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[OOM] Day Eighty.
Aug. 20th, 2018 11:41 pmEvery time Eden expects the throbbing pain in his eye to go away, it intensifies, giving him a few moments of stabbing agony to helpfully remind him that it’s there. It’s worse still when he looks directly at Donald, Goofy, or -- worse of all -- Mickey, as if the thread of confusion and chaos they add to his worldview is taking physical form as a chisel to the skull.
They’re tracking Chirithy’s estimation of where the remaining blocks are, heading away from the shimmering white castle and deeper into the forest, when a man nearly collides with them on the road.
“Ah, terribly sorry,” the man says, cradling the package he’s holding protectively. “I was barely looking where I was going. At the prince’s orders, I’ve been searching far and wide for the maiden whom this glass slipper fi -- …”
“Cool, don’t care,” Eden says, waving him off.
“Maybe we could take a little time to help the guy out,” Goofy protests.
“Nah, no, that doesn’t -- that doesn’t seem like it’d help us much.”
---
When they track the blocks to their source, they find a house almost in ruins, with a young woman crouching in the wreckage, clutching a glass slipper to her chest, while three keybearers -- Arty, Kuja, and the red-haired boy, Eden realises after a moment -- do battle with some kind of wasp-woman Heartless.
Arty lands near them, scraping her heels across the ground as she slows to a stop, then lifting her head proudly.
“Well, well, well,” she says, thinly. “If it isn’t our favourite Leopardos -- …”
“Duck,” Eden says.
Arty blinks, then ducks as a stinger flies through the air where her head had been a few moments ago.
“Well, well, well,” she says, a little more insistently, as she straightens up. “If it isn’t -- …”
“Look, I’m in a lot of pain. My eye feels like it’s about to explode,” Eden says, flatly. “You can have the Heartless, I don’t care, I’m just here looking for some blocks.”
Arty snorts derisively. “And you think we’ll just let you leave without exacting vengeance for -- …”
“We live in the same town. You can exact vengeance for Mateus whenever you feel like it.”
Arty considers this for a moment. “... That is a fair point. Good hunting.”
“And to you too. May your heart be your guiding key, et cetera.”
As Arty leaps back into the fray, Eden starts rummaging through bushes, tossing blocks back to Donald and Goofy as he does so.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t help? We’re all on the same side, after all,” Mickey says, frowning.
“We’re not on the same side at all. We’re on Team Block-Hunt, and they’re on Team Heartless-Murder. Those are entirely different sides,” Eden says. “Chirithy, how many blocks are around here?”
Nearby, the wasp Heartless summons a hail of knitting needles, cackling as it bombards Arty with them. Eden notices Mickey shifting in place, clearly unsure as to whether to intervene.
“Only a few. Many of the blocks which were here have already been taken by enterprising Heartless, it would seem,” Chirithy says, appearing on Eden’s shoulder. “Although I suspect if we follow the trail of marshmallowy vehicles we’ll find everything we need.”
“I don’t like this scavenger hunt,” Eden says, thoughtfully. “This is a bad scavenger hunt. I don’t know how the Heartless are building all this stuff.”
---
Chirithy leads them further away from the castle, deeper into the forest, until they eventually find what they’re looking for.
It’s made of the same black gummi blocks as the flying machine -- some kind of large, mechanical beast with a Heartless sat in a cockpit on its head, operating it with gleeful abandon.
“... Is that a lion?” Mickey asks.
“Gawrsh, that’s really somethin’,” Goofy adds. Donald lets out a string of incomprehensible noises that sound like agreement.
The Gummi Lion roars and starts forward, speeding towards them, only for the wasp Heartless to come crashing out of the forest, slamming directly into its face.
”Out of my way,” Arty growls, speeding past Eden, raising her keyblade to the heavens. “Limit Break: Sorceress Heart.”
Eden feels time stutter around them for a moment, before a barrage of crystalline spikes slam into wasp Heartless and Gummi Lion both. As the wasp fades into black smoke, the Lion turns tail, roaring as it opens and dives into an inky Corridor of Darkness.
“He’s getting away!” Mickey yells.
