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[polarvoid]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 018.07.154.55 *** CHARACTER NAME/ALIAS has joined 018.07.154.55 <Daisy>This is Basil! I'm not around right now, but if you leave a message I'll get back to it as soon as I can. <BANNED USER> SCREENED MESSAGE. UNSCREEN? Y/N -- sample for when you ban someone <USERNAME> First sentence of message. <USERNAME> First sentence of message.

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<FLY> ▶️ ACTION

[jumpie]

i can do that
see you there in a bit

[ especially when it meant getting out of that empty apartment with too many shadows and creepy noises when he finds himself alone. shoyo never told anyone, but he’s even afraid to keep the lights off when he’s by himself. mochi didn’t give him much security, especially when she was just a pup.

this also meant that the kelpie was pretty fast to get there. he didn’t know where the spot was going to be, just that he had to be in the park. in a simple choice of shorts, t-shirt and autumn jersey, shoyo waits by pacing back and forth with a cake hound at the end of a simple leash.

at least he still had mochi. ]

[polarvoid]

[Fortunately, with his ability to fly, Basil gets there just as fast if not faster than Shoyo. He's still a little awkward about it though, which means Shoyo will hear the Gargoyle before he sees him as he tumbles into a tree-limb before managing a bit of a staggered landing, leaves stuck to his scales in places. He shakes his head, plucking them off with his claws as he trots forward, ears perking, then drooping again when he sees the Kelpie waiting for him.

For Basil's part, he's just wearing his usual overalls...except he's got a sweater on too, since it's colder out than normal.]

Shoyo! There you are...

[jumpie]

[ he's an easy spot on top of everything, since he's glow in the dark— but it's a giveaway to say that shoyo startles at the sound and movement before he realizes it's a friend instead of a giant bat or dragon! not startled enough to turn into a horse, thank god, but it is enough to make him shriek in an equine pitch. ]

Oh, Basil— [ thank god thank god thank god. shoyo breathes out and pats his chest to quell his heart. mochi already pulls on the leash with interest, and he follows along. ] You okay, dude? You hit the tree!

[polarvoid]

I-I'm fine! I'm just not very good at landing...

[He's gotten better at takeoff and staying in the air in general, but sticking the landing? He needs more practice.

BUT that isn't what matters right now. He shakes himself off as he approaches, looking appropriately apologetic for startling Shoyo so badly at least. And...

He'll offer Shoyo his hand to hold as they go. He's welcome to refuse it, but...he thinks it would make himself feel better right now, and if that's true, it might be true for Shoyo too. His hand is warm, but not overly so.]

Are...are you ready?

[jumpie]

[ shoyo takes a visible breath in, holds it, then out— and does not think long at all to accept the offer, taking the gargoyle's hand in his, palm to palm, thick black nails topping one side while claws cover the other. shoyo may seem a little clammy and humid to the touch in contrast, but it's easily remedied with only a few minutes of heat.

a lifeline. a reminder that they weren't alone. a reminder that— nothing was forever ruined if they didn't want it to be. before shoyo could feel the sting at the corners of his eyes, related to something still lodged in his heart and not what was at hand— he was sure to blink it away rapidly. ]

L-Let's go.

[ with a squeeze, the kelpie takes his first step. mochi walks right along with them. ]

This— This is Mochi. She would sleep on Sunny all the time, so I thought . . . She'd want to come check.

[ mochi is living her best dog life and doesn't know what's happening at all, but it's the thought that counts. ]

[polarvoid]

[Mochi...this isn't the first time Basil has seen the cake dogs, with how many of them are running around the Peninsula. His expression softens when he sees her, thinking about how much comfort she must have brought Sunny. It's like he had Mewo with him all over again.]

Hi Mochi...thank you for being Sunny and Shoyo's friend. It's been a long time since Sunny's had a pet...his family used to have a little black cat named Mewo. They went everywhere together.

[jumpie]

[ mochi is just doing her mochi thing . . . but if anything, her cake tail wags when spoken to! whether she understands or not is a mystery, but shoyo likes to think so as they walk. ]

I remember him saying he liked cats more than dogs . . . but he really likes Mochi. [ shoyo ends up gradually squeezing the hand he holds a little tighter as silence crawls over that. he's a little nervous. ] We're gonna find him.

[ wherever he is. ]

[polarvoid]

...I hope so. I don't like the thought of him being out by himself...especially here.

[Sunny is as damaged as he is. And mentally, Basil argues he's even more unwell. He's smart, he's capable of taking care of himself...but only to an extent.

The fact he disappeared without a trace is terrifying.]

[jumpie]

[ at least, with shoyo's night-glowing, they don't exactly need a flashlight. the path on the way to the graveyard is lit. shoyo remembers following some monsters there once during a festive time in the summer, but now was . . . different. they were probably the only ones there, in the night. dead of night. the closer they get to the gates, and the sight of tombstones,

shoyo's grip goes tighter. he's afraid of ghosts, the most. but more than feeling afraid of ghosts, he wants to find sunny. ]

Is there . . . A specific spot we have to look in?

[ or is it randomly placed? ]

[polarvoid]

It's...

[Basil frowns, his nose sniffing the air before he continues. The air is chilly now, and it would be a nice night if it weren't for...everything else.]

I'm not sure...where it might be, if he has a grave. We'll have to try checking as many as we can to make sure there isn't one.

[People from the same world seem to tend to end up clustered together, but since there's nobody else from Basil's world here...]

[jumpie]

. . . Alright.

