turn to them, confused.)
(They’re pointing at the compass in your hand.)
(...Didn’t you already show them how to use-)
(Mirabelle interrupts your train of thought,)
“Madame! I think that’s it over there!”
(You look and see it, a large wooden structure barely visible through the thick trees ahead.)
(Okay, you can finish this conversation later, you need to focus on keeping your little family safe.)
“Alright, just like we discussed, Siffrin, you stay with Bonniface and make sure they stay safe, keep your distance, but stay close enough just incase we need your help.”
(They give a nod and walk over to Bonniface.)
“Alright, everyone else with me, and keep quiet.”
(You take the lead and hear the soft footsteps of everyone behind you.)
(You quickly all step out into a clearing.)
(Gems, that Housemaiden wasn’t kidding, there’s an actual boat in the middle of the woods!)
(Not a small one either, if this boat was ever in the lake back in town it probably would have scrapped the bottom!)
(The sails are pretty torn up, but the structure overall is remarkably intact, aside from a few obvious dents along the lower hull.)
(You wonder how something like this could have even gotten this far inland.)
(You notice some faded writing along the side, but you don’t recognize the language.)
(Something about the shape of the letters gives you a headache.)
(Gems, stay focused. You know there’s dangerous sadness’s around.)
(You motion for everyone to stop, then pick up a small stone from the ground.)
(You give it a throw, channeling a small bit of rock craft into it to accelerate it more precisely than your ageing arms can.)
(A loud thud sounds out as the rock strikes the side of the vessel.)
(Quickly followed by a howl of something that sounds profoundly sad and unsettling.)
“Get ready everyone!”
(You watch as two vaguely human-shaped creatures float out from the inside of the ship and dash forwards with another inhuman wail.)
Pétronille
(You feel a sharp pain claw through your knee as you slide across the rough forest floor.)
(You spare a glance at your leg as you scramble back to your feet.)
(You got scrapped up pretty bad, but you can push through it!)
(Okay! You’ve got this!)
(You somehow managed to keep hold of your hammer through the slide and raise it up for another swing at the sadness.)
(You’re just about to strike it in it’s ugly little face when Bonnie’s voice distracts you-)
(They must’ve seen you slide, it probably looked as nasty as it felt,)
“Nille! Are you okay?!”
(You glance back involuntarily, the distress in their voice enough to override your immediate survival instincts-)
(You pay for this lapse in attention by being shoved backwards into the hard, wooden planks of the ship.)
(The blow knocks the air from your chest, but you manage to pull in a breath to respond,)
“Change!- Yeah! I’m fine Bonnie!”
(The sharp pain in your back disagrees with that assessment.)
(The sadness is a strange thing; it’s got six arms and is floating a few feet off the ground.)
(And rather annoyingly, there are two of these things.)
(But even more annoyingly, this one has decided to focus on you, and is rapidly floating closer.)
(You frantically try and get up before it can bring down an arc of craft onto you but-)
(You’re just a bit too slow and…)
(You feel warm all of the sudden-)
(The light from it’s craft comes down on you like a tidal wave- but to your utter bafflement, it doesn’t hurt?)
(Mirabelle’s voice cries out and you put two and two together, she must’ve shielded you from the blow.)
“Oh!- Sorry! I was distracted!”
(You can’t help but let out a nervous laugh,)
“Better late than never!”
(The sadness is just about to try again before Loop brings down a huge arc of craft down onto it-)
(Or was that Siffrin-?)
(Change, they’re moving so quick it’s hard to tell.)
“You gotta be more careful Nils~!”
(Okay so definitely Loop then.)
(You roll your eyes and jump up to your feet as you feel Mirabelle’s shield craft fade away.)
(You glance over and see her healing Isabeau.)
(He and Madame Odile are actively trying to fight off the other sadness.)
(Siffrin is keeping Bonnie safe on the sidelines at the moment-)
(Honestly you all could probably use his help, but they insisted for some reason.)
(You know Loop’s a capable fighter, so you assume Siffrin must be as well-)
(But everyone seemed adamant about them not getting involved in the fighting, so you tried not to push the issue…)
(You try not to push much about anything really- you’re worried about your place in the group.)
(You’re here because Bonnie loves these people!)
(And that’s great! It makes you happy to see them happy!)
(But you still don’t know most of these people very well and it constantly nags at you.)
(Every inside joke, or weird reference you can’t seem to parse, it almost feels like they’re speaking another language sometimes…)
(They do try to include you! You can tell!)
(You’d prefer if Isabeau tried to include you in some other way than using Loop’s nickname for you though…)
(You haven’t asked to be called anything else though, because you don’t really want to shake the boat.)
(There are enough other things for them to worry about than a mildly annoying nickname…)
(Loop explained most of their connection to Siffrin with you, but there’s sti-)
(!!!)
(-Loop jumps back from the sadness and nearly knocks you over in the process-)
(Change! You need to focus!)
“Whoops~ sorry Nils! I’ll try and watch my footing!”
(The sadness is looking pretty beat up now.)
(Seeing an opening, you weave around Loop and bring your hammer up into the sadness’s face.)
(It lets out a frankly gross sound as large globs of tears fly out from its face.)
(You asked, and the group assured you tears don’t freeze people anymore, but you still dodge them on reflex.)
(It’s visibly stunned, grabbing at it’s face with two of it’s arms as Loop comes in from behind you to deal one last slashing arc of craft into the thing.)
“Crab yeah! We got it!”
(You raise your hand- but Loop just rolls their eyes before sticking their tongue out to deny you your well-earned high-five.)
(You stick your tongue out in retaliation.)
(You suddenly feel like you forgot something…)
(Oh- whoops, you just remembered about the other sadness!)
(You look over to the other side of the clearing, ready to have to sprint over and help, but they look like they’ve got it handled.)
(A few seconds after you look, you see their sadness fall over.)
(You hear Bonnie give an excited whoop of victory while just about everyone else is catching their breaths.)
(Victory!)
Notes:
Tried to pack a bunch of super "subtle" foreshadowing in this one hehe :3
Chapter 2: Echos of an Airborne Memory
Notes:
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
- Traumatic flashbacks / panic attacks
- Cannon typical violence from a flashback to THAT bonnie scene
- If I missed anything pls let me know!--------------------------------
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Siffrin
(You have to make an effort to keep back.)
(It feels wrong to stand on the sidelines, to not be helping.)
(Rationally, you know they can handle this,)
(Stars, they even have Loop and Pétronille to help!)
(They’ll be fine.)
(But that doesn’t stop the deafening heartbeat in your ears.)
(You need to protect your family.)
(You try and stay focused on just keeping your eye on Bonbon, making sure they stay a safe distance away from the fight beside you.)
(They’re staying put mostly, watching the fight with an annoyed expression.)
(They wanted to help too.)
(…Your eye keeps getting caught on the flashes of craft light, and you keep wanting to react on instinct.)
(You need to protect all of them.)
(But you can’t, because you might go off the blinding rails again!)
(And you can’t afford to scare them all again-)
(You know that they all told you it was fine at the time.)
(But they also didn’t protest when you asked to stay out of the fighting…)
(So… are they still scared then?)
(. . .)
(You think you might be overthinking this- maybe you should just bring this up again in today’s feelings-talk??-)
(Bonbon suddenly lets out a worried shout!)
“Nille! Are you okay?!”
(You look towards Pétronille, she’s standing up from what looks like a nasty fall.)
(Oh no! You weren’t paying attention! Do they need your help after all?!)
(The sadness suddenly launches an attack at her.)
(She’s knocked back against the hull of the !)
(You feel strands of craft dart through your body as you make yourself faster without even meaning to.)
(She gasps for breath and manages a ragged response-)
“Change!- Yeah! I’m fine Bonnie!”
(You watch the sadness turn to attack her once more, but before you can do anything, you see Mira charge in from stage left.)
(You recognize her shield spell instantly.)
(It’s fine! They don’t need your help. It’s fine!)
(You just need to focus on your blinding job and keep an eye on Bonbon,)
(They were annoyed before, but now they just look relieved that their sister is okay.)
(You overhear them talking excitedly to themselves,)
“Crab yeah! Belle to the rescue!”
(Okay Bonbon is fine, just focus on keeping them that way.)
(You need to focus, ground yourself, something.)
(You halfway reach for your dagger before you stop.)
(You know Odile still has it.)
(Because you’re not allowed to have it!)
(For this exact blinding reason!)
(You watch as Loop and Pétronille take down their sadness, and a few moments later you see everyone else finish up the other one.)
(Okay. Everyone’s fine!)
(The danger is gone!!)
(Your heart will maybe get that memo at some point this week!)
“Crab yeah!!! Victory!!!!”
(Bonbon charges into the clearing around the excitedly.)
(. . .)
(What is?-)
(You feel it, something slipping through your mind like water through a sieve.)
(And because you notice it, instead of noticing what lies around it, your mind goes blank.)
(Stars, this is so blinding annoying.)
(Whatever it is- it’s tied closely enough with your country that even the name of the thing is slippery.)
(You’ve been getting pretty good at noticing the thoughts around the things you’re not allowed to think about.)
“-Stardust?”
(?!)
(You were lost in thought and jump in surprise as you see yourself- or Loop rather- trying to get your attention from a few feet in front of you.)
“Zoning out again are we~?”
“No- just lost in thought for a moment, I…”
“Loop, do you notice anything odd- when you look at… that?”
(Loop doesn’t even bother to turn around to look at it.)
“Yes, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about actually.”
(They sound serious, which, while not as rare as it once was,)
(It still manages to catches you off guard when they drop their aloof tone from time to time.)
“Do… do you wanna investigate?”
(Ah, aloof Loop is back now, they tilt their head and give a smile as they answer you,)
“I think you already know my answer to that Stardust~”
(Huh, you thought Loop wouldn’t be interested in this sort of thing…)
“Well I just thought- I mean some of the things you said when we fought that first time,)
“It just seemed like you maybe wouldn’t care about stuff related to our country?”
“Oh~ I don’t care at all Stardust~!”
“But I am just a bit curious as to how one of these …….things ended up all the way out here…”
(Loop seems to take a moment and blink their sudden confusion away.)
(Huh, so that’s how your face looks when you remember something you’re not supposed to.)
(That expression is mildly embarrassing…)
(You choose to not think about this further.)
(Bonbon calls out and you both snap your heads to face their direction.)
“Frin! Loop! Get over here so we can get going back to town!”
(You both start to walk over and you gesture for Loop to ask.)
(They give you an annoyed glance as if to say, “No, you ask!”)
(You set your right hand into a fist and gently tap it against your open left palm three times.)
(Loop rolls their eyes and accepts your challenge.)
(The loser will have to face the social anxiety of asking your family to wait up so you can do some selfish exploring.)
(You both move your hands in sync,)
(Rock.)
(You instinctively want to go for scissors-)
(Paper.)
(But wait- would Loop try the same thing?)
(Scissors.)
(You should go for rock then!)
(You see a calculating look on their face,)
(annnnnd-)
(You both pick rock . . . )
(…In retrospect, you probably should have seen that coming.)
(Isa’s voice,)
“So- Sif, what task are you both trying to get out of?”
(Stars- now that Isa asked you, you gotta be the one to explain- and that means Loop blinding wins!)
(They give you a smug grin.)
“Nothing- just…”
(You come up with a way to turn this loss at least into something that might mildly annoy Loop,)
“Well, Loop wanted to ask if we could stay for a few minutes and check out this ‘forest ship’.”
(It took effort to think around the . But you managed it.)
(Loop’s smug grin turns to comic indignity in a blink.)
(Isa seems to figure out the subtle battle going on in an instant and plays along on your side.)
“I don’t see any reason why we can’t, Loop! Odile, do we need to hurry back for any reason?”
(She looks over,)
“Not that I can think of no, and If I’m being entirely honest, I’d like to take a look at it as well.”
“As long as no one’s too injured to do so, I vote we explore this strange vessel.”
(Odile glances towards Pétronille.)
(Pétronille chimes in,)
“Oh! Don’t worry about me! My knee feels good as new, Mirabelle’s a miracle worker!”
(Mira stammers at the unexpected compliment,)
“Oh-! No, I’m not all that good!-”
(Bonbon interrupts her,)
“Just take the crabbing compliment Belle!!”
(They raise their fist to the sky and take the lead, marching towards the .)
“Let’s go explore a creepy ghost ship!”
(You all begin to follow, before Isa asks them the obvious question,)
“Ghost ship?”
(Bonbon sounds defensive,)
“Well, it’s more exciting to explore if it’s full of ghosts and stuff!”
“Ha!- Can’t argue with that!”
(Loop chimes in and steals the blinding joke you were thinking of!!!!)
“That’s the spirit b-Kid~!”
(Isa stifles a laugh! Loop stole a laugh from Isa!!!!!)
(You give Loop a sharp glare- but they pointedly ignore it.)
(Odile distracts you from this crime that Loop has committed against you.)
“Siffrin- or Loop too I suppose, are either of you able to read this?”
(Oh- you had been trying not to look too much at the structure, but you did notice something written on the side.)
(You give Loop a hopeful glance.)
(They shake their head,)
“Don’t look at me Stardust~ I was too busy dying to The King to ever figure out how to hold onto our language.”
(You can- you know you can, the mental pathway is open to you.)
(But of course that road has a blinding toll.)
(Loop gives you a sad smile, they know how your mind works, so they probably know what you need to do to bring it back…)
“I- I can try Odile…”
(You pull your courage together and-)
“Isa?”
(Something in your tone instantly gets his undivided attention,)
“Hm? What’s wrong Sif?”
“I- need to think about some things to read that and- could you…”
(Stars you should be blinding used to this by now, but asking for touch is always so blinding embarrassing!)
(You flex your hand open and closed awkwardly.)
(Isa gives you a gentle smile and takes your hand.)
(You feel the reassurance flow over you like a warm breeze.)
(You know holding hands won’t actually help- but it might be able to help you be normal again after…)
(You give him a thankful smile and pretend not to notice Loop looking in the opposite direction.)
(Okay- no sense delaying any more…)
(You close your eyes and focus.)
(Remembering feels like opening a door with an ocean on the other side as the memories sweep you away with a terrifying violence.)
(You remember learning about The King.)
(You remember trusting him.)
(You remember screaming meaningless sounds in the shape of a name.)
(You remember your vocal coords bleeding.)