“Chirithy, where’s he going?” Eden asks, rubbing at his eye with the heel of his palm. The pain seems to be intensifying again. He feels unsteady on his feet.
“He’s headed to Daybreak Town itself,” Chirithy murmurs. “And I detect four other gummi machines converging on the town.”
“Fine. Open a Corridor for us,” Eden says, and cants his head at Arty. “Wanna come save the town with us?”
“Perish in flames, Leopardos,” Arty replies.
“Reasonable. Have a nice day.”
---
They emerge from the Corridor in the fountain plaza, just in time to see the Gummi Lion flying above the town.
With a roar, four inky spots appear across town, yawning wide enough to admit four other lions, each one a different colour, each one made from the blocky, marshmallowy Gummi material, each one piloted by a tiny, chittering Heartless.
As each one arrives, the pain in Eden’s eye seems to amplify, blossoming into a white hot ball throbbing inside his skull. He settles his hand over his eye with a grimace, hunching his shoulders a little, keeping his other eye on the central, black beast.
One by one, the lions start to fold in on themselves, fitting together into legs, arms, a torso with wings, and lined up across the chest all five tiny, shadowy pilots, miming out the actions of their Gummi mech as it struck a pose above the town.
“I respect these Heartless. Their teamwork is very inspiring,” Eden says, mildly. “And I am still going to murder all of them to literal, actual death. What about you, Your -- …”
He glances to one side. The King, Donald, and Goofy have all gone, and he realises a moment later that they’re all fighting the massive Gummi Mech, in a fray of keyblades, flailing lion arms, magic, shields, and synchronised Heartless.
“Huh.”
---
Eden swears the Gummi Mech keeps forming new parts out of somewhere. It pulls a sword from its weird lion hands. It summons shoulder guns. At one point, it develops giant booster wings and soars around town while the four of them desperately try to keep up, before Eden manages to toss Goofy at it with a Hastega-boosted throw.
Eventually, a shield strike to the head from Goofy manages to force the mech to the ground, which is all Eden needs.
He pulls the Regnant card, with its gilded image of a deer on the front, and sweeps it across his keyblade, the shape of a stag materialising out of fog at his side before slamming its hooves against the rooftop they’re standing on, the tiles exploding outwards as heavy vines start bursting through them, spreading down the side of the building and over the ground before tearing free to wrap around the Gummi Mech’s legs.
Mickey takes a deep breath, raising his keyblade upwards as a web of light spreads from his feet, resolving into the shape of a magic circle.
With a deafening crash, he brings a pillar of light crashing down onto the Gummi Mech’s back, forcing it to its knees and shattering its cockpit window.
Eden pushes off the rooftop, clearing the distance in a split second to land in the cockpit, swinging his keyblade about. One by one, each of the Heartless vanishes into black mist and, with an almighty crack, the Gummi Mech splits apart, turning to fist-sized, doughy blocks, raining down on the plaza as Eden lands.
“Right. Everyone, start collecting blocks! We need to finish off this spaceship,” Eden calls, as the pain in his eye finally starts to subside, just a little.
---
This time around, finally, Donald and Goofy seem to manage to build something that will at least fly them out of town.
“Once you’re out in the lanes between worlds, head straight to Traverse Town, between the realms of light and darkness,” Mickey says to them. “There’s no time to lose.”
“But couldn’t we also bring some of the keyblade guys here along?” Goofy asks. “Seems like they -- …”
“It’s better that you forget about this place,” Chirithy says, from atop Eden’s shoulder. Eden’s gaze flicks over to Chirithy for a moment, then back towards the three. “We can hardly help you on your mission, whatever it may be.”
“Gawrsh, well, okay,” Goofy says, brow furrowing in confusion. “Thanks for all your help, Eden! We’ll have to come back and see you sometime!”
“Just try not to crash your ship this time,” Eden says, dryly. “Be seeing you.”
They spend a few more minutes saying their goodbyes, before Goofy and Donald walk into the ship, shutting the doors behind them and lifting off. A distortion ripples across the sky before another tear open, sending lances of pain rippling through Eden’s head, before the ship vanishes into it and the tear knits shut behind it.
