[PLOT][SOLO] Hall of Lost Souls (Cosme, Citlali)

[Menelie]

Cosme had finished a productive morning at the City open-air market selling wine by the bottle. After he'd packed everything up, he bought lunch at a fellow vendor's stall and found a shady spot to eat it.

Afterward, since he didn't want to fly home during the midday heat, he decided to explore the City a bit. He found himself at the Catacombs, which he'd heard about but never visited. It was quiet down here, and nice and cool. He found himself walking around, looking at things as if he were in a museum. This was obviously a hallowed place, and he trod carefully, respectfully. He kept his wings folded and his hands clasped in front of him so as not to disturb anything accidentally.
He made his way to a section of the Catacombs which had a number of life-sized statues. He passed through an archway with the words Hall of Lost Souls on top.

"Hall of Lost Souls?" he mused aloud. "Seems like they're not lost...they're all right here." He wondered if pae paid visits to loved ones here. He walked the rows and rows of statues. They all had such personality! He wondered if some sculptor had taken the time to create all these works of art.

Cosme wandered the rows of statues, enjoying the cool air. He paused in front of one. He felt a pull toward it, somehow. He took a step back and looked at the statue. The figure was seated cross-legged, and had a book in his lap. Cosme tilted his head and stepped back closer, trying to see the figure's face, which was looking down at the book. Once he got a good look, he yelped and stumbled backward.

He sat on the ground, the color drained from his face, breath coming heavily. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.  

[Menelie]

Which he had.

Cosme closed his eyes and shook his head. No way. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he stood again and to get another look at the statue. It couldn't be him, right? He took another look and his blood ran cold.

It was him. There was no mistaking that face.

Cosme sucked in his breath. "Oh, brother." He ran a hand through his hair. "Citlali, how did you end up here?" Nobody had seen or heard from Citlali in seasons, ever since he'd left to study in the City. Cosme had been a little offended that he'd never written, even after Cosme himself had tried to send letters to his brother. He'd started to assume that Citlali didn't want to associate with them anymore. Now he knew what had really happened. "How long have you been here, buddy?" he asked, leaning on the pedestal and putting his hand on the statue's head. He remembered Citlali's shocking magenta hair, now grey stone. "You should've come home, man. I dunno what happened, but you should've come home. I wish you'd have come home."

Something seemed to shift in the statue. Cosme felt it, and he leapt back with a mumbled expletive. What in the hell?

He watched as something changed about his brother's statue. He almost thought he could see Citlali's purple skin and pink hair coming through....but that wasn't possible, was it?

And yet, as he watched, the grey faded, and slowly Citlali came back to life.  

[Menelie]

Citlali looked around, brow furrowed, as if he'd been sleeping and had awoken in a new place. "Cosme?" he asked, confused. He closed his book and slid down off the pedestal. "Where are we?"

Cosme only just waited until his brother's feet had touched the ground before forcefully embracing him. "Guardians, Chal! How long have you been here?"

Citlali blinked. "Cos, I don't even know where 'here' is. What are you talking about?"

Cosme pulled away but still hung onto Citlali's shoulders. "I dunno, exactly. It's part of the Catacombs, in the City. You were a statue, man!" He gestured around them with one hand. He was....slightly worried he might turn back into a statue if they hung around. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I'll get you something to eat."

Citlali looked rather alarmed to hear that he'd been a statue, but nodded and followed his brother out of the Catacombs. The warm sunlight hit his skin and he instantly felt more himself. He stretched his arms over his head and fluttered his wings. He didn't recognize anything.

"So where's your place at, Chal?" asked Cosme. "We'll pick something up in the market and head back there."

"My place?" asked Citlali. He looked around. "I don't...." He frowned, brow furrowing. "I don't know, I..." Where was his place? Did he have a place? Where were they? He looked back at Cosme, feeling slightly panicked. "Cos....I don't....I don't remember anything. I mean.....I remember you? But I don't..." he looked around again. "I don't know where I am, or what I was doing down there, or....anything before you woke me up."

Cosme, sensing that Citlali was beginning to reel, steered them toward a bench and sat down. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he said, trying to be the calm one here. "It'll come back, yeah? Let's get some food in you, and you can come back to Koehaira with me until you remember, ok?" He chanced a smile and tousled Citlali's hair. "Everyone's gonna be real excited to see you. We haven't seen you in seasons. So much has changed since you left for the City!" He hadn't realized how much he'd missed his brother until this moment.

The pair returned to the same market stall Cosme had bought his lunch from, and got Citlali a hearty meal as well. After he finished, Cosme and Citlali gathered up Cosme's things and started the flight home to Koehaira.