(You remember a language spoken by those that can no longer speak.)
(You remember an ice cold dread as you feel your body slow down.)
(You remember the cries of your family as Bonbon was-)
(You remember their screams.)
(You remember them begging you to help them.)
(You remember being powerless as you let them die.)
(You remember the feeling of blood on your face as you looped back)
(You remember them telling you that you should have died to protect them.)
(You can’t help but agree.)
(A squeeze of your hand brings you back- you’re shaking.)
“Sif! It’s alright, you’re okay- Bonbon’s fine!”
(How did he-)
(You see Bonbon holding your other hand,)
“I’m fine Frin! See?! I’m right here!”
(You must’ve called out for them.)
(Okay- they’re safe. Everyone’s safe!)
(You try to take a deep breath and realize you’re hyperventilating.)
(Stars.)
(Okay- don’t let it go to waste, just try to blinding focus.)
(You look at hull of the airship.)
(Your thoughts still have to be careful, but the memories of your country’s name makes ideas easier to latch onto.)
(The writing on the side is the name of the ship, “The Flying Feather.”)
(…Well- that’s anti-climactic.)
(What were you expecting though honestly? It’s words written on the side of a boat- of course it’s a blinding name.)
(You manage to mostly calm down your breathing- stars, it was never this hard trying to read your language in the loops…)
(Probably because you always had that memory floating at the back of your head.)
(Now that you’re out, you almost manage to forget it sometimes.)
(You take a shaky breath.)
“Sorry everyone- I’m okay now-”
(Odile is the first to try and speak,)
“Siffrin- I’m sorry, but if you have to send yourself into a flashback to read that- I don’t think you shou-)
(You interrupt her, not wanting to waste your useful mental state.)
“The words on the side of the airship are a name.”
“What’s an ‘airshi-‘”
(You translate the ship’s name into Vaugardian,)
“The Flying Feather.”
“We should head inside, if there’s any other words in there, I might not be able to read them for long.”
(Mira- she sounds worried for some reason.)
“Siffrin- are you sure you’re alright?”
(You think you manage to sound convincing.)
“yes- I’m fine now! Promise! Let’s just go!”
(You crawl in through a rough hole in the bottom of the hull.)
(You realize after you enter the ship that Isa and Bonbon let go of your hands at some point,)
(A glance over your shoulder shows you they’re just behind you though.)
(You take the lead and try and ignore everyone else talking to one another, you just need to focus on being useful.)
(The layout of the ship is foreign to you- but the design logic makes sense somehow.)
(You know roughly what will be behind each creaking door as you open them.)
(The airship is remarkably intact for something that’s presumably been here a while…)
(You finally come up to a door that looks familiar.)
(You read the question above the door, and speak an answer before you can overthink it.)
(The lock audibly clicks.)
(You know there’s something important inside- but you don’t know what exactly it is.)
(It’s- an empty room?)
(Mostly empty anyways, there’s intricate carvings along the walls and a wooden beam in the middle of the room is the only object that seems to stand out…)
(There’s a little carved wooden door in the middle of the beam.)
(You open it- and see a large dandelion? It’s somehow alive despite the lack of sunlight here.)
(At the thought, you suddenly realize you’ve only been able to see this whole time because Isa has been holding one of the crafted lights in his palm just behind you.)
(Thanks Isa!)
(Oh- maybe you should thank him out loud right?)
“Thanks for the light Isa.”
“Sif! Are- uh- are you able to talk now?”
(Able to? You’ve been able to talk the whole time you’ve been in the ship…)
“Yes?...”
(Stars- he must’ve been trying to get your attention and you blinding ignored him!)
“Okay- good!! …How are you doing then? Cause, you’ve got all of us really worried…”
Loop
(Your Stardust seems like they’re on a mission.)
(The "airship" as they so helpfully named it, is strange.)
(Part of you doesn’t know what an “airship” is and the other part is carefully not thinking too hard about it.)
(The Fighter and The Kid have been trying to get his attention for a while now…)
(When he finally says something, all of you nearly jump in surprise.)
“Thanks for the light Isa.”
(The Fighter nearly drops the light in response,)
“Sif! Are- uh- are you able to talk now?”
“Yes?...”
(Ah- they’re oblivious and don’t realize they’ve been silent.)
“Okay- good!! …How are you doing then? Cause, you’ve got all of us really worried…”
(You decide to chime in now.)
“I wasn’t ‘worried’~ But yes, I haven’t seen you this focused for quite some time Stardust!”
“Sorry- I uh- I found something interesting…”
Notes:
Every piece of creative work I ever make will contain a minimum of one (1) airship those are the rules i dont make em ^^
Chapter 3: Wishes & The Consequences Thereof
Notes:
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
- Referenced trauma flashbacks
- Acceptance of death
- If I missed anything pls let me know!--------------------------------
Hey y'all just a warning that this chapter ends on a rather bleak cliffhanger!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Mirabelle
(Siffrin’s explanation leaves your mind reeling.)
“So- wait you mean this boat can actually fly?? Like a bird or kite fly?? In the air????”
(Loop shrugs and nods at you,)
“That is what ‘fly’ means last I checked~”
“And- well, if you need a second qualified opinion, I agree.”
“The ship can fly! Like a leaf in the wind!”
(Loop has a look in their eye that you recognize from Siffrin- but he cuts them off before they can say anything else,)
“Be-leaf-it-or-not,-I’m-telling-the-truth!”
(Isabeau barks a laugh before taking a moment to compose himself,)
“Sif- as super cool sounding as all this is, should we maybe talk about how you’re doing?”
(Change, Siffrin is looking around like they’re trying to escape.)
(But just when you think they’re about to try and bolt or something, they say something instead,)
“I- we could- could I just talk with you for a minute Isa?”
“Oh! uh, sure thing Sif.”
(Siffrin and Isabeau head back out of the door and into some other compartment of the “airship”.)
“Madame?”
(She looks up from writing in her book.)
“Yes Mirabelle?”
“Is- is it really possible to make a boat fly? Even with something as strong as wishcraft?”
(She frowns at that, seemingly uncertain.)
“Well, it does sound far-fetched… it seems like the sort of thing you’d hear stories about if someone had ever managed it.”
“But I suppose its possible we all have heard the stories and simply forgot them thanks to...”
“Right… Okay- I guess that makes sense…”
(Suddenly Bonnie jumps over and buts in,)
“Hey Dile! Nille says I gotta ask you if I can take the dandelion out!”
(Odile looks like she’s very deep in thought.)
“Wha- well- I’m not sure- I mean Siffrin didn’t really explain how it was related to wishcraft and-”
(You glance towards the little compartment in the center of the room- it’s empty…)
( . . . )
(Bonnie has one of their hands behind their back…)
“So… hygo-thecally, if I took it out- would I be in trouble?”
(You hear Pétronille let out a defeated sigh from across the room next to Loop.)
“Bonnie! I told you to ask before you touched it!”
“It’s pronounced ‘hypothetically’ Bonniface- and wait are you saying-”
(You watch Odile place her hand against her forehead before she speaks again,)
“Well- alright, given none of us actually know any wishcraft rituals, it’s probably safe to touch.”
“Just- don’t touch anything else in here without asking please.”
“Crab yeah! And okay, I promise! Imma take this outside so I can blow the seeds everywhere!”
(Bonnie moves away at a fast walk that is just slow enough, so that they don’t risk any of the seeds falling off prematurely.)
Isabeau
(You climb up a creaky wooden staircase and step out onto the tilted deck of the boat.)
“Alright, we’re outside now Sif, are we able to talk now?”
(They nod in agreement.)
“…I figure you wanna know why I got all weird there?”
“That is one of the things I was wondering about yes-“
“But the more important one is, how are you doing now Sif?”
“I’m fine”
(Seeing the look on your face he backtracks,)
“I mean I’m good, like actually fine, doing better, not gonna freak out and spiral again ya know?”
(You give him a look, and they seem to be telling the truth as far as you can tell.)
“Okay, well I’m glad to hear that.”
(You take a seat leaning up against the handrail of the deck, and gesture for Sif to sit next to you.)
(He sits and with just a little hesitation leans against your shoulder.)
(You politely avoid pointing out their blushing.)
(He is so crabbing cute!)
(The next thing Sif says changes your mood in seconds,)
“I- um- do you remember how I told you about what happened to Bonbon- in one of the loops?”
(Oh.)
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Well leading up to it, I learned alot, about my country and stuff.”
“I even died trying to say it’s name once…”
(You feel a pit in your stomach, the way they sometimes talk about their deaths like it’s just a normal thing that happens upon occasion.)
(It makes you just want to hold him close to keep him from getting hurt ever again.)
“But when I did that, I sort of learned a bit about how to read my language again- but it was pretty soon after that that The King…”
(Ah- okay that makes sense you guess.)
(That’s gotta crabbing suck, to only be able to understand your own language by throwing yourself into a trauma flashback…)
(Also explains why they were yelling for Bonbon back there.)
“So in order to remember how to read it, I had to remember that other loop too.”
“I’m sorry you had to do that Sif…”
“…Maybe you shouldn’t try that in the future?”
“Maybe… but, I mean- it might be a useful resource- so- …”
“Sif- your mental health is not a crabbing resource!”
“Besides, even if it were, we aren’t on a mission to defeat The King anymore!”
(You nudge their shoulder,)
“You can’t be thinking like that Sif.”
“I guess…”
(You can tell you’re hitting a wall- you should maybe bring it up later when they’ve had some time to decompress.)
(So, you change the topic slightly,)
“How come you wanted to talk out here? Did you just not want to bring that up in front of Bonbon?”
“No- or well, yes? That wasn’t the main reason- I just-”
(That wasn’t the main reason? )
(Sif doesn’t open up unprompted, but you feel like he’s made a lot of progress being emotionally vulnerable in front of your little family.)
(...Oh! That’s it then!)
“Didn’t want to talk about it in front of Nils or Loop?”
(He droops his head with a defeated sigh,)
“Yeah- I just- I don’t know, it feels a lot harder because I don’t know her all that well and- well part of me is always a bit self-conscious in front of Loop.”
“Why’s that?”
“I know they probably wouldn’t anymore, but- they’ve said a lot of very unkind things to me in the past-“
“Granted, nothing I didn’t think in my head first-“
“But it just hurts more when it’s vocalized, you know? and-"
(Sif suddenly looks worried-)
“d-do you smell that??”
(You take a deep breath and- something’s sweet?)
(Not sickly sweet, just slightly sweet.)
(No where near as strong as the burnt caramel back in- )
(You take another breath and it’s gone…)
“I did for a second-”
(You feel Sif breathing slightly faster- but they seem to be calming down thanks to how briefly the scent was present.)
(You wonder what could have-)
(The sound of creaking wood fills the air as you see a small cloud of dandelion seeds float past you.)
(?!)
Mirabelle
(The air is filled with the sound of creaking wood as the floor jolts violently-)
(The ship is moving.)
(Change- why is the ship moving!?)
(Did Bonnie do something by removing the dandelion?!)
“Gems- I swear if we’re in the air right now I’m going to lose it.”
(Madame Odile looks terrified, she’s clutching to a wall and carefully keeping her feet planted flat on the floor)
(Loop speaks up now, they actually sound a little nervous…)
“Ah- whoops- I thought maybe it would take a bit more than just blowing on it-”
(Odile snaps at them,)
“You crabbing knew this might happen?! And you didn’t say anything?!?!”
(They raise their hands defensively-)
“Sorry! I genuinely thought it would be harmless! I thought that it would require a bit of intent at least!”
“…Come to think of it- that’s probably what all these carvings are for…”
(As if on cue, the floor around the wooden pillar begins to glow, bright craft-light flowing in lines, illuminating symbols carved into the floor.)
(Pétronille sounds worried,)
“Um- so I’m not really qualified to have an opinion on this but-“
“Given we don’t know what this room actually does, should we uh- maybe leave??”
(You all begin to move towards the door before you notice Odile isn’t moving.)
“Here, just hold onto me okay Madame?”
(She doesn’t respond, just nervously grabs your arm and follows.)
(As you both cross the threshold, you hear the door suddenly snap shut with a loud click.)
“Gems! Why- WHY are we so high?!?!”
(You look around the mostly dark room and spot what she saw, a broken away plank reveals a few close by treetops below-)
(The bottom of the ship is maybe a few feet higher than the surrounding forest.)
(It looks like the ship isn’t raising any higher at least.)
(When you look back to Odile, she’s standing in a corner, looking away from any of the holes in the hull.)
“Loop.”
“Uh- yes?”
“Fix it.”
“But I don’t really kno-”
“FIX! IT!”
“Yes Madame.”
(Loop scrambles to find a way to get up a deck.)
“Um- should we maybe go help them?”
(Pétronille gives a nod of agreement and you both move to follow.)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(The landing was fortunately uneventful.)
(Between Loop and Siffrin, they were able to figure out how to get the strange crystal orbs the ship has in place of a helm to make the ship slowly descend.)
(Once everyone was safely on the ground again, you all exited the ship, lead of course by Odile, who was practically out of the ship before it even fully landed.)
(The walk back to Estaires was filled with a desperate Bonnie trying to convince Odile not to give them any extra homework over this.)
(Not that Odile had threatened that- Bonnie just assumed that might be their punishment.)
(You know Odile is pretty quick to forgive and forget though, so you doubt anything bad will actually come of it.)
(You're just glad that Siffrin seems to be doing better.)
(You wish you understood better what was so upsetting for them.)
(At least they told Isabeau what was wrong, so if it was anything… urgent he’d be able to let the rest of you know.)
(You're not sure why Siffrin didn’t want to talk in front of everyone though, maybe he was just anxious about being emotionally vulnerable in front of Pétronille?)
(Probably that, you wouldn’t want to open up so quickly to someone as new as she is!-)
( P A I N . )
(You are ripped out of your thoughts as a searing, molten pain flows through your veins.)
(You suddenly fall to your knees and feel a scream rip from your throat.)
(Change! What is happening?!)
(Something is wrong. A Horrible nauseating dread encompasses you, bigger than yourself.)
(Everything hurts- and something smells sweet.)
(You hear someone yelling your name-)
(Your whole body hurts so badly that you feel your hands moving on instinct in a desperate attempt to find the part of your body that needs to be healed.)
(But everything hurts and so you just start holding your face as you frantically shove healing craft into yourself.)
(It doesn’t help.)