Mickey breathes out slowly. “I should be going too.”
“Still not going to tell me what’s got you so spooked, huh, Your Majesty?” Eden asks, grinning slowly. “I guess I can’t make you share your secrets.”
Mickey laughs quietly, shaking his head. “Truth is, I’m as confused as you are. Just -- maybe for different reasons,” he says. “At first I thought it was the Star Shard that brought me here, but I realise now that something else drew me in. The same thing that pulled Donald and Goofy down into this world. Whatever it was, it wanted us to see something, or -- maybe it just wanted to see us.”
Eden sighs, folding his arms. “You’re worse than Chirithy, I swear.”
“Sorry.”
“Just tell me one thing. Call it payment for helping you guys,” Eden says. “Daybreak Town. You were going to say something about it when you first arrived, right?”
“Eden -- …” Chirithy says, warningly.
“Daybreak Town doesn’t exist,” Mickey says. “It hasn’t existed for thousands of years. The world where it used to stand is nothing but a barren wasteland. There isn’t even a trace of the town left on it.”
Chirithy opens his mouth to say something. Eden raises a hand, indicating that he be quiet. Mickey glances between them for a moment, then turns, pulling a glimmering object from his jacket.
“I’ve said too much. And I’m on as much of a deadline as Donald and Goofy,” he says. “Thank you for your help, Eden. And just remember that whatever happens, you have friends in Disney Town.”
He raises the object, and its glow expands to engulf him, rocketing him into the sky. Another tear opens to let him through, then shuts again. There is a short moment as the world seems to shift, repairing itself.
Eden feels the pain in his eye start to ease, bit by bit.
“Eden, about what he said -- …” Chirithy starts.
“I’m tired. Let’s sleep.”
---
Foreteller Invi watches the fountain plaza from the window of a nearby building, as the King vanishes in a flash of light.
“The interlopers are finally gone, then,” her Chirithy murmurs, drawing up alongside her. “Are you still in pain, my lady?”
Invi presses a hand to her chest. “Yes,” she says. “But it’s passing.”
“That is good to hear,” Chirithy says. “Tomorrow, it’ll be as if none of this ever happened.”
Invi shakes her head. “I need to inform Ira. If the Traitor has enough power to do this, then we’re short on time -- and the implications of a keybearer outside of Daybreak Town could change everything about how we do things. This could avert catastrophe.”
“Lady Invi,” Chirithy says, softly. “Perhaps it is better that you simply forget.”
Invi stops, momentarily disorientated, reaching a hand up to touch her forehead as she finds her footing. Then: “... Why am I here? I was at the lighthouse, and then …”
Chirithy hops onto her shoulder. “I fear you’ve been overworking yourself. I must insist you get some rest.”
“I … Yes, I suppose I should, but …” Invi frowns. “There were people, weren’t there? Three people I didn’t recognise.”
“We’ve had no new arrivals to the town since the latest addition to Leopardos Union, my lady,” Chirithy says. “In fact, I’d say the town is unusually quiet today.”
“Then I suppose there’s no harm in resting.”
“Not at all.”
---
Mog is wiping down the counter of his store when the Black Chirithy materialises along a shelf, pacing about above him, the red buttons of his eyes catching the light.
“You. What do you want?” Mog asks, trying not to look at the Black Chirithy, doing his best to seem nonchalant as he works.
“Here to congratulate you on making a few new friends,” the Black Chirithy says. “Donald and Goofy, was it?”
Mog snorts. “So, you were the ones who brought them here.”
“No. In fact, I’d say that bringing them here was a tremendously bad idea,” the Black Chirithy says. “Call it a passing whim of my master’s. Their curiosity got the better of them, shall we say.”
Mog makes a derisive sound in the back of his throat.
“Still, their caprice leaves me with the duty of cleaning up after them, as ever,” the Black Chirithy says. “It is high time you forget, Mog.”
Mog’s paw pauses on the worktop for a moment, as the world seems to swerve and spin about him. When it finally stills, he finds himself staring into the Black Chirithy’s face, eyes locked on the buttons sewn into its face.
“You. What do you want?” Mog asks.