[ the time has come, then. quietly, shoyo forces through a nod and starts at the very first row, walking close enough to the tombstones to light up the names with his natural lighting. they'd cover more ground quicker if they split, but. shoyo doesn't exactly want to do that, told by how he doesn't bring it up, nor does he stop pulling basil's hand along. ]

[polarvoid]

[And so they search for a while in silence. Stone after stone they pass, but his name doesn't come up. It...gives Basil a small glimmer of hope, for a time, as much as it fills him with dread. Because even if he isn't here, that means he's still missing. That something's wrong.

But somewhere in an upper corner of the graveyard, a bit off from the others, they start a row and Basil stops in his tracks. He stares, wide-eyed, at the gravestone that looks uncomfortably new, with a simple inscription of Sunny's name on it.]

...

[jumpie]

[ shoyo felt the same— it was building up to not being here, which could be good, in a way, if nothing else had happened. maybe he was just lost. maybe he dug a hole so big with his bunny claws that he was having a hard time getting out, or maybe he was just napping because that’s what he did a lot of the time.

shoyo double takes as basil stops; the amount of light from his skin’s grassy stains shining upon the grave doesn’t change the name on stone. sunny. it says sunny.

there’s silence. just silence, for a good long while, before shoyo’s wet voice breaks in with a crack: ]

. . . Oh.

[ it’s already a nasally, shivering “oh”, with fingers weaving into claws all the more tighter. ]

[polarvoid]

[Oh about sums up how Basil feels, too. Because seeing this, seeing this confirmation that Sunny isn't here? It makes him feel...

Well, bad for two reasons. The first being the more obvious, because it's Sunny. His best friend, Sunny, is gone after he had him here for several long months, just like that. After having spent almost an entire year in Ryslig all by himself, yet...

There's a sense of relief so immense his knees feel weak, and that makes him feel so guilty it makes him sick. Because their relationship had been broken. Tainted. Basil wanted to talk to Sunny, desperately, to if not fix things at least clear the air. And they had talked, but they didn't talk. They avoided each other mutually, nothing of import was said, nothing...had been worked out.

And now it's too late. The chance has been squandered, because back home, Basil isn't sure if closure would be possible. It certainly doesn't seem so, not anymore.

When Shoyo tightens his grip on Basil's hand, the Gargoyle returns the gesture, inhaling on a shaky breath of his own.]

I...I'm s-sorry, Sunny.

[jumpie]

[ shoyo goes from holding basil's hand to pulling it forward, in a gentle yank— all to have him guided into his arms in a hug around his shoulders and head. even as his tears run, shoyo's shaking inhale is held tight in his chest with the pat of his hands wherever they settle. he didn't know sunny as long, but he knew... they were trying to talk through something that wasn't clear.

as far as shoyo knew, they tried while they still had the chance to. ]

You did everything, it's okay—

[polarvoid]

[When Shoyo pulls Basil into a hug, he doesn't...immediately react to it like he might have any other time. He seems to be in a bit of a stupor currently, the only thing tearing his gaze from the headstone being the fact that Shoyo's chest and arms shield him from it. For as much as he'd expected this outcome, it's still...hard, accepting it.

And as if to convince himself of that, words suddenly come tumbling from his mouth, stuttered and frantic.]

I-it...it's better that he's not here, you know? I...it's not good here...

[He sucks in a shallow breath, blinking hard even though it does nothing to stem the flow of tears rushing down either side of his muzzle, pooling under his chin.]

He...he w-was going to move away...it...it's better......

[jumpie]

[ shoyo had basil when he most needed someone— now that basil is the one standing on that end, needing someone, he's going to be right there. rubbing the space between his wings in small circles, making his hug tighter but not suffocating; the back of his head is cupped, leading his snout to rest either on top of his shoulder or into the space between his chest and neck. ]

Yeah. Y, yeah, I get you. [ he's sad he isn't going to see him. he's sad that he's even feeling someways selfish, but he knows the best option wasn't here at all. ] Where was he going?

[polarvoid]

...I d-don't know.

[And that part was maybe what upset Basil the most, when he first learned about it. Because he didn't know if he'd ever see Sunny again...and the secret they'd been sitting on all of this time would remain buried for the rest of their lives. It was a haunting prospect to consider.]

Just...away. S-somewhere...he could get better.

[jumpie]

[ from the sleepwalking? no.

it was something more. but rather than pressing, shoyo pats the space between the gargoyle’s wings. ]

. . . I wanna think that’s where he is. Doing that. [ not in the ground, or in the stars. it’s like kaito said— what if? ] And maybe he is. I didn’t see a funeral. Did you?

[ or a ghost. for all they knew—

he really could’ve been elsewhere. it was comforting to think so. ]

[polarvoid]

[Basil shakes his head quickly, because the very last thing he wants to think about is something bad happening to Sunny.

Not him. Anyone but him.]

He has to be back home. ...he has to be.

[jumpie]

[ shoyo hopes that there's some loophole they don't know about. that there's just something they don't know and . . . that he really has returned. because that meant that maybe one day— they'd go back home too, right? ]

Want me to walk you home, or— Wanna stay here a bit more?

[polarvoid]

[It takes Basil a moment to answer, mostly because he feels like he should stay, even though he really isn't sure he wants to.]

...n...no. We can go home.

[And he's not sure he can go home by himself, like this. He's thankful Shoyo is willing to walk with him, really.]

we can call that a wrap maybe! 🧡

[jumpie]

. . . I gotcha’.

[ shoyo does the same thing basil did when they met up: he searches, finds the gargoyle’s hand, and keeps it tight in his, leading the way in the night of the moon and the glow of his skin and fur. he keeps close to him, checks on him— makes sure they’re not getting lost in their thoughts.

it’s awfully quiet, except for some possible back-and-forth, but other than that? it still felt like mourning, no matter how hard they tried to make it like that. ]