(You don’t even notice as you lose consciousness and tip over into someone's arms.)
Loop
(The Housemaiden Mira is suddenly on her knees, screaming in pain.)
“Mirabelle?!”
“Mira?!”
“Belle!”
(Everyone shouts out almost in unison, she was leading the way back and so everyone had a clear line of sight to her.)
(You watch as she starts to grab at her face, and her hands start glowing with a brilliant light from her healing craft.)
(What’s happening?! What happened?!)
(Stars- just find a way to help idiot!)
(You manage to get to her a fraction of a second faster than anyone else and kneel next to her.)
“M-Mira! Can you hear me? What’s wrong?!”
(She doesn’t answer- of course she doesn’t you blinding idiot.)
(You feel a sudden pressure in your chest and glance down- the scar on your chest is glowing…)
(That’s probably not a great sign…)
(Your stomach drops as you suddenly smell something sweet on the air.)
(You hear Mira cry out another ragged cry as the light surrounding her face suddenly dissipates and her arms fall to her sides.)
(She falls to the side and you catch her.)
(The moment you feel the weight of her in your arms you feel- wrong- cold.)
(You suddenly realize with a dulled sense of mounting terror-)
(You’ve felt this before.)
(You’ve felt this way more times than you can even count.)
(You feel like you know this sensation better than breathing at this point.)
(But you rapidly become too overcome with it to even care.)
(How strange that you don’t even get to feel sad as you die for what must certainly be the last time.)
(You feel your body grow stiff as you are frozen in time.)
Notes:
First of all, sorry :3
Second of all, I promise I'm not just writing nonsense for no reason, all of this is supposed to not make sense yet!
Third of all, mild spoiler, but technically something you can figure out on your own: Loop isn't dead, as Mira still has the power granted to her from the Head Housemaiden
Chapter 4: Pieces of a Puzzle
Notes:
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
- Non Pov panic attack referenced
- Memory loss trauma
- Mentally traumatizing the bon
- If I missed anything pls let me know!--------------------------------
Alright, a brief note on a creative liberty I took, we know going through the house was “still a struggle” even after Sif went on their little rampage.
But I’m not sure how hard it would actually be if all the doors stayed open behind them?
So executive decision, the doors relocked behind Sif during act 5 and the keys reset cause of wish breaking nonsense! Okay? Okay.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Mirabelle
(You have a pounding headache.)
(Your eyelids flutter open and you can see panicked faces looking down at you.)
(Change- what happened to you?)
(You feel sore all over- but the pain is fading away quickly at least.)
(Your brain is still waking up and it’s only now that you mange to turn the noise around you into words.)
(It’s Madame Odile! She sounds worried though- did you fall and hit your head maybe?)
“-everyone step back.”
“Mirabelle- can you hear us?”
(Wait- you’re leaning on something.)
(You try and get up-)
“I- Change- …w-what happened?”
(As you get up you see Odile take a step back-)
(Everyone’s looking at you- but they all seem shocked.)
(Isabeau answers you- he’s holding Siffrin back from moving towards you.)
“We- we’re not sure Mira- you just- sort of screamed and fell over- then Loop tried to help but-”
(You don’t see Loop standing with the others-)
(You turn your head-)
(?!?!?!?!)
(WHAT?! HOW?! WHY?!?!)
(THIS DOESN’T MAKE ANY CRABBING SENSE!)
(The king is frozen! So how did Loop-)
(No- stop.)
(You can help!)
(So crabbing help!)
(Your hands feel heavy- and you feel tired, like after that time you had to stop Siffrin from dying to a sandwich.)
(You pull on the strands of craft within yourself, and pull on the power bestowed upon you.)
(Your hands glow as the frozen body of Loop starts to breath again-)
(Change- okay. At least that still works!)
(You look back towards everyone else- hoping for some sort of explanation but-)
(Isabeau just keeps looking at you, Loop, then back again, Odile looks like she’s trying to solve a puzzle- and you’re pretty sure Siffrin is about to have a panic attack.)
(But before you can say anything-)
(Bonnie and P- Nils both fall over unconscious?!?!?!?!?!)
(Everyone else seems just as surprised as you are about this-)
(WHAT. IS. HAPPENING??!)
Odile
(Some days the world makes sense.)
(On those days you have quite a good grasp on things, even when something novel or otherwise strange occurs, you’ll often have an intuitive sense as to the how- if not always the why- of it all.)
(Today is not one of the days where the world makes sense.)
(You were only just managing to get over your unexpected visit to the sky, when your entire world inverted for apparently no reason.)
(First of all, Mirabelle collapsed in pain, without any apparent cause, and started screaming.)
(Naturally, everyone came to her aid as fast as you could.)
(This alone, while strange, was not strictly speaking, impossible.)
(What was impossible- the thing that should not have happened, was Loop becoming frozen in time the instant they touched Mirabelle.)
(Time craft is impossible.)
(Except for when wishcraft is used.)
(So there must have been a wish made to make that happen.)
(And so, you are left with two facts, two facts that are both true and simultaneous while also being fundamentally contradictory:)
(Mirabelle, somehow froze Loop in time by touching them.)
(Timecraft is impossible without wishcraft which Mirabelle does not know how to use.)
(Your mind is still racing, trying to hammer the facts into some sort of shape that might fit together into something resembling sense.)
(You are rudely interrupted from your thoughts by the sound of two bodies falling to the ground behind you.)
(…and now Nils and Bonnie are lying on the ground.)
(You panic for a few terrifying seconds- but no, they’re both still breathing.)
(Something is very, deeply wrong and your family is dropping like flies for no reason.)
(You need to take charge, everyone’s panicking.)
(Gems- now that you think to check, Siffrin is visibly hyperventilating at the scene, apparently frozen in place.)
“Isabeau.”
(He seems to take a moment to shake himself out of his shock-)
“Y-yes Madame?”
“Go and help Siffrin, we need to get back to Estaires immediately.”
(You don’t wait for his reply before turning to face Mirabelle and Loop)
“Mirabelle- are you able to walk?”
(She stammers a response, still audibly shaking off unconsciousness.)
“y-yes- I- wha-”
“Good- to be safe, don’t touch anyone and just follow when we start moving.”
“Loop, are you able to walk? And if so, can you carry P- Nils?”
(Something in your words snags your mind- but you don't have time to think about it.)
(Despite being just unfrozen seconds ago- they jump to their feet and nod- practice if you had to guess.)
(You walk the few steps to Bonnie and gently pick them up, Loop does the same with Nils.)
(You are very grateful for the absurd strength both Loop and Siffrin possess, as they seem to move around with the tall woman on their back with no issue.)
“Alright, let’s move.”
______
(Your eyes open.)
(You’re tired.)
(What time is it?)
(Your mind is fuzzy.)
(You’re comfy though- so that’s nice!)
(You’re laying on something soft!)
(You take a moment to wipe the sleep from your eyes-)
(You’re in a room with lots of beds in it, the walls are wooden and the floor looks soft!)
(And you’re on a bed! Maybe it’s your bed? If you’re sleeping on it, it must be!)
(Oh! Someone’s in the bed next to yours...)
(You know her!)
(You- know her…)
(She’s… your sister- you think… right?)
(Yes! She’s your sister silly!)
(Your head hurts.)
(She- she got frozen in time! And then you went and saved Vaugarde with Frin, Belle, Dile and Za!)
(So, then she got unfrozen and then you all went to find her- you had to go somewhere. . .)
(…and then you did! So that’s why she’s here but-)
(You feel like there’s something you’re forgetting…)
(You had to go somewhere to find her…)
(It was somewhere important…)
(You can feel your heartbeat in your forehead.)
(Maybe it isn’t important if you can’t remember…)
(You look out the window- it’s bright out!)
(Oh! You can see people!)
(You see Frin, Za, and Dile all talking with some other people- housemaidens you think.)
(But wait- there’s another Frin too??? But they have long hair and-)
(Oh, right! When you got your sister back, Loop showed up with her! Except they look like Frin! Cause they are- but also aren’t!)
(Loop is super helpful! But they can also be mean sometimes- specially to Frin…)
(Your head still hurts.)
(Maybe you’re de-hy-mated?)
(Maybe you need water.)
(Someone told you once that your head can hurt if you don’t drink enough water!)
(Probably Dile! She’s smart, so she probably told you!)
(You get up and look around. Your headache is really bad…)
(You see a glass of water by the bed, so you go over and drink it.)
(It feels cool-)
(You like water.)
(You suddenly have a thought that makes your head hurt even worse- a big lake, bigger than you can see, like it goes on forever!)
(There’s a name for it- but you can’t remember right now.)
(Just as quick as the thought came, it’s gone.)
(You feel bad.)
(Your heart hurts for some reason.)
(You decide maybe going back to your bed will help…)
(Your bed- is it your bed? It’s in a room with a bunch of other beds.)
(Did you pick that bed maybe?)
(What kind of bed would you like anyways?)
(Your head feels fuzzy and you cant find an answer- you…)
(You.)
(………)
(You-)
(...you... ...are…?)
(Your head hurts-)
(You should know this!)
(You- you should-)
(Your face feels wet.)
(You can’t remember your name.)
Notes:
hey! So stuff might still not make a ton of sense just yet! But this chapter hopefully contains enough breadcrums for some accurate theorizing hehe :3
Also, just a brief note on fourth wall breaks, they will not be a recurring element as i feel that can cheapen a story :P
EDIT FROM THE FUTURE:
Hey, if you're reading these comments on this chapter, you may be confused as to why people are talking about the change god segment! that's because it was originally at the start of this chapter, but I moved it to help the story flow better :3
Chapter 5: Thinking Time
Notes:
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
- Nothing I can really think of
- If I missed anything pls let me know!-------------------------------
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Mirabelle
(Everyone made it back to The House of Estaries without further incident- but you decided to stay outside.)
(You know everyone will be fine, you watched them walk in, and saw the Housemaidens running to help.)
(And they all know you’re out here.)
(Your hands are shaking.)
(You’re scared.)
(How did Loop get frozen?)
(It had to be you… right??)
(They said Loop became frozen the second they touched you- and Madame Odile asked you to not touch anyone- so she probably thinks you caused it too!)
(And she’s usually right about most things- so-)
(You don’t want this.)
(You don’t want to freeze things! Change- that’s what you spent most of the last year fighting against!)
(At the thought you feel a sudden, shallow pool of dread wash over you-)
(Change- what is that?!?)
(The feeling of dread is sudden and oppressive, like something being forced on you.)
(You look at your hands like they’re made of knives-)
(Okay- calm down Mirabelle.)
(Maybe Odile got it wrong? Maybe it wasn’t you!)
(You- you can find out!)
(Yes! That’s what you’ll do, find an animal or something- even if you somehow freeze them, you’ll just unfreeze them again right after!)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(You managed to bribe a duck with some bread.)
(It doesn’t seem scared of you, so maybe it’s used to people throwing it breadcrumbs or something…)
(It was happy enough to follow you away from the lake, into the treeline where you won’t be seen.)
(…You look at it’s little beady eyes and can’t help but feel bad-)
(You’ll just unfreeze them if you somehow freeze them! It’s fine!)
(Besides! Siffrin’s talked about what being frozen in time feels like, apparently it doesn’t even hurt!)
(…But it still feels just a little bit like hurting an animal for no reason and it’s tying your stomach in a knot.)
(But if you don’t find out, don’t know, and accidentally freeze another person…)
(You have to know.)
“Sorry ducky- I promise if anything happens I’ll put you back to normal as soon as I can, okay?”
(The duck quacks obliviously.)
(You steady your resolve and hold out another slice of bread to the duck.)
(It quacks happily and waddles forwards-)
(You hold your breath and tap its head with your free hand.)
(It- just looks at you, seemingly confused before it goes back to your bread.)
(A wave of relief floods over you.)
(Okay!)
(Maybe it wasn’t you afterall!)
(That raises a bunch of other questions- but if it wasn’t you then at least-)
(!!!)
(Something flies in from above you.)
(You let out a yelp and hold your hands out defensively.)
(You smell something sweet.)
(Your hands feel cold-)
(Some part of you knows what you’ll see before you open your eyes to look.)
(A second duck is frozen midair, a few inches in front of you.)
(Your hands are shaking again-)
(It’s all you can do to keep yourself calm, just fix it and then worry about what it means after.)
(You reach for your craft and force time to move through the bird normally again.)
(It suddenly flaps it’s wings and lands in front of you, before giving an indignant quack.)
(So this means it was you that caused it.)
(For some crabbing reason, you have access to The King’s power.)
(But why?!)
(You can’t figure this out on your own…)
(It seems that you can do it on accident-)
(But it doesn’t seem to happen just when things touch you- so you don’t need to be worried about accidentally brushing up against someone…)
(Knowing that, you feel you can at least go and safely meet up with your family.)
Siffrin
(HAHAHAHAHA)
(Things were going too well!)
(This was blinding inevitable, right?!)
(It was only a matter of time before something went catastrophically wrong.)
(You’re torn equally between shock, nihilism, and world-shattering terror!)
“Sif. Can you hear me?”
(You look around- you’re not sure why you’re not in the woods anymore.)
(Isabeau is standing next to you- you’re both standing outside The House of Estaries…)
“yes.”
“…How are you doing?”
(You let out a short, sharp laugh, and have to put effort into preventing it from turning manic.)
(His voice is a little shaky.)
“Yeah- me too…”
(The part of your brain in charge of protecting your family takes over with an almost physical click.)
(Unfortunately for you- you don’t actually know what to say that might help.)
(So, out of options, you take Isa’s hand and try not to squeeze it too hard.)
(What’s there even to say?! What sense is there to be made of this??)
(First Mira gets hurt by seemingly nothing, then Loop gets blinding frozen?!?!?! And then as a fun little chaser, Bonbon and-)
(. . .)
(Bonbon and…)
(. . .)
(Bonbon and …Nils…)
(You can feel your mind slipping around her name, dancing around something in that way you’ve gotten good at…)
(That’s a nickname- but Isa and Loop are the only two that use it…)
(So why-)
(Why is that the only name you can find in your memories?...)
(You feel a pit in your stomach as you turn your mind to Bonbon, Bonnie- their full name is-)
(You had it just a second ago……)
(ha.)
(Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse.)
(Your voice feels like it’s made of lead.)
“Isa-”
“Yes?”
“So uh- stupid question, reallllllly just hoping I’m being forgetful here.”