The Black Chirithy gives a short chuckle. “Here to congratulate you on making a few new friends.”
Mog snorts. “I have no idea what you mean. I don’t think I’ve even had any customers today.”
“My mistake,” the Black Chirithy says. “I’ll be taking my leave, then.”
With a flicker of smoke, he vanishes, leaving Mog rattled and alone.
---
“Y’know, my headache’s starting to calm down,” Eden says to Chirithy as they arrive back at the dorm. “Guess I should make up for that lost sleep, huh?”
“I suppose so,” Chirithy says, hopping onto a table. “Now that the -- outside elements are gone and the tears are closing, you should feel a lot better before long.”
Eden tilts his head, reaching into his jacket. “Well, those outside elements aren’t all gone.”
He pulls a small, marshmallowy black block from his jacket, giving it a quick spin across his palm. Chirithy brow furrows: He hadn’t seen Eden pocket that, which meant that the keybearer must have waited until he was distracted.
“And what, pray, do you want that for?” Chirithy asks.
“Oh, just an experiment. Call it my attempt to confirm a theory,” Eden says. “Given what His Majesty said, I think there’s a few possibilities that bear exploring.”
“Quite so,” Chirithy says, and raises a paw. “But for now, you should give me that block and forget about what the King said.”
Eden blinks at him for a moment. Chirithy holds out his paw for the block, palm upwards. Eden lifts his hand to drop the block into it, pauses, then curls his fingers tighter around it. As Chirithy glances up to make eye contact, he sees Eden’s grin turn sly.
“Forget?” Eden asks, and there’s something in his voice, and the way his sly grin doesn’t reach his eyes, that forces Chirithy to remind himself that the keybearer isn’t capable of anger, not really. “They were three talking animals, Chirithy. I fought a giant lionbot. Arty fought a wasp. I won’t be forgetting that for a while.”
Chirithy doesn’t say anything as Eden draws his hand back, putting the block back in his pocket. The keybearer holds his gaze for a few more seconds, then winks at him. It’s the opposite of comforting.
“Ah, I’m tired, man,” Eden says, voice suddenly whiny, as he stretches and rolls out his shoulders. “Wake me up in a week, okay?”
He meanders back to the room and shuts the door behind him, and for the first time since he arrived, Chirithy decides not to follow him.
They’re tracking Chirithy’s estimation of where the remaining blocks are, heading away from the shimmering white castle and deeper into the forest, when a man nearly collides with them on the road.
“Ah, terribly sorry,” the man says, cradling the package he’s holding protectively. “I was barely looking where I was going. At the prince’s orders, I’ve been searching far and wide for the maiden whom this glass slipper fi -- …”
“Cool, don’t care,” Eden says, waving him off.
“Maybe we could take a little time to help the guy out,” Goofy protests.
“Nah, no, that doesn’t -- that doesn’t seem like it’d help us much.”
When they track the blocks to their source, they find a house almost in ruins, with a young woman crouching in the wreckage, clutching a glass slipper to her chest, while three keybearers -- Arty, Kuja, and the red-haired boy, Eden realises after a moment -- do battle with some kind of wasp-woman Heartless.
Arty lands near them, scraping her heels across the ground as she slows to a stop, then lifting her head proudly.
“Well, well, well,” she says, thinly. “If it isn’t our favourite Leopardos -- …”
“Duck,” Eden says.
Arty blinks, then ducks as a stinger flies through the air where her head had been a few moments ago.
“Well, well, well,” she says, a little more insistently, as she straightens up. “If it isn’t -- …”
“Look, I’m in a lot of pain. My eye feels like it’s about to explode,” Eden says, flatly. “You can have the Heartless, I don’t care, I’m just here looking for some blocks.”
Arty snorts derisively. “And you think we’ll just let you leave without exacting vengeance for -- …”
“We live in the same town. You can exact vengeance for Mateus whenever you feel like it.”
Arty considers this for a moment. “... That is a fair point. Good hunting.”
“And to you too. May your heart be your guiding key, et cetera.”
As Arty leaps back into the fray, Eden starts rummaging through bushes, tossing blocks back to Donald and Goofy as he does so.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t help? We’re all on the same side, after all,” Mickey says, frowning.