“What’s Bonnie’s full name again?”
(He looks at you confused-)
(Then you see the look of confusion grow deeper as he opens his mouth to respond-)
(He lets out a nervous laugh and rubs the back of his neck-)
“I- huh, ya know, I just had it a second ago, but I can’t remember it now for some reason…”
(It takes him only a moment for the fear of the realization to show on his face.)
(Great! Now you can both worry pointlessly about something you can’t blinding think about.)
(Stars, you feel nauseous.)
(You need to cover your bases, Isabeau, Mirabelle, Odile, Loop…)
(…Nils and Bonbon…)
(Okay- still awful, but technically not the worst-case scenario!)
(You could be forgetting all their names haha!)
(You hear the front gate of The House open-)
(Odile and Loop are coming back outside.)
(Loop looks like they’re going to be sick! Great, so they’ve probably already realized the problem.)
(Odile walks over with a sigh,)
“They’re both fine according to the Housemaidens here, just fell asleep as far as they can tell, so that’s the good news, have either of you seen Mir-”
(Isa interrupts her,)
“M’dame…. C-could I borrow the map for a second?”
(Huh? Does he want to go somewhere?...)
(oh- OH!!!)
(Stars- you should have thought about that- if his guess is right, that would explain why it’s just Bonbon and Nils that are affected by this…)
(Doesn’t explain what happened to Mira- or the sudden Timecraft-)
(One problem at a time.)
(You hear the sound of paper being unfolded.)
(You look over Isa’s shoulder and- you can see the island- or rather, where your country was drawn in on the map looks blank- but you know it’s not, your mind is just filling in the spot you cant perceive.)
(With a mounting sense of oncoming doom- you realize you can’t read the names of the towns along the northern coast of Vaugarde.)
(Loop- they sound defeated.)
“oh… of course…”
“blinding- ugh.”
(They cross their arms and start angrily pacing, staring at the ground.)
(Odile sounds very confused-)
“Wait, what’s wrong? You’re all starting to freak me out here.”
“Odile, do you remember where Bonbon and Nils are from?”
(She opens her mouth- then closes it- then opens it again,)
“I... don’t remember?- It’s on the coast- to the north right?”
(Her brow creases as she reaches around to her back and pulls out a book, she starts flipping through it.)
“Oh- here it is, the town is called- ow…”
(She winces and looks away from the book, clearly dealing with a sudden headache.)
(You feel the nihilism taking over in your own voice,)
“Don’t bother saying it, you’ll die trying.”
(Isa looks at you, a deep concern written on his face.)
(A part of you feels bad- but the rest of you is busy coming to terms with this new threat.)
(The King was right after all, Vaugarde was in danger of being forgotten…)
(Maybe the only way to prevent this was by freezing the country in-)
(Isa gives you a look,)
“Sif? You just got an ‘I got an idea face.’”
“I- I think I know what happened with Mira-”
“Loop- you said when you were a ‘star’, the universe had ways of making you do things- was that physically painful in any way?”
(They look up at you, still brooding under your blinding hat,)
“Yeah- why?”
(Suddenly you see their expression shift-)
“Wait- you don’t think…”
(Your mind is racing, the fragments of implication fitting together in your head.)
“Maybe- it almost makes sense right? But I mean, why would Mira suddenly be bound to do The Universe’s will?”
(Loop’s eyes are wide,)
“Maybe- maybe she was a ‘dead tree’?”
(The words bring a half-remembered memory to the edges of you mind, just enough to follow the metaphor.)
(If wishcraft needed a conduit to work through, and there happened to be an easy one nearby, it tends to take the path of least resistance to get to it’s goal…)
(Odile seems mildly annoyed,)
“Are you two going to explain this theory you have in plain Vaugardian or are we going to need to solve a riddle?”
“Sorry Odile- It’s just- I think the king’s wish might not have died with him when he became frozen…”
(Isa looks deep in thought,)
“So then, Mirabelle inherited his powers somehow? How would that even work?”
(Loop beats you to the explanation, probably for the best, they’d have a better understanding of it after all.)
“Less inherited, and more like chosen.”
“If Stardust here is right, then The King’s wish needed someone to act through, and with The King frozen, he wasn’t a good pick for that role anymore.”
“So The Universe had to pick someone else, ideally someone with similar goals.”
“Oh- and important note, The Universe doesn’t really ‘think’, it sort of goes on vibes when it comes to logic-ing this sort of thing out.”
(Odile, takes a break from writing all this down,)
“So you’re saying that Wishcraft picked Mirabelle as a ‘conduit’ because she was someone who wanted to save Vaugarde?”
“How come she was the only one affected then?”
“I’m not sure…”
(Isa crosses his arms,)
“Maybe, because she technically had just frozen someone in time seconds before?”
(Huh?)
(Oh! Your memory of that moment is a little foggy, as you were very out of it at the time, but you distinctly remember Mirabelle causing The King’s attack to rebound.)
(He continues,)
“I mean, if wishcraft was looking for a new person to channel time-freezing-powers through for the sake of preserving Vaugarde…”
“Then a Savior of Vaugarde who just froze someone in time, albeit indirectly, would be a pretty good pick right?”
(Odile squints, seemingly considering the idea.)
“I suppose that makes sense…”
“Though that still leaves the question of why this is all happening now…”
“Whatever’s causing the forgetfulness I mean- why is it spreading?”
(Yeah you’ve got nothing.)
(You’re not even sure if that question is able to be answered.)
(You’ve always assumed your country was forgotten due to wishcraft, so if anyone knows how that wish worked/went wrong, they’d probably be on the island…)
(You and Loop shrug at almost the same time.)
(Odile sighs,)
“Alright, I suppose that’s a better theory than anything I’ve got.”
“Even if it doesn’t answer everything, most of an answer is good enough for me at the moment.”
“Now, has anyone seen Mirabelle since we got back?”
“I- uh- I’m right here Madame.”
(You turn and see Mirabelle walking out from the nearby tree line.)
(She looks- well to be honest she doesn’t look great; her hands are visibly shaking and she looks like she’s seen a ghost.)
(She looks around, making sure no one else is around before not quite whispering,)
“So um- I- I did some experimenting and- um- so I think freezing things in time is something I can just sort of do now???”
(She sounds distraught at the idea.)
(Isa takes charge,)
“Alright, we have some things to explain Mira, we might want to just go ahead and find somewhere private to talk.”
-=-=-=====-=-=-
-=-=-=====-=-=-
Notes:
Hopefully this chap clears up alot of the confusion ^^
Chapter 6: Two Forgetful Friends
Notes:
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
Nothing I can think of aside from the memory loss angst.
If I missed anything pls let me know!--------------------------------
Chapter Text
Loop
(. . .)
(You still exist.)
(That fact mattered more once.)
(Back when time flowed through you freely.)
(But now, there is only one fact that matters.)
(You will continue to exist, unthinking and empty for all eternity, in this instant.)
(The fact does not fill you with dread,)
(though it perhaps it might if you had the ability to feel it.)
(If you had thoughts able to comprehend such emotions-)
( . . . )
(Except that’s not right is it?)
(You are having thoughts- as fragmented and directionless as they are, the fact you are having them means something-)
( . . . )
(Your eyes are flooded with light as it begins to enter them once more.)
(Your lungs slowly creak back to life and begin doing their job again.)
(Your heart presses stubbornly back against death’s icy grip.)
(Time is real again.)
(A familiar flood of sensation from being shoved back into the raging current of time.)
(This experience was shocking to you once.)
(What feels like a lifetime ago.)
(But now- it almost feels as mundane as waking up from a nap.)
(You feel disoriented- but only for as long as it takes you to remember where you are.)
(Slowly, inch by inch, you come back to yourself and your surroundings-)
(You know it doesn’t take long for Mira to unfreeze someone, but it doesn’t stop it from feeling slow.)
(Stars, your thoughts are always so melodramatic as your brain figures out how to think again.)
(You feel more like yourself now- or at least you feel more normal.)
(Mira looks terrified, sending a pang of distress through your newly beating heart.)
(. . .)
(At least The Housemaiden looks okay now-)
(Well- “okay” might be a little strong - but she doesn’t look like she’s in pain at the very least.)
(She’s probably just worried about you having been frozen- wait.)
(You look around, instinct and habit giving way under the weight of the strange situation.)
(There’s trees everywhere.)
(You’re not in the house??)
(How did you get-)
(You see yourself-)
(No, the half-remembered dream is slowly reasserting itself as memories.)
(You see your Stardust looking at you, you can almost feel his look of shock as if it was on your own face.)
(…How were you frozen??? That doesn’t make any blinding sense!)
(Everyone else seems just as shaken by this, and being the center of attention is making you uncomfortable-)
(You’re around halfway to coming up with a witty and punny remark to lighten the mood when-)
(You watch as Bonbon and Nils simultaneously fall over, like they're-)
(Your lungs stop, frozen with the sudden terror overtaking you.)
(They’re both breathing- stars- it’s okay, they’re both okay.)
(It takes you longer than normal to remember to breath again.)
(Odile The Researcher is trying to get your attention.)
(Stars- blinding pay attention!)
(You’re still out of it a little, but thankfully you can feel your body respond almost before you’ve consciously understood her words.)
(You couldn’t have made it this far without being able to bounce back from being frozen in a hurry.)
(You quickly walk over and lift Nils up in your arms, a feat that probably only you, The Fighter, or your Stardust could have managed.)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(You feel nauseous as you follow The Researcher back out of The House of Estaires.)
(You can’t place it, but something is very wrong.)
(Something more than the obvious at least-)
(You almost can’t even focus on what happened to you or The Housemaiden, something else keeps snagging at the back of your mind.)
(Like your subconscious is trying desperately to draw your attention to something.)
(You can’t stop thinking about Nils or Bonbon The Kid…)
(B-)
(Bonbon. Bonnie. The Kid.)
(Two nicknames and a cowardly alias.)
(You-)
(The pit in your stomach grows deeper.)
(Stars- how- how did you manage to forget their blinding name again?!?!)
(. . .)
(You’re furious with yourself.)
(You can’t afford to forget-)
(As much as you sometimes feel like it would make things easier.)
(You don’t actually want to forget!)
(You do your best to blink away the tears forming against your will.)
(And Nils- Bonbon calls her Nille but-)
(Neither of those are her name either…)
(Stars! Now you’re even forgetting the name of the person who’s the closest thing you’ve had to a new friend since you came back to life!)
(You’re horrible, only a horrible person could manage to forget things so important.)
(The Researcher’s Odile’s sigh drags you back to reality,)
“They’re both fine according to the Housemaidens here, just fell asleep as far as they can tell, so that’s the good news, have either of you seen Mir-”
(Isa abruptly takes a step forward and sounds slightly manic somehow-)
“M’dame…. C-could I borrow the map for a second?”
(Odile seems just as confused as you are, but pulls it out and unfolds it without so much as a word.)
(Your Stardust moves towards the paper and stares over Isa’s shoulder.)
(Feeling a bit left out, you take a few steps to get a better view-)
(You almost wish you hadn’t.)
(The thing your mind was trying to tell you clicks into place with an almost physical shudder deep in your bones.)
(You can’t read any of the words written along the northern coast of Vaugarde.)
(You feel yourself speak out with a sense of disconnection,)
“oh… of course…”
(Would it have been better if just you had forgotten?)
(The nausea threatens to overwhelm you.)
“Blinding- ugh”
(You cross your arms and start to pace angrily.)
(You try to ignore the looming dread, and fail.)
(You settle for just trying not to be overwhelmed by it.)
(You zone out, half against your will.)
(. . .)
“Loop- you said when you were a ‘star’, the universe had ways of making you do things- was that physically painful in any way?”
(You look up from under the brim of your hat, uncertain how the conversation got to this.)
(“Painful” is a bit of blinding understatement though.)
“Yeah- why?”
(When Mira collapsed- she screamed and looked like she was in pain.)
(She tried to heal herself, that was the craft light.)
(And if-)
“Wait- you don’t think…”
(You’ve both spent so long theorizing together that you recognize the look of intense thought burning behind his eyes,)
“Maybe- it almost makes sense right? But I mean, why would Mira suddenly be bound to do The Universe’s will?”
(That question rings a bell, it has a similar shape to something you’ve thought once-)
(Why would you suddenly be bound to help Nils back at the favor tree?)
“Maybe- maybe she was a ‘dead tree’?”
____________
(You open your eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.)
(It’s made of wood.)
(And it’s dark, the light you can see is dim and flickering- so not daylight maybe?)
(You think that this is probably not normal…)
(But maybe it is?)
(The uncertainty feels strange somehow.)
(Shouldn’t you know how it normally feels to wake up?)
(Trying to think back feels like trying to run through syrup.)
(You normally sleep in a tent you think…)
(So… this isn’t normal then!)
(You smile to yourself, the little mystery solved.)
(You sit up, the bed is comfy, but it can’t be yours- It wouldn’t fit in your tent.)
(You feel your body flinch at the sudden, excited voice in the otherwise silent room.)
“Oh! You’re awake! I’ll go tell the saviors! Or- wait-”
(You turn to look and you can see a man looking awkwardly around,)
“Um- before I do- do you need any help or- um- I’m uh- not normally in charge of monitoring injured people.”
(Injured people? Were you injured?)
(You don’t feel injured- you have a little headache maybe?)
(And he said he had to tell the “Saviors” that you woke up?)
(Fragmented memories start to come back, like scattered leaves in the wind finding their way back to the branches they fell from.)
(The Saviors of Vaugarde! B- your little sibling is one of them! You think... Yes, they are!)
(...You definitely have a headache-)
“Um- I do need something- have you seen my sibling around? They look sort of like me but way shorter and with a big round hat and-”
“Oh! Yes- um, they were in here with you, but they sort of had a bit of a breakdown I guess?”
(That doesn’t sound good- you feel a lump in your throat.)
“A-are they alright?!”
“Wh- Oh! Yes! They’re completely fine! But they woke up before you did is all- they tried to wake you up, and when they couldn’t- they… got very upset.”
“We couldn’t really calm them down at the time, so we moved them to another room- I’m afraid those are all the details I know…”
(The man looks anxious.)
(You move to get up from the bed,)
“C-could you take me to them please?”
“Oh- well I don’t know if you’re allowed to walk, I’m not one of the Housemaidens that specialize in healing and-”
(You hold up your hand, to stop him rambling on- it’s making your headache worse.)
“Just, please take me to them, I feel completely fine, promise.”
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(The man leads you down the hallway, apparently taking care not to make too much noise- maybe people are sleeping?)
(You follow his lead and stay quiet as well.)
(He said that they’re not very far.)
(Your little sibling- you had to travel a long way to find them, Loop helped you with part of that too.)
(Why did you have to do that? Why weren’t you already in the same place as them?)
(…The only thing your head manages to come up with is a pulsing pain behind your eyes.)
(You just want to see them and ask what’s going on.)
(You just want to see them and-)
(And…)
(Why can't you-)
(Change your head hurts- you must be super out of it to not be able to remember their name.)
(You hear a voice from down the hall-)
“-still, I’m not sure how much we can really explain all this to Bonbon at the moment, they’re really out of it.”
(Bonbon.)
(That feels correct- or- it at least feels not wrong maybe?)
(You see Loop step out into the hall and look your way, their expression goes from neutral to excitement in an instant,)
“Nils! You’re up!”
(You hear another voice, it sounds like Mirabelle you think,)
“Volume, Loop!”
(They seem to wince at the realization that they shouted.)
“right- sorry.”
“Nils, get over here!”
(Nils… Is that your name?)
(Change- you managed to forget your own crabbing name now too???)
(You feel more confused by the second.)
(You and the man enter the room.)
(You see Loop, Mirabelle, Madame Odile, Isabeau, and Siffrin all scattered through the room, a softly crackling fireplace burning against the far wall.)
(How come you can remember all their names just fine?)
(Madame Odile is the first one to speak,)
“Um, Lucien, thank you very much for bringing Nils here, but could you please give us some privacy?”
“Oh! Right!- sorry, I’ll uh- I’ll just go! Um- let me know if you need anything alright?”
(The man fumbles with the door and leaves and aura of awkward nervousness in his wake.)
“...What’s up with him?”
(Loop answers you with a teasing smirk,)
“Just one of our adoring fans~”
“Right- um- where’s-”
(Change if this isn’t their name you’re going to look so stupid.)
“Where’s Bonbon?”
(Mirabelle is thankfully quick to reassure you,)
“Oh! They’re fine! Just beyond that door over there, but they’re very asleep at the moment.”
“They got really upset when they woke up before you did, and well not being able to wake you up on top of not being able to remem-”
(Odile interrupts her,)
“Yes- on that note, we have some things we need to discuss with you Nils.”
“It’s going to be… a lot to take in, so it’s best if you get comfortable.”
(Well that feels ominous…)
(You take a seat and try to ignore your headache.)
Chapter 7: The Hopeful Dawn of a New Day
Notes:
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
- pretty much just the standard memory loss stuff, this point going forward I think we can just assume that's a given right??
- If I missed anything pls let me know!--------------------------------
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Odile
The Next Day
(It took a solid two hours of disorganized questions and explanations to get Nils up to speed.)
(By the time you all decided to call it a night, it was well past midnight.)
(So, you aren’t surprised when you wake to a bright window shining on your face.)
(You are annoyed for a moment- then you remember yesterday’s events, and suddenly a mid-day sun in your face is the least of your problems.)
(It's strange.)
(You feel the dread- but it feels almost comfortable.)
(No- not comfortable, just familiar.)
(Like an old coat you wore for years, that never quite fit right.)
(It’s uncomfortable, but you’ve gotten accustomed to it before.)
(Putting it back on again is only a momentary discomfort before you just start to live around it again.)
(. . .)
(Gems, over the last month you’d gotten used to feeling like Vaugarde wasn’t going to fall apart.)
(Gotten used to the idea that the worst danger your family might face was the occasional stray sadness.)
(While you weren’t paying attention, this new creeping dread wrapped itself around your mind in the same place where the last dread made its home.)
(You feel helpless, like there’s nothing you can do.)
(But of course, that’s hardly a new sensation, so you get up and dressed before stepping out into the shared living space.)
(The House of Estaires has its dormitories organized into segmented communal spaces.)
(Six or Seven bedrooms all built together around a comfortably sized central living space for the Housemaidens living around it to share.)
(The Housemaidens had quite a few empty rooms and were more than happy to accommodate you all for the night.)
(Isabeau flashes you a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes,)
“Morning M’dame.”
“Sif and I made some pancakes if you want.”
(Siffrin gives you a halfhearted grin)
(You make a tired noise of acknowledgement, as is your customary greeting just after waking up.)
(Something’s strange-)
(And because strange things have been haunting you lately, you instantly wake yourself up half a degree to figure out what it is.)
(You realize with a cool sensation that the thing that’s strange is that Bonnie isn’t at the stove with them.)
“Is Bonnie not up yet? They got to sleep far before any of us did.”
(It feels so odd to use their nickname, you keep wanting to correct yourself even though you know it’s futile.)
(Nils answers you, without making eye contact, she sounds like someone trying not to worry about the words they're saying,)
“Nope. They’re, uh still asleep somehow…”
(Well- that’s not too strange you suppose, when Nils woke up yesterday, she was fairly normal aside from her memory loss and an apparent migraine.)
(But when Bonnie woke up the first time, they were manic and none of you were able to talk any sense into them.)
(Their rambling was very incoherent, but you’re pretty sure they thought their sister was dead because they couldn’t wake her up.)
(It was all you could do to take them to a different room and try to reassure them elsewhere.)
(A few hours after that, they fell back asleep.)
(So, it’s not impossible for them to still be sleeping.)
(You flip open your journal.)
(. . .)
(There are holes in it now, not literal holes, just occasional points on some pages that forcibly pull your mind down a detour if you’re not paying attention.)
(And trying to pay attention to them, of course just gives you a headache.)
(Loop starts up a conversation while you’re lost in thought.)
(You tune back in occasionally to get a sense of the topic.)
(Everyone is avoiding discussing yesterday any further.)
(Gems- are you going to have to be the one to force the topic?)
(You really don’t want to.)
(Mirabelle has hardly said a word all morning and looks like she’s practically in mourning.)
(Siffrin, Loop, and Isabeau have been carrying the conversation, but you get the sense that it’s largely performative for all of them.)
(Well it’s harder to tell with Loop, but you’re fairly certain it’s an act for them too.)
(Nils has been chiming in upon occasion, but she looks even more like an outsider than normal, sitting off in the corner, carefully not drawing attention to herself.)
(It seems like everyone’s walking on eggshells.)
(You take a deep breath, and get ready to break a lot of eggs.)
(But before you can open your mouth to speak, you hear a soft thud, a hurried series of muffled footsteps, and a doorknob.)
__________
(You wake suddenly.)
(You sit up in a panic.)
(Your sister, you need to find your sister, she’s hurt and you need to find her.)
(Your head hurts.)
(You need to-)
(You throw the sheets off from a bed you don’t recognize onto an equally unfamiliar carpet.)
(You desperately try to get to the door- and fall over before scrambling back to your feet.)
(You fumble with the doorknob but manage to get it open, you need to find her, you need to-)
(You frantically look around the room-)
(Dile, Frin, Loop, Za, Belle, and )
(It’s her! You know it! Before you opened the door you weren’t able to picture her face.)
(But now that you see her, it’s obviously her.)
(You see the expression on her face light up and know that she recognizes you too.)
(You open your mouth to call out for her-)
(Your head hurts worse.)
(Your voice chokes up and no sound escapes.)
(You give up on words and just run forwards.)
(You only realize you’re shaking once her arms are wrapped around you.)
“It’s alright Bonnie, I’m here. I’m here.”
(Bonnie? That- that’s your name, right?)
(Your crabbing stupid brain is forgetting things.)
(You want to say your sister’s name but-)
(Your voice shakes-)
“I- I can’t- I can’t remember-”
“I know. I-I can’t either Bonnie- something… -something happened to us.”
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(Your home is gone.)
(You think… you feel sad?)
(You do feel sad- but you aren’t even sure what’s gone…)
(It’s crabbing confusing and just makes your head hurt.)
(Frin and Loop worked together with Nille to try and explain it to you.)
(Their home got forgotten too, so they knew what you were thinking about.)
“But I still don’t understand- how come all of you remembered our names but we couldn’t?”
(Frin makes a weird face,)
“Ah- well we can’t actually, we can just remember your nicknames.”
(Loop sighs,)
“And I’m guessing the reason we could remember your nicknames when neither of you could, it’s because we learned those nicknames outside of-“
(Loop holds their head and looks like they’re in pain…)
“Ugh- blinding stars-”
(Siffrin takes over for them,)
“Because we didn’t learn your nicknames anywhere near your home, the information probably wasn’t closely related enough to be affected for us I think.”
“Meanwhile- true-names are… well, those just work different I think…”
(. . .)
(You guess that sort of makes sense?)
(This is crabbing stupid.)
(You hate this- your head hurts just trying to think about the crabbing problem.)
“…H-how are we gonna fix it?”
(Everyone reacts to that.)
(Did you say something weird??)
(You feel Nille tense up next to you,)
(Belle just looks at the floor,)
(Loop and Frin look nervously at each other,)
(Dile opens up her book and starts flipping through it,)
(And Za rubs the back of his neck.)
(You get the sense of adults trying to hide stuff from you.)
(You feel annoyance boiling up inside yourself.)
(Loop is the one that answers you,)
“B-…”
(They pause for a second-)
“Bonbon- I don’t think there’s anything we can do…”
(what?)
(Your stomach feels like it’s tied in a knot.)
(No. That doesn’t make any sense.)
(There’s gotta be something you can all do to fix it!)
(You ask- even though you think you already know the answer.)
“What do you mean? Do you j-just not have a plan yet or-?”
(Your voice chokes.)
(Frin looks ashamed about the answer they give you,)
“If there were a way to stop it spreading, or even reverse it, we would- but…”
(Za continues after Frin trails off,)
“Bonbon, this isn’t like The King… there’s not someone we can go fight to fix this- it’s just, happening, and we don’t know why-“
“If Sif is right, we can’t even know why…”
(You didn’t know you were going to, but you yell,)
“We’re not even gonna try?!”
(Your eyes are blurry.)
“No! We have to try! Why are you all being stupid!?!!”
(Nobody gets it.)
(You turn to Nille,)
“We have to right? T-tell ‘em we have to!”
(She looks sad.)
“Bonnie- I don’t think-”
“UGH! Just crabbing stop! We have to stop it! We can’t just crabbing give up!!”
(You storm off into the bedroom you came from and slam the door.)
Mirabelle
(You flinch as the door slams shut.)
(Bonnie…)
(You agree with them of course, you want to help, fight back, do literally anything to help, but-)
(Something creeps up from the back of your mind.)
(It’s the thought that’s been floating around your head utterly uninvited all morning.)
(It’s less an idea than a fully formed thought in your own mental voice- made all the more eerie by the fact you didn’t think it.)
(“There is something you could try…”)
(Nils stands up nervously-)
“I- I’ll try and calm them down…”
(You continue to stare at the floor as you hear a door open and shut.)
(What if it would work?)
“Siffrin.”
(They look over at you,)
“Yes?”
“D-do you think The King’s plan would have worked?”
“Would it have stopped… this?”
(They give an awkward shrug,)
“Maybe?”
“I don’t know but well-…”
(His eyes go wide,)
“Wait- are you suggesting-”
(Your stomach is a tangled knot.)
“I just don’t like giving up and-”
“Bonnie’s right. We have to at least try…”
(Madame Odile looks thoughtful,)
“Siffrin- what exactly did The King wish for again?”
(There’s a pause before they answer,)
“I never got the exact wording out of him, but it boiled down to wishing for the power to preserve Vaugarde forever, and keep it from being forgotten the way our country was-”
(Isabeau chimes in,)
“… So, we don’t know of any way to stop this- but ‘The Universe’ would know… Right Sif?”
(Siffrin looks mildly annoyed at something)
“Well, it doesn’t really ‘know’ anything it just is, and we are.”
“But to answer your question- I can’t see any reason that it would give the king those powers with that wish if it couldn’t at least delay the forgetting somehow…”
(There’s an actual note of hopefulness in Odile’s voice,)
“It does seem like a pretty solid theory- and I mean, the worst-case scenario wouldn’t have any negative consequences because the area would just get forgotten regardless…”
(Change- you were really hoping someone would have a compelling reason to not try it…)
(Somehow, they’ve managed to convince themselves that this is a crabbing good idea??????)
(Loop holds up their hands,)
“Hold on a blinding second here- this is a very bad idea.”
(THANK CHANGE, LOOP TO THE CRABBING RESCUE.)
(They step forward and start counting with their fingers as they speak,)
“First of all, it would involve freezing human beings in time against their will, which last time I checked, we all agreed was a bad thing to do.”
“Second, even if this plan somehow doesn’t backfire in some blinding stupid wishcraft torment, the people of Vaugarde almost certainly wouldn’t take kindly to us freezing people in time!”
“Third, for all we know the king’s power might have some hidden cost or consequence to The H-”
“-It’s use could have some negative consequence on Mira that we don’t know about!”
“Fourth, we don’t actually know the exact wording or actual intent behind The King’s wish, he could have just blinding lied, Stardust!”
“You said it yourself that he was trying to manipulate you by telling you his blinding sob story!”
“Are you really going to sit here and tell me that you forgot what happened the last time you took him at his word?!”
(Ouch- you turn to look at Siffrin,)
(Siffrin flinched back at Loop’s words.)
(Loop takes a shaky breath to calm themselves,)
“Look… I’m sorry, I know you remember, I wasn’t even there for it and I blinding remember…”
“I just- I feel like you’re all jumping on the first idea we had and ignoring all the ways it could very easily go wrong.”
(Isabeau answers,)
“I see your points Loop- but- it might be the only idea we have that actually stands a chance of working…”
(There’s a pause before Odile speaks up,)
“I agree, if Mirabelle is willing to accept the risks it poses to her, then I think the other risks are outweighed by the alternative risks of doing nothing…”
(Everyone seems to be waiting for you to say something.)
“Change- I- I’ll be honest I was really, reallllly hoping you’d all talk me out of this.”
(Loop gestures to themselves dramatically,)
“Don’t look at me, I’m doing my best to talk you out of it~!”
(You can’t help but let a nervous laugh escape you.)
“…But if the consensus is that it’s worth trying, I don’t mind taking the risks to myself.”