“We’re not on the same side at all. We’re on Team Block-Hunt, and they’re on Team Heartless-Murder. Those are entirely different sides,” Eden says. “Chirithy, how many blocks are around here?”
Nearby, the wasp Heartless summons a hail of knitting needles, cackling as it bombards Arty with them. Eden notices Mickey shifting in place, clearly unsure as to whether to intervene.
“Only a few. Many of the blocks which were here have already been taken by enterprising Heartless, it would seem,” Chirithy says, appearing on Eden’s shoulder. “Although I suspect if we follow the trail of marshmallowy vehicles we’ll find everything we need.”
“I don’t like this scavenger hunt,” Eden says, thoughtfully. “This is a bad scavenger hunt. I don’t know how the Heartless are building all this stuff.”
Chirithy leads them further away from the castle, deeper into the forest, until they eventually find what they’re looking for.
It’s made of the same black gummi blocks as the flying machine -- some kind of large, mechanical beast with a Heartless sat in a cockpit on its head, operating it with gleeful abandon.
“... Is that a lion?” Mickey asks.
“Gawrsh, that’s really somethin’,” Goofy adds. Donald lets out a string of incomprehensible noises that sound like agreement.
The Gummi Lion roars and starts forward, speeding towards them, only for the wasp Heartless to come crashing out of the forest, slamming directly into its face.
”Out of my way,” Arty growls, speeding past Eden, raising her keyblade to the heavens. “Limit Break: Sorceress Heart.”
Eden feels time stutter around them for a moment, before a barrage of crystalline spikes slam into wasp Heartless and Gummi Lion both. As the wasp fades into black smoke, the Lion turns tail, roaring as it opens and dives into an inky Corridor of Darkness.
“He’s getting away!” Mickey yells.
“Chirithy, where’s he going?” Eden asks, rubbing at his eye with the heel of his palm. The pain seems to be intensifying again. He feels unsteady on his feet.
“He’s headed to Daybreak Town itself,” Chirithy murmurs. “And I detect four other gummi machines converging on the town.”
“Fine. Open a Corridor for us,” Eden says, and cants his head at Arty. “Wanna come save the town with us?”
“Perish in flames, Leopardos,” Arty replies.
“Reasonable. Have a nice day.”
They emerge from the Corridor in the fountain plaza, just in time to see the Gummi Lion flying above the town.
With a roar, four inky spots appear across town, yawning wide enough to admit four other lions, each one a different colour, each one made from the blocky, marshmallowy Gummi material, each one piloted by a tiny, chittering Heartless.
As each one arrives, the pain in Eden’s eye seems to amplify, blossoming into a white hot ball throbbing inside his skull. He settles his hand over his eye with a grimace, hunching his shoulders a little, keeping his other eye on the central, black beast.
One by one, the lions start to fold in on themselves, fitting together into legs, arms, a torso with wings, and lined up across the chest all five tiny, shadowy pilots, miming out the actions of their Gummi mech as it struck a pose above the town.
“I respect these Heartless. Their teamwork is very inspiring,” Eden says, mildly. “And I am still going to murder all of them to literal, actual death. What about you, Your -- …”
He glances to one side. The King, Donald, and Goofy have all gone, and he realises a moment later that they’re all fighting the massive Gummi Mech, in a fray of keyblades, flailing lion arms, magic, shields, and synchronised Heartless.
“Huh.”
Eden swears the Gummi Mech keeps forming new parts out of somewhere. It pulls a sword from its weird lion hands. It summons shoulder guns. At one point, it develops giant booster wings and soars around town while the four of them desperately try to keep up, before Eden manages to toss Goofy at it with a Hastega-boosted throw.
Eventually, a shield strike to the head from Goofy manages to force the mech to the ground, which is all Eden needs.
He pulls the Regnant card, with its gilded image of a deer on the front, and sweeps it across his keyblade, the shape of a stag materialising out of fog at his side before slamming its hooves against the rooftop they’re standing on, the tiles exploding outwards as heavy vines start bursting through them, spreading down the side of the building and over the ground before tearing free to wrap around the Gummi Mech’s legs.