(Loop’s expression suddenly displays a profound sadness, deeper than anything a person should be allowed to go through,)
“I wouldn’t accept the risks of wishcraft so blindly if it were me.”
(They take another deep breath,)
“But- I hate to admit it- it is probably the best plan we’re going to get.”
(Change- you really want a way out, something, anything.)
“Wait- I uh- I just had a thought, it might not work after-all- or at least not on a wide scale-”
(Everyone looks confused,)
“I mean- I don’t think my power has a very big range- the furthest thing I’ve frozen has only been a few feet away- I’m not sure how I would freeze so much land in time…”
“I mean- The King took a while to freeze most of Vaugarde and I’m not sure we’d have enough time!”
(Siffrin gets a smile on their face you can’t quite decipher,)
“Oh- I think that problem might be solvable.”
(Odile sounds mortified,)
“Siffrin… You’d better not be suggesting what I think you’re suggesting.”
(Loop frowns,)
“Do you think it would hold up for that sort of a journey?”
“I think so, it handled pretty well when we flew it soooo.”
(Madame Odile sounds desperate,)
“It doesn’t matter IF you can, because I am NOT getting back on that crabbing deathtrap!”
Notes:
Spoilers: Odile will in fact be getting back on that deathtrap :P
At long last, after 7 chapters and 16,215 words, I have finally finished writing the ~inciting incident~ of the plot
*Obviously sarcastic voice* I'm so so very good at pacing, everyone clap.
Chapter 8: Cartography Research
Notes:
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
- Nothing I can think of!
- If I missed anything pls let me know!--------------------------------
Chapter Text
Nils
(You frown at Loop,)
“No- using oak will take too long, softwoods are easier to work with for hull repairs.”
“I figure getting this done quickly should be our top priority, right?”
(They just give you a vaguely bemused stare.)
(Bonnie looks equally confused.)
(You move your hands in a gesture that hopefully conveys the obviousness of your statement,)
“So, what I’m saying is we should get the pine planks instead.”
(Loop just shrugs and smirks,)
“Whatever you say Nils~ It seems like you’ve got experience with this sort of thing.”
(. . .)
(Do you?)
(It just seemed obvious but-)
(You’re not actually sure how you knew-)
(…maybe you spent some time around boats?)
(They said the place you came from was on the coast, right?)
(The coast- the edge of Vaugarde. . . what’s past that?)
(…a really big lake maybe? You think that’s right- but you can’t picture it…)
(Your head throbs with pain.)
(It must show on your face, because Loop goes from a bemused smirk to genuine sympathy in an instant,)
“Sorry Nils, didn’t mean to dig up any memories…”
(You move your hand in a dismissive gesture,)
“D-don’t worry about it-”
“No- I should’ve known, I’ll be more careful. I know how irritating it can be, reaching for the source of a habit or bit of information, only to come up with a headache.”
(Bonnie chimes in,)
“You’re weird when you get serious Loop.”
(Loop scoffs with theatrical indignation,)
“I’ll have you know, I’m weird all the time b-bonbon~”
(Loops been acting strange since yesterday, which is fair, everything’s been strange since yesterday.)
(But they’ve been saying everyone’s names weird- well, no that’s not quite right, they’ve been saying yours normally, or at least your nickname normally.)
(But they’ve been stumbling over their words every time they address anyone other than Siffrin or you.)
(You think back to the past week or so- and you’re not actually sure you’ve heard them say anyone’s names aloud very much- but just in the last 24 hours, Loop’s been using everyone’s names alot for some reason.)
(…Maybe you should ask them about it?)
(Although- asking Loop personal questions when they’re not expecting it hasn’t gone super well in the past, so you decide to try later maybe.)
(. . .)
(Maybe it’s something you can bring up at the group “feelings talk” today.)
(When you first joined the group, the concept seemed super weird- but you think it helps them somehow.)
(You haven’t really been participating during them very much, and no one has insisted you should, but you feel like Loop should be more talkative during their turn.)
(They belong here more than you do afterall…)
(You start to pick up planks when you’re interrupted by a sudden yell from behind you.)
“Saviors! Thank change we found you! or- well, two of you at least!”
(You turn around and see the face of the man that you met after waking up- Loop called them an, ’ adoring fan’?)
(You can’t remember his name- but you’re pretty sure that doesn’t have anything to do with your home.)
(Regular forgetting just feels different somehow, more natural and less unsettling, if only by a little bit.)
(There’s two other Housemaidens, keeping pace with the man as he approaches.)
(The man turns to face Loop and addresses them directly-)
(Ah- he must think this is Siffrin, which is fair, because far as you know, no one’s really taken the time to explain the whole Siffrin/Loop situation to anyone outside of the little group.)
“There’s an emergency! Something terrible has happened!”
(Loop sounds deadly serious, sending a slight chill up your spine for some reason.)
“What happened? Is someone hurt?”
“Oh- no- um, so- UGH- Change! this is hard to explain, the emergency is that- Um- so do you remember The Island north of Vaugarde? Or no- duh, you cant- ha- well just-”
(Loop audibly sighs and seems to relax,)
“Right, ~that~ emergency.
(Their voice seems to effortlessly swap into their normal, aloof tone,)
“Don’t worry your little head~ we’re already working on a plan to fix that!”
(One of the other Housemaidens stammer, clearly not expecting this.)
“Wha- you already knew?”
(Bonnie buts in,)
“Yes! And we’re gonna save Vaugarde again! Now, shoo so we can do that without havin to explain stuff to you!”
“Bonnie! That’s rude!”
(They let out a huff of annoyance,)
“I don’t care, we gotta hurry, so let’s crabbing hurry already!”
(Bonnie tries to lift up a few planks of pine and nearly falls over in the process-)
Isabeau
(You hear the sounds of muffled hammering as you walk through the wooden hallway.)
(You’ve taken a break from helping with hull repairs to check in on Odile.)
(Ever since she very reluctantly agreed to use the ‘airship’, she picked a cabin and has been hiding inside.)
(You get it! She’s terrified of heights and probably needs some time to grapple with the idea that she’s going to be flying around!)
(. . .)
(But you also need to talk with her about some ideas you had.)
(You just hope she won’t mind you bothering her.)
(You clear your throat and gently tap your fist against the door,)
“M’dame, may I come in?”
(She sounds distracted,)
“-Hmm? Oh- Yes, that’s fine Isabeau.”
(You turn the rusty doorknob and look in.)
(She’s currently leaning over a small table in the corner of the cabin, writing in one of the books you bought her for her belated birthday.)
(A moment passes, and she spares you a quick glance,)
“What is it?”
“Are… you alright?”
(She takes a deep breath and sighs,)
“No.”
“But, there’s nothing to be done about it.”
“So, I’m just doing my best to not think about it.”
“And you’re sure there’s nothing we can do to help?”
“Aside from sealing up the holes in the ship so I can pretend I’m below decks on a ship built by sane people?”
“Nope.”
(She takes a breath and sets down her pencil,)
“But you needn’t worry about me Isabeau, I’ll manage.”
“I’ve got plenty to keep myself busy with down here afterall.”
(Oh- so she’s not just hiding?)
“Really? What are you working on?”
“Well, I’m mostly creating a map that we can use without getting a migraine.”
(She holds up a sheet of paper, it’s a crude outline of Vaugarde, with nothing but rivers and a mess of unlabeled dots.)
(The five dots along the coast closest to The Island, are crossed out.)
(Your eyes go a bit blurry if you focus on them for more than a few seconds, but aside from that, the lack of town names makes it possible to look at.)
“So… Cartography Research then?”
(She blinks a few times at that and then lets out a laugh, unable to keep herself from grinning.)
“Thank you Isabeau- I think I needed that.”
(She takes a breath and shakes her head,)
“But no, I’m not researching Cartography-”
“…I suppose that means Siffrin hasn’t revealed my secret yet then?”
(SHE TOLD SIF WHAT SHE’S RESEARCHING?!?!)
“You told Sif what you’re researching?!”
(She has a smug grin on her face,)
“Yes, and they promised not to tell.”
“Well- technically another me told him, but this version of me asked him not to tell.”
(Ah- you guess that makes sense, with basically unlimited guess, Sif probably figured it out via trial and error.)
“Anyways, I’ve finished the map, but now I’m just trying to work out a route we can take- it’s not going well, as I don’t have the slightest idea how fast this boat, or the forgetfulness field moves so I’ve-”
“Oh! uh, that reminds me, I wanted to run an idea past you, I think we could reduce some of the unknowns by doing some experiments!”
“If we made a beeline to the edge of the field, and then set up some experiments, we could learn a lot about-”
(You stop because she looks like she’s waiting for a chance to speak,)
(She lifts an eyebrow,)
“As I was about to say, I’ve been working on a few ideas to solve those problems.”
(She holds out her book to you, and you can see a table with numbers and descriptions of experiments, all neatly labeled.)
(You try to not look too embarrassed.)
“Oh- sorry! I didn’t realize you beat me to it haha, I’d only just come up with the idea- I haven’t actually written down any procedures.”
(Crab- you should’ve known Odile would already be on top of this!)
(She waves her hand dismissively,)
“No need to apologize, and since you’ve already given it some thought, would you mind helping me with come up with some more tests?”
“Oh! Sure thing M’dame.”
(She sets the book back down and you take a few steps to get a better view of the words written there.)
“Alright, so the general set up I have in mind involves writing down random symbols, entirely unique, meaningless designs.”
“We’d write each symbol exactly once on a slip of paper, and then stare at the symbol until we can picture it perfectly in our minds.”
“Then, we leave these slips in the path of the field, and then we learn things about it based on when or if we forget each symbol.”
“The first test is more of a speed measurement, three symbols, spread in an equilateral triangle across a decent distance.”
“From the timing of how rapidly we forget them we can learn about how quickly it’s spreading.”
“Clever! I’m guessing you’re using three points instead of two to test if the spread is even or not?”
(Before she can answer, you point at a small diagram of two slips of paper a little further down the page.)
“And I’m guessing this experiment is to make sure Mira’s Timecraft can really stop the field?”
(Odile nods,)
“Yes, that seemed a prudent thing to verify, this whole plan fails if Timecraft cant stop the field.”
(Huh- thinking about it for a moment, an idea strikes you,)
“I’ve got an idea for something to test-”
“If we could get Mira to freeze a container, a jar, or box or something, and then place a non-frozen slip of paper in…”
(Odile thinks for a moment and then starts to scribble down a simple diagram for the experiment,)
“Hmmm- yes, if that works, it might be useful…”
“Yes- and if that works, if the field can be stopped just by a small barrier of frozen time, I think there might be something even better we could try.”
(You take her pencil and sketch up an experiment, making sure to include a slip of paper for a control group.)
“Wait… you want to try just freezing the land around a slip to see if that protects it?”
(She looks confused,)
“I can see the logic with the frozen container idea, but how would freezing the land around a slip possibly protect it?”
“Well- the way I see it, The Island isn’t very far away, if you get up high enough basically anywhere in Vaugarde you can see it- or at least you can get a headache about it.”
“But- if the field was growing in every direction- wouldn’t it hurt to look at the clouds that happen to be above it?”
“The clouds to the north should cause the same effects as looking at The Island, but they don’t!”
“So- I think, maybe, the field doesn’t go up super high above the ground.”
(Odile’s eyes widen in realization,)
“… and if it could be blocked just by freezing a perimeter around a section of land-”
“Then we could protect a whole lot more of Vaugarde with the time we have!”
(Odile nods to herself, you can almost see the thoughts racing in her head,)
“I think we should add onto this experiment, if your guess is right, and it works, it would be incredibly useful.”
-=-=-=====-=-=-
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(She takes a moment to write down the details and then looks up at you curiously,)
“You know, you can be really smart sometimes Isabeau.”
(Crab.)
“. . .”
(Your face must betray you somehow because she looks a little worried,)
“Sorry, it’s just that I overheard Siffrin and you talking a few days ago- about how you wanted to ‘drop your airhead facade a bit’?”
(Crab- she overheard- did anyone else overhear!?
(Stars this is embarrassing.)
(Your face feels warm.)
“I just wanted to let you know that I don’t mind, I’m sure none of us would.”
(A beat passes and Odile shakes her head again,)
“Sorry, I really didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, we can drop it.”
“I- um, no need to apologize, it’s just that-”
(Before you can continue, she cuts you off with a yell,)
“Oh Gems-!“
(Odile inhales sharply as you feel the floor under you shift.)
(Feels like it’s flying time!)
(All the holes in the hull must be fixed then!)
(You hear the wood of the ship creaking as it begins to rise off the ground.)
(Odile is clutching her table for dear life.)
(Her eyes are closed and she’s muttering something under her breath in Ka Buan.)
“…Um- Do you need-”
(She sounds like she’s speaking through gritted teeth.)
“Nope. I’m fine.”
(She continues in a half whisper seemingly to herself,)
“It- it’s just a boat, it’s no different than being on the ocean.”
(The ship jolts upwards unnaturally for a moment as if it’s attempting to disprove her argument.)
(You try to stifle a laugh as she glares at the deck like it owes her money.)
Chapter 9: Tempted Fate and a Distraction
Notes:
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
- Internalized Ace/Aro phobia from a second person pov. (Wonder who’s pov this could be~)
- Mild panic attack scare?? Fear of a panic attack that doesn’t really fully go full panic attack if that makes any sense.
- Unhealthy self-sacrifice attitudes towards a character’s mental health.
- If I missed anything pls let me know!
Chapter Text
Siffrin
(You concentrate on the door and just try to remember what you said before.)
(The words don’t come to you- at least not in the normal sense.)
(You can’t think the words, not without paying the price for it.)
(But the sound leaves your lips regardless, meaningless and unintelligible to your own ears.)
(The carvings on the wooden door shimmer slightly as it clicks open and folds away.)
(Stars, you really don’t want to do this.)
(But even more than that, you really don’t want any of your family members doing this.)
(Somebody has to though!)
(. . .)
(So, you have to.)
(No matter how much it feels like tempting fate…)
(Rationally, you know this should be fine.)
(Bonbon did it and they were fine!)
(Everything in your half-remembered truths of how this is supposed to work tells you that there’s barely any risk involved…)
(Wishcraft is dangerous when it’s uncontrolled.)
(That’s why the rituals exist in the first place- yes, they also make it much more powerful and reliable, but the main job of a Wishcraft ritual is to control it.)
(No- that’s not quite right, a faint echo of a class on a topic you couldn’t name if you tried.)
(Wishcraft can’t be controlled, not perfectly, it can only be tamed, and directed.)
(Like building a waterwheel in a raging river, the simple fact that you can harness it’s power will not save you when the flood comes.)
(Still, you know that your people figured out how to make the wishcraft more reliable, more safe.)
(You’re mostly sure that’s what the carvings are for.)
(You see them now, spread in a neat, segmented circle around the central pillar of the room.)
(They’re not glowing anymore- Odile had said that they started glowing after Bonbon accidentally lifted the ship.)
(And so, If you’re right about this…)
(You slide open the small wooden door and a fully grown dandelion sits inside, ready and waiting.)
(The intent of the wish, the very specifics of the wish itself have already been carefully spoken and its effects are long since determined, made and refined by the people who carved these symbols into the floor.)
(The carvings are just their wish given physical form, an echo that recycles it’s power back into a small, easy to perform ritual.)
(You recognize some of the constellations on the floor, though not enough to name them.)
(You even see a few of them mirrored in Isa’s stitchwork on your legs.)
(. . .)
(Knowing this should be safe, doesn’t seem to quell the sense of dread in your stomach.)
(You pluck the dandelion out and carefully remove it from the room.)
(Okay- this is blinding simple, nothing will go wrong, its all fine. This will be fine. Don’t freak out.)
(You climb the stairs to get above deck and steady your breathing.)
(You smell the forest around you.)
(You can do this.)
(Just remember to be ready for the Wishcraft smell and you’ll be fine right???)
(Your hands are shaking- stars you’re ridiculous.)
(You’re a little surprised you haven’t lost any seeds on the way up here with how badly you’re shaking…)
(You stare at the dandelion like it’s a snake in your hands, just waiting for the right moment to bite you.)
(You nearly let out a yelp as a hand touches your shoulder.)
(It’s Loop? They look… melancholic?)
“You alright Stardust?”
(They don’t sound sarcastic, they’re genuinely asking.)
“I- uh, I think you know the answer to that one.”
(They sigh and look contemplative for a moment, before apparently deciding on something…)
“Want to do it together then?”
(???)
“But- I figured- you- um-”
(They shrug,)
“Oh, no I’m just as scared as you are Stardust~”
“It’s just- I don’t know, It feels wrong for you to have to do this alone - and The F-“
“And Isa is busy at the moment, so I figured you should have someone to help.”
(Oh- that- that’s genuinely really nice of them.)
(And also- they called him Isa...)
(More than that, they corrected themselves, you heard them almost say “The Fighter”…)
(You’ve heard Loop slip up from time to time, used a name or nickname for one of them without meaning to- but you don’t think you’ve ever heard the reverse before.)
(Come to think of it- you’re not sure you’ve heard Loop call anyone anything other than a name or nickname since yesterday or so…)
(…A question for later maybe?)
(Loop looks embarrassed and tilts their your hat to avoid making eye contact, before tilting it back and then squinting at you,)
“Stop looking at me like that Stardust. Do you want my help or not?”
(You nod.)
“Right- ehm, on three then?”
(Loop counts down from three, and you both blow the dandelion seeds away together.)
(You almost manage to forget what you were worried about!)
(The seeds float away and start to sparkle slightly.)
(You hear the airship start to groan as the planks are lifted up from the ground.)
(Then the air tastes sweet.)
(Your breath catches and for a moment-)
(You hear Loops breathing get quick at the same moment.)
(You feel a tug- but it is gone the moment you turn your attention to it.)
(It was only your imagination…)
(Between the mutual panic from the scent and the deck rapidly shifting under you, You and Loop both fall onto your backs.)
(Thankfully the smell fades in a second or two, leaving your racing hearts as it’s only trace.)
“Well- that could’ve gone worse all things considered!”
(Loop lets out a laugh that feels slightly manic for a moment,)
“Yeah- let’s just hope when we have to land this thing, we’re a little more graceful than this~.”
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(The controls of the airship are weird.)
(But they’re also intuitive!)
(You don’t have the slightest idea how it actually functions though.)
(If it ever breaks, you’ll all be in real trouble.)
(The controls consist of a few instruments and two large dark crystal spheres.)
(The center of the controls has a large compass, with very detailed markings and a few symbols that make your eyes hurt, so you’re assuming they’re your countries words for north, south, east, and west.)
(The controls also have a device you didn’t recognize, but Odile did, apparently, it’s called a barometer.)
(There’s also a fun spiny thing that you’re sure could give really nice wind speed measurements if you had the slightest idea on how to use that information.)
(The actual ‘control’ part of the controls consists of two dark crystal spheres, each one has a faint light twinkling in their centers, and it increases in brightness when someone holds onto both spheres at once.)
(You try and fail to suppress a yawn as you finish explaining how to fly the ship to Isa.)
(It’s been a long few days and you need a blinding nap.)
(You’ve been flying it for the better part of 5 hours now, and it’s Isa’s turn at the helm.)
(You’re pretty sure that if you had some sails that weren’t all torn up, the ship could be left on its own for a bit.)
(But without them, someone needs to constantly will the ship to move in the right direction.)
(A few minutes later, you drift off to sleep in Isa’s and yours cabin.)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(You wake to the sound of Mirabelle’s voice.)
(She’s shouting...)
(SHE’S YELLING YOUR NAME- SHE NEEDS BLINDING HELP!)
(You jump out of bed and feel strands of craft flow through your limbs as you speed yourself up.)
Mirabelle
(You try and concentrate on the papers in front of you.)
(Just crabbing focus Mirabelle!)
(Ignore the reason you’re on a boat in the sky! Just focus on what’s in front of you!)
(You’ve run out of other things to distract yourself with, you’ve decorated your room, and even some of the dining room- or isn’t it called a ‘galley’ on a ship?)
(Would the same naming convention apply on an airship???)
(You’ve put away anything that needs putting away, you helped with repairs where you could help- there’s nothing to be done but sit around and worry or this!)
(And you can’t sit around worrying!)
(So, you have to do this!)
(You stare at the papers with disdain.)
(. . .)
(You hate this! Why can’t you focus?! This is crabbing simple!)
(It’s not hard! It can’t be! Everyone else manages to crabbing pick someone, so just focus and pick!)
(Your stomach feels tight, and you shake your head in a futile attempt to clear your mind.)
(The sound of your cabin door opening startles you-)
(You frantically pick up your papers and hold them to your chest so no one can see-)
(Oh- it’s just .)
(Your head hurts slightly.)
(Nils- It’s just Nils.)
“Oh! Sorry! Still learning the layout I guess, an-”
(She trails off mid-sentence and looks worried)
“...are you alright Mirabelle?”
(NOPE! Nothing ‘s alright!)
(But Change, this would be embarrassing to explain-)
“I’m fine!”
(Your voice squeaks with the obvious lie.)
(She looks uncomfortable,)
“Rrrrrrright- sorry- but- um- should I- um, maybe get one of the others or-”
“NO REALLY DON’T DO THAT PLEASE-”
(You didn’t mean to yell and cringe at your volume,)
(You hope no one heard you through the thick wooden planks.)
“I- um-”
(. . .)
(Actually- now that you think about it-)
(Most people probably have more experience than you at this sort of thing-)
(Plus- this might be easier to talk about with Nils- she’s sort of a new friend- but you don’t really know her that well yet.)
(She’s in that awkward space between friendship and strangers where any topic is up for discussion because no “normal” has really been established yet.)
(Also- its not like this can go any worse than the last time you let someone help you with this)
(You’re like 98% certain Nils isn’t going crazy from a months long timeloop.)
“I-I’m not okay, for uh- all the obvious reasons?”
“But, well I’m trying to distract myself from why I’m not okay and it’s not working?”
(She gives you an awkward smile and steps into the room, closing the door behind her.)
“So- I figured the best way to distract myself would be with something trivial right?”
“Some little problem that’s not threatening all of Vaugarde- that kind of thing!”
(Something presses at the back of your mind- but you stubbornly ignore it.)
“So- I’ve uh, got these papers and-”
(Nils raises an eyebrow,)
“Bonding proposals?”
(!?)
(Ah- you missed a paper; one is still lying on the ground where she can see.)
“No!!! That’s not- Not quite it! It’s um- more like dating??? Dating profiles!!! I- don’t want to think about getting bonded just yet haha-”
(Your laugh sounds desperately fake, even to yourself.)
(You explain why you started looking into this before The King showed up.)
(How The Change Belief pushes people to change in uncomfortable ways, so you decided you needed to try and change in this way, to try and push your limits!)
(So you can be a better Housemaiden of Change!)
(She nods along- helpfully giving you the space to explain all you need before she says anything,)
“Okay …so you’re having trouble picking someone then?”
“…Yes?”
(You made your answer into a question and that seems to confuse her.)
“I- I don’t know, I just- I’m not sure what I should be looking for I guess?”
“Well- what sort of things do you normally find attractive in someone?”
(???)
(You don’t really know- everyone’s just sort of equal in your mind???)
“Um- I like it when people are… nice to me?”
(She nods encouragingly,)
“Okay… good, what else though?”
(Change- this shouldn’t be this hard!)
“Um- maybe- people that- um- …like me?”
(She frowns,)
“Mirabelle, you just described everyone on this boat.”
(HUH?!)
“NO! ew! No- Okay- um- I don’t know I just- ugh!”
(You bring your palms to cover your face and groan in frustration with yourself.)
“’Ew’ huh? Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“What kind of things do you not want in a partner?”
(. . .)
(. . .)
(. . .)
(HOW IS THIS QUESTION HARDER TO ANSWER?!?!)
(Everything about being in a relationship just makes you equally uncomfortable!)
(…)
(Unsure what she’s looking for, you just go with that,)
“I don’t know- everything about it just sort of makes me equally uncomfortable?”
(She lifts an eyebrow again and crosses her arms,)
“Everything about being in a relationship just makes you uncomfortable… so you don’t want to be in a relationship then?”
“No-! -Um- Yes? But- I mean, I have to! It makes me uncomfortable sure- but I just- ”
(You avert your eyes,)
“It’s important to change in ways that make me uncomfortable, t-to be a good Housemaiden!”
“I can’t just change in all the easy ways, I’ve got to do scarry things! Things I don’t want to do at all!!!”
“And romantic love is one of the biggest ways to change! It’s supposed to bring new experiences and make you a better person and-”
“and so, I’ll have to love someone,”
“I have to bond with someone and sleep with them every night and do things that I don’t ever want to do, and- and-”
“Mirabelle I-”
(Nil’s starts to say something, but you cut her off, because you have to get these thoughts out of you, or you feel like you’re going to explode.)
“And I’m terrified- because- I just- I don’t know what to do! I have to do this, I need to figure it out!”
“But I just- I look at these papers and it just makes me feel sick, trying to imagine myself doing these things.”
“and I’m worried it means- I might not be able to…”
(“If you’re alone for your whole life, then that’s just how it is.”)
(Your voice chokes,)
“-maybe I’m broken somehow- maybe I just can’t-”
(“Isn’t it better to just come to terms with it now, rather than later?”)
“-maybe I’ll just be stuck, alone for my whole life, and there’s nothing I can do about it-”
“Maybe I should just accept that I’ll always be alone…”
(You started crying at some point.)
(You feel a hesitant hand on your shoulder for a moment,)
“Mirabelle- I, I don’t think that makes you broken.”
(Of course it does, you need to change- or else you’re failing as a Housemaiden!)
(She sounds nervous,)
“But even if it did- well, I’m pretty sure that would make me broken too, so at least you’re in good company?”
(???)
“Huh?”
(You try and look up and have to clear the tears from your eyes.)
(She shrugs and gives you an awkward smile)
“I mean, I’m not really the romantic type, it’s never been super interesting to me.”
(?!)
“. . .”
“I mean, it just sort of seems weird and mildly uncomfortable ya know?”
(Yes! It’s crabbing weird!)
“I mean, I’ve tried it, I really, really tried, but it just never really seemed to fit,”
“I had this… someone… um- this- back in-”
(Her awkward look turns into pained confusion in an instant.)
(Oh no- you made her think about her past!)
“I had a- I had- ugh-”
“…you get what I’m trying to say right?”
“I-I think so- you were in a relationship, before, but it never felt right??”
(She still looks like she has a headache,)
“Yeah, I think anyways- well, I know it never felt right, but any other details are… fuzzy and… headache-shaped…”
(She shakes her head as if to physically knock the confusion away.)
(It seems to work a little bit as she turns her focus back to you,)
“Anyways, I know what it’s like to not want the whole romance thing.”
“As far as fates go, being ‘alone forever’ isn’t the worse thing-“
“I mean, it’s not a super great way of phrasing it anyways,”
“Being ‘alone’ I mean.”
“There’s always friendships, and you seem like you’ve got that side of not being alone handled!”
(It is a dumb way of a phrasing it!)
(. . .)
(…but shouldn’t you still try? The Change Belief and-)
(Wait- the phrasing is dumb- you-)
(Oh Change.)
“CRABBING, SIFFRIN!!! Could he have phrased that any worse?!?!”
(Nils looks lost,)
“Uh- what?”
“Sorry!- I- Sorry!- thank you Nils, I just- I need to talk to Siffrin about this- I think- I think they were trying to explain something like this to me in their Loops and-”
(She does not seem any less confused, but looks mildly relieved,)
“Um- You’re fine! I’m glad I could help I guess??”
(Suddenly, your door flies open-)
(A very worried looking Siffrin stands in its wake.)
“Mira- You- you yelled? - i-is everything alright???”
“YOU.”
(Siffrin visibly goes from worried about you to worried for themselves.)
“Me???”
(He looks like a cat that just got caught digging through the trash.)
(You faintly hear Loop shouting from the far end of the hall,)
“Sounds like you’re in trouble Stardust~!”
(Nils slowly sneaks out of the room behind Siffrin, flashing you an awkward smile before she makes good her escape.)
(You take a breath and try to calm down- you don’t want to scare them- your emotions are just running high at the moment.)
“No- don’t freak out- I’m sorry I yelled- It’s just we need to talk- about… things.”
(They tilt their head in confusion slightly before getting a look of recognition-)
“Is- is it about um- spoilers??”
“Yes- no- maybe- probably??”
(He nods, as though that answer was in any way coherent, and gently shuts the door behind himself.)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(You wake to the sounds of a gentle wind against the ship.)