Mickey takes a deep breath, raising his keyblade upwards as a web of light spreads from his feet, resolving into the shape of a magic circle.
With a deafening crash, he brings a pillar of light crashing down onto the Gummi Mech’s back, forcing it to its knees and shattering its cockpit window.
Eden pushes off the rooftop, clearing the distance in a split second to land in the cockpit, swinging his keyblade about. One by one, each of the Heartless vanishes into black mist and, with an almighty crack, the Gummi Mech splits apart, turning to fist-sized, doughy blocks, raining down on the plaza as Eden lands.
“Right. Everyone, start collecting blocks! We need to finish off this spaceship,” Eden calls, as the pain in his eye finally starts to subside, just a little.
This time around, finally, Donald and Goofy seem to manage to build something that will at least fly them out of town.
“Once you’re out in the lanes between worlds, head straight to Traverse Town, between the realms of light and darkness,” Mickey says to them. “There’s no time to lose.”
“But couldn’t we also bring some of the keyblade guys here along?” Goofy asks. “Seems like they -- …”
“It’s better that you forget about this place,” Chirithy says, from atop Eden’s shoulder. Eden’s gaze flicks over to Chirithy for a moment, then back towards the three. “We can hardly help you on your mission, whatever it may be.”
“Gawrsh, well, okay,” Goofy says, brow furrowing in confusion. “Thanks for all your help, Eden! We’ll have to come back and see you sometime!”
“Just try not to crash your ship this time,” Eden says, dryly. “Be seeing you.”
They spend a few more minutes saying their goodbyes, before Goofy and Donald walk into the ship, shutting the doors behind them and lifting off. A distortion ripples across the sky before another tear open, sending lances of pain rippling through Eden’s head, before the ship vanishes into it and the tear knits shut behind it.
Mickey breathes out slowly. “I should be going too.”
“Still not going to tell me what’s got you so spooked, huh, Your Majesty?” Eden asks, grinning slowly. “I guess I can’t make you share your secrets.”
Mickey laughs quietly, shaking his head. “Truth is, I’m as confused as you are. Just -- maybe for different reasons,” he says. “At first I thought it was the Star Shard that brought me here, but I realise now that something else drew me in. The same thing that pulled Donald and Goofy down into this world. Whatever it was, it wanted us to see something, or -- maybe it just wanted to see us.”
Eden sighs, folding his arms. “You’re worse than Chirithy, I swear.”
“Sorry.”
“Just tell me one thing. Call it payment for helping you guys,” Eden says. “Daybreak Town. You were going to say something about it when you first arrived, right?”
“Eden -- …” Chirithy says, warningly.
“Daybreak Town doesn’t exist,” Mickey says. “It hasn’t existed for thousands of years. The world where it used to stand is nothing but a barren wasteland. There isn’t even a trace of the town left on it.”
Chirithy opens his mouth to say something. Eden raises a hand, indicating that he be quiet. Mickey glances between them for a moment, then turns, pulling a glimmering object from his jacket.
“I’ve said too much. And I’m on as much of a deadline as Donald and Goofy,” he says. “Thank you for your help, Eden. And just remember that whatever happens, you have friends in Disney Town.”
He raises the object, and its glow expands to engulf him, rocketing him into the sky. Another tear opens to let him through, then shuts again. There is a short moment as the world seems to shift, repairing itself.
Eden feels the pain in his eye start to ease, bit by bit.
“Eden, about what he said -- …” Chirithy starts.
“I’m tired. Let’s sleep.”
Foreteller Invi watches the fountain plaza from the window of a nearby building, as the King vanishes in a flash of light.
“The interlopers are finally gone, then,” her Chirithy murmurs, drawing up alongside her. “Are you still in pain, my lady?”
Invi presses a hand to her chest. “Yes,” she says. “But it’s passing.”
“That is good to hear,” Chirithy says. “Tomorrow, it’ll be as if none of this ever happened.”
Invi shakes her head. “I need to inform Ira. If the Traitor has enough power to do this, then we’re short on time -- and the implications of a keybearer outside of Daybreak Town could change everything about how we do things. This could avert catastrophe.”