(As your mind stirs, you gather your most recent memories.)
(Siffrin, they explained what they had meant to say on the day you all beat the king.)
(It was a bit unsettling when you started to argue that you had to change- even if it might be okay for someone else not to.)
(You had barely finished explaining yourself before he recounted the story of the time where you apparently met the change god during the loops- he had told you about that before, back at The House-)
(…but you’d mostly forgotten the details with everything else that happened that day.)
(The Change God- they apparently promised you were doing fine just the way you were-)
(That you didn’t need to worry about not changing enough.)
(You have to repress tears at the thought-)
(You’re grinning.)
(You feel… lighter somehow.)
(You hear a sudden knock at your door-)
(Then Madame Odile’s voice,)
“Mirabelle, we’re almost to the edge of the field I think, we’re going to land to set up the experiments as soon as Loop can bring us down.”
(Your stomach turns to lead in an instant as you abruptly remember the thing you were attempting to forget.)
(The thought of Vaugarde’s encroaching fate brings a sudden pressure into your mind, an urgency to act that doesn’t quite belong to you.)
(…)
(You wonder what The Change God would think about this…)
(They were apparently proud of you from what Siffrin said…)
(…would they still be proud?)
(You’re going to be doing what the king did- hopefully not to quite such a massive extent- but still…)
(You decide that wondering about this probably isn’t a great idea… you’re stressed enough as it is.)
(The knocking comes again,)
“Mirabelle- are you awake in there?”
“Y-yes! Sorry, just please give me a moment Madame.”
-=-=-=====-=-=-
-=-=-=====-=-=-
Chapter 10: Uncontrolled Experiments, And The Risks Thereof
Notes:
Hey yall, really sorry this chapter took me so long, writing brain simply refused to cooperate. Anyways, at long last here's chapter 10 ^^
----------------
CONTENT WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
- Panic attack adjacent stuff? Not sure if anything here would fully qualify as one but ya know :P
- Sort of a reference to cannon-typical Loop deaths?
- A sad bon.
- If I missed anything pls let me know!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Bonnie
(The ship slowly creaks back and forth in a gentle breeze.)
(Your open cabin window lets some of it into your room.)
(The trees look super small from up here.)
(The ground is really, really far away.)
(You feel sad that Dile can’t look at this view, it’s pretty.)
(She pretty much hasn’t left her cabin since you all took off.)
(You think she even moved a big dresser to cover up her cabin window.)
(ow.)
(The ship turns slightly for a moment, and you get a headache.)
(You accidentally looked straight at it.)
(Dile and Za said that when you all reach the edge, they’re gonna set up some tests to see how to fight it.)
(. . .)
(Ughhhh your crabbing head hurts- and you know you’re supposed to just stop thinking about it, but trying not to think about it just makes you crabbing think about it!!!)
(. . .)
(You should do something else maybe.)
(Yeah! That’s what you’ll do, find something else to do so you don’t accidentally make your head hurt anymore.)
(You should make some food! A dessert- or snack or something!)
(That way you can distract yourself and everyone else from rude headaches!)
(…what should you make though?)
(Ah! You could make-)
(. . .)
(Ugh- crabbing brain.)
(Okay- doesn’t matter!)
(You can’t remember the name right now, but at least you remember how to make it!)
(The kitchen and dining room of the ship is bigger than the cabins, so there’s lots of room for all the supplies.)
(You get a few things ready and focus on the next step.)
(Okay, next ingredient is sugar!)
(You pick up the sack of sugar and carry it over towards the stove.)
(But when you open it, you see a slip of paper inside...)
(It’s a note.)
(…written in your own handwriting?)
(But you don’t remember writing it…)
(It says: “NO CARAMEL!!!!!”)
(Below the words is a drawing of Frin with a sad face.)
(Why would you write-)
(Crab- Your head hurts.)
(Okay. Nope, doesn’t matter why, so you don’t need to question it.)
(Past-Bonnie knew that making caramel would make Frin upset somehow - maybe the smell? That feels right somehow...)
(So, you will follow Past-Bonnie's wisdom and make something other than the flan you were gonna make!)
(. . .)
(Suddenly, you freeze as a realization hits you.)
(You obviously forgot because of the annoying-crab-forgetting-field-thingy.)
(And because that’s moving, you might forget more stuff.)
(Important stuff!)
(WHAT IF YOU FORGET ABOUT FRIN’S PINAPPLE ALLERGY?!?!)
(-Okay. No, calm down, you can make sure that you don’t forget!)
(You search for, and find a pencil to add onto the note with.)
(Satisfied that Future-Bonnie will get the message, even if you forget, you get started cooking a caramel-free dessert.)
Loop
(Flying the airship feels weird.)
(It’s not difficult or anything, but it requires just enough attention to constantly be devoted to moving the thing that it’s hard to think about anything else for very long.)
(And this obligatory concentration is made all the more annoying by the fact that you have to keep your eyes on where you’re trying to go.)
(Which as you’ve gotten closer to the edge, has made it increasingly difficult to not glance occasionally towards the boundary)
(The edge of the field isn’t quite invisible, it sort of looks distorted, like looking through the layer of air over a hot stove.)
(It makes the ground look like it’s rippling.)
(On one side of the ripple you can see farms, trees, and the occasional house.)
(And on the other, you can have a headache as your brain valiantly does its best to spite The Universe on your behalf and comprehend the unknowable.)
(Fortunately, you don’t have to endure this for very much longer, as within the hour you start to bring the ship down.)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(Once you’ve got it landed safely in an empty field, you move to let everyone know you’ve arrived.)
(You barely make it to the stairs before Odile- quickly followed by almost everyone else- climbed up to meet you.)
(It takes a few minutes for Odile and Isa to make sure everyone knows their assigned jobs and then they set off, leaving you and Bonbon alone on the ship for a little while.)
(You volunteered to be the “Emergency Get Away Pilot” in the event anything went wrong.)
(Not that you're really expecting anything to go wrong, you landed a good distance from where you think the field starts.)
(And Bonbon insisted they were busy making something for everyone when they got back.)
(You’re loyally standing at your post of the ship’s controls- (Playing with the spinny-wind-speed-thing) when you hear footsteps…)
(You see Bonbon coming up from below deck.)
(You watch as they glance around, but they don’t quite see you from behind one of the masts.)
(They look out over the railing towards the north.)
(They shake their head angrily and you catch a brief look at their expression, they’re crying.)
(Almost without any conscious decision making, you move away from the ship controls and make your way over.)
“Hey Bonbon- what’s up?”
(They turn to make sure you can’t see their face.)
“Nothin.”
(They do not sound convincing in the slightest.)
“Rrrrright.”
“Okay, well hypothetically, if you weren’t fine, what would be on your mind?”
(You’re mostly sure you already know what’s bothering them, but it’s probably better for them to tell you right?)
(They wipe the tears from their face and turn to look up at you,)
“How come you and Frin aren’t sad all the time?”
(The question takes you off guard and you’re not quite sure how to respond.)
“Uh- what?”
(They seem to be avoiding eye contact with you,)
“You both forget stuff all the time because your home is gone too- but you and him aren’t sad all the time.”
(Ah, okay. They want ~coping strategies~!)
(You are the wrong person to ask for advice on this topic.)
(An awkward moment passes as you try and come up with actually good advice.)
(You’re just about to give up, and recommend they seek advice from someone else-)
(But then they make eye contact.)
(The mixture of sorrow, fear, and hope on their face sends a pang through your chest.)
(Stars- you have to come up with something now.)
(Okay this is fine!)
(You can improv this!)
(What would a normal, sane person with good coping mechanisms recommend???)
(It occurs to you that had you spent longer trying to ask yourself that question earlier you might have a bit more sanity to spare.)
“Bonbon I- I uh, I’m not happy-”
“Not all the time anyways.”
“I just try and focus on-”
(Stars, you can not tell them that you just pretend to be happy, that’s a horrible piece of advice to give a child who’s morning the loss of their own memories.)
“I just try and stay positive~ Focus on the good things ya know?”
“And well, if I know my Stardust, and I do~ I’d assume it’s pretty much the same on their end too.”
(You try and gauge their reaction.)
(It’s mixed??)
(Did you at least get a passing grade in advice-giving?)
(…they seem conflicted.)
(Finally, they speak,)
“How come you call Frin star-dirt anyways?”
(Ah- okay! So maybe a partial success? You’ve at least managed to distract them!)
(You’re being helpful! - Helpful Loop, here to help!)
(Now just stick the landing and continue the distraction by answering the question!)
(You decide to just tell the truth.)
“Well, I couldn’t call them Siffrin, that’d just get confusing~”
“-and well, I guess it’s sort of a little joke?”
“Stardust is something stars leave behind when they die…”
“So, it’s really more accurate for me to be the stardust, since I died before he started looping and well I was sort of in denial about being the ‘true’ Siffrin ya know?”
“I guess I was sort of using it to deny the reality of my situati-”
(Stars- Stop. Stop. Stop! You’re making them sad again by talking about death! Blinding idiot!)
(Stars- they’re shaking now! You're doing the opposite of helping! DO SOMETHING ELSE!)
(Out of ideas, you act almost without thinking.)
(. . .)
(You awkwardly wrap your arms around them.)
(Someone told you how hugging helps calm people down-)
(You obviously know this on a factual level, but a memory comes to you in Nil’s voice,)
“…when Bonnie gets really upset, they sometimes shake like that- and when we hug they tend to feel better.”
(They feel like they’re shaking less too! Maybe it’s working then??)
(You feel their arms a wrap around you and- stars you can’t remember the last time you actually felt a real hug.)
(You hugged Bonbon in a weird wishcraft dream once- and Nil’s hugged you once- but you couldn’t feel anything at the time- and-)
(Feels warm.)
(You didn’t realize that you were panicking, but your own breathing seems to calm down too- stars we’re you having a breakdown over making them upset?!)
(You really suck at the whole emotional reassurance thing.)
(A few moments pass, and you separate.)
(Bonbon sniffles and mumbles something that you can’t quite make out that’s probably a thanks.)
“No problem Bonbon.”
“…So, wanna try a dessert I made?”
(You feel a smile on your face.)
(You’ve gotten used to a lot of physical sensations since you got your body back- but tasting good food is something that still feels novel every time.)
(And just about everything Bonbon makes is excellent.)
“I’d love to!”
Mirabelle
(Freezing things still feels so strange and unnatural.)
(At least for now you’re just freezing jars, land, and slips of paper.)
(You’re not quite sure how exactly the experiments will help, as every time Madame Odile or Isabeau tried to explain it to you, the anxiety of using The King’s power overwhelmed your thoughts.)
(But you trust they know what they’re doing, so you just freeze the things they tell you to and try not to dwell on the weird sense of excitement that starts to radiate through you.)
(It feels like you’re doing something right, on some deeper level than just trying to save Vaugarde, it’s like something enormous is pushing you to continue, keep freezing things.)
(The impulse fills you with dread.)
(When you all get back onto the Airship, Madame Odile looks disgusted by the prospect of taking off again.)
(But, with admirable bravery, she just sighs, and only hesitates for a moment before climbing up the ladder on the side of the ship.)
(She mutters something about going to her cabin to start recording the results from the experiments.)
(You figure she's probably just trying to get below deck before Loop can lift the ship again.)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
(You run your hand against the rough wood of the hallway to your room.)
(Suddenly, you hear shouting from Madame Odile’s room!-)
(The door at the end of the hallway is covered in beautiful and intricate carvings.)
(Wait- no- someone shouted, you should-)
(Your head feels fuzzy as you look at the carvings.)
(The patterns seem almost to shift and dance like the heat off rising from the ground on a hot summers day.)
(It looks pretty, or at least interesting.)
(…What-)
(What were you doing again?)
(You try to take a step forward.)
(But you’re not sure what direction that is anymore…)
(Something is wrong, you can tell, deep in your bones.)
(What’s a bone?)
(You try and yell for help.)
(But the words that escape your lips have had the meaning scrapped out of them.)
(The sounds make no sense.)
(Suddenly you feel sick.)
(A sudden, head splitting pressure builds in your mind.)
(It feels like you have too many people crammed into your skull.)
(They’re all screaming, terrified.)
(The chorus of agony cries out.)
(They cry out in tongues both familiar and foreign to you.)
(Most simply shout with words that are the shape of the vast nothing between the stars.)
(You realize with a mounting sense of disconnection from your own body that you’re terrified too.)
(One voice, louder than the others, shouts words of agony that taste like burning sugar.)
(He shouts in Vaugardian, and you watch as the night sky is ripped open by a streak of blinding light.)
(He shouts a denial, a desperate plea to hold back the unyielding will of The Universe.)
(The light in the sky grows brighter until it’s shade becomes unknowable, and yet for a moment you know it.)
(Suddenly- you’re back in the hallway- CHANGE!)
(The nerve melting, blood boiling pain is back.)
(Your legs give out, and you have to hold onto the wall for support.)
(And just as soon as you’ve caught yourself, you feel the burning pain course through your body, and the air suddenly grows sweet.)
(Not just a little sweet this time, sickeningly sweet.)
(You-)
(Your hands are glowing.)
(But- you didn’t do anything to cause that…)
(The air smells sweet.)
(You-)
(The last thing you see before you’re knocked unconscious, is everything growing dark, and the pretty, carved door of the airship, hurtling towards you as you fall forwards down the hallway.)
(As you come back to awareness, you feel like someone slammed a hammer against your head.)
(When you open your eyes- nothing makes sense.)
(Everything is dark- like it was in the house-)
(Like the countless places you had to travel through on your journey to defeat the king.)
(It takes longer than it probably should for your pounding head to register that information.)
(nononononono-)
(what?! WHY?!)
(You- okay- don’t panic.)
(Don’t panic! You just froze the whole airship in time!)
(Its fine! This is fine! You can undo this! Just- just find someone!)
(You shakily get to your feet and try to find someone.)
-=-=-=====-=-=-
-=-=-=====-=-=-
Notes:
No promises for when you can expect the next chapter sorry, my brain is being pulled in a few directions creatively at the moment, so I'll likely do some other stuff before i get to writing it :P
Also don't worry about the red on the map I'm sure it means nothing ^^
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MeikoMega on Chapter 1 Sat 27 Jul 2024 10:09PM UTC
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probably_not_a_mimic on Chapter 3 Wed 07 Aug 2024 03:38PM UTC
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