“Lady Invi,” Chirithy says, softly. “Perhaps it is better that you simply forget.”
Invi stops, momentarily disorientated, reaching a hand up to touch her forehead as she finds her footing. Then: “... Why am I here? I was at the lighthouse, and then …”
Chirithy hops onto her shoulder. “I fear you’ve been overworking yourself. I must insist you get some rest.”
“I … Yes, I suppose I should, but …” Invi frowns. “There were people, weren’t there? Three people I didn’t recognise.”
“We’ve had no new arrivals to the town since the latest addition to Leopardos Union, my lady,” Chirithy says. “In fact, I’d say the town is unusually quiet today.”
“Then I suppose there’s no harm in resting.”
“Not at all.”
Mog is wiping down the counter of his store when the Black Chirithy materialises along a shelf, pacing about above him, the red buttons of his eyes catching the light.
“You. What do you want?” Mog asks, trying not to look at the Black Chirithy, doing his best to seem nonchalant as he works.
“Here to congratulate you on making a few new friends,” the Black Chirithy says. “Donald and Goofy, was it?”
Mog snorts. “So, you were the ones who brought them here.”
“No. In fact, I’d say that bringing them here was a tremendously bad idea,” the Black Chirithy says. “Call it a passing whim of my master’s. Their curiosity got the better of them, shall we say.”
Mog makes a derisive sound in the back of his throat.
“Still, their caprice leaves me with the duty of cleaning up after them, as ever,” the Black Chirithy says. “It is high time you forget, Mog.”
Mog’s paw pauses on the worktop for a moment, as the world seems to swerve and spin about him. When it finally stills, he finds himself staring into the Black Chirithy’s face, eyes locked on the buttons sewn into its face.
“You. What do you want?” Mog asks.
The Black Chirithy gives a short chuckle. “Here to congratulate you on making a few new friends.”
Mog snorts. “I have no idea what you mean. I don’t think I’ve even had any customers today.”
“My mistake,” the Black Chirithy says. “I’ll be taking my leave, then.”
With a flicker of smoke, he vanishes, leaving Mog rattled and alone.
“Y’know, my headache’s starting to calm down,” Eden says to Chirithy as they arrive back at the dorm. “Guess I should make up for that lost sleep, huh?”
“I suppose so,” Chirithy says, hopping onto a table. “Now that the -- outside elements are gone and the tears are closing, you should feel a lot better before long.”
Eden tilts his head, reaching into his jacket. “Well, those outside elements aren’t all gone.”
He pulls a small, marshmallowy black block from his jacket, giving it a quick spin across his palm. Chirithy brow furrows: He hadn’t seen Eden pocket that, which meant that the keybearer must have waited until he was distracted.
“And what, pray, do you want that for?” Chirithy asks.
“Oh, just an experiment. Call it my attempt to confirm a theory,” Eden says. “Given what His Majesty said, I think there’s a few possibilities that bear exploring.”
“Quite so,” Chirithy says, and raises a paw. “But for now, you should give me that block and forget about what the King said.”
Eden blinks at him for a moment. Chirithy holds out his paw for the block, palm upwards. Eden lifts his hand to drop the block into it, pauses, then curls his fingers tighter around it. As Chirithy glances up to make eye contact, he sees Eden’s grin turn sly.
“Forget?” Eden asks, and there’s something in his voice, and the way his sly grin doesn’t reach his eyes, that forces Chirithy to remind himself that the keybearer isn’t capable of anger, not really. “They were three talking animals, Chirithy. I fought a giant lionbot. Arty fought a wasp. I won’t be forgetting that for a while.”
Chirithy doesn’t say anything as Eden draws his hand back, putting the block back in his pocket. The keybearer holds his gaze for a few more seconds, then winks at him. It’s the opposite of comforting.
“Ah, I’m tired, man,” Eden says, voice suddenly whiny, as he stretches and rolls out his shoulders. “Wake me up in a week, okay?”
He meanders back to the room and shuts the door behind him, and for the first time since he arrived, Chirithy decides not to follow him.
