[PRP] Homeward Bound (Gloom & Jamie) [FIN]

[azuredreams]

The music box only stayed visible for a short time before it was eventually swallowed up by the shadows, disappearing back into them. They did continue to glitter strangely, wisping upward like Gloom's own shadows did.

It was not terribly far and soon there were at the mentioned corner store and there was a vending machine there. Except it read n** NOPS in bright bold lettering in obnoxiously bright coloring unlike the faded colors all around it.

"See?" Gloom chittered.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"n**... nops?" Jamie sounded totally unsure as he read the sign. The convenience store was familiar, but this particular vending machine certainly wasn't. "Gloom, I... I'm not sure that's candy. It doesn't, um, sound like anything I've ever heard of..." In fact, it sounded a lot like something not suitable for children.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

n** Nops were, in fact, shaped like fruit loops. The oddity was that they were all flesh toned (and clearly shown on the vending machine).

"It's candy that's only over here," he told Jamie. "It's not very tasty at all." Gloom nosed at Jamie's cheek. "Why do y'want to go to y'house here? They're not like the ones y'have over there."

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"Oh. Well, um... if it's not very tasty, I think I'll pass." As he turned from the store to the empty street, his cheek met nose and he jumped, though only slightly. It was still strange how physical Gloom felt to him even as he dreamt.

"I guess I was just curious," he admitted quietly, fiddling with his hands. "I didn't really expect it to be the same, but..." But what? What had he expected? Even Jamie wasn't really sure.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"It isn't," Gloom agreed seriously, "tastykakes are much better." The only reason he was even able to touch Jamie was because he, himself, was not quite real here. Gloom was the stuff shadows were made of.

"Y'should be careful because y'might not like what y'find there." His head turned, tail swishing. "Keep walking that way and stay on the road. The off paths here are bad since the cage has broken."

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Swallowing hard, Jamie followed his directions in silence, mulling over the warning. What if he walked into his room and found the stuff nightmares were made of? What if his fish were grotesque and mutated or what if they were dying? Dead? Gone? What if he warped his own room into a place that didn't feel safe anymore?

He supposed he still had time to decide not to go inside. For now-

"The cage is... completely broken?" he finally asked, "Since when? I-I thought- How?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"... the stars have gone out," Gloom said quietly, "Pax cries for Our Heliodora. That means it's breaking."

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Pax cries for Our Heliodora.

Jamie stopped walking then, frozen by the weight of realization. In that moment, seeing his house felt like a childish, unnecessary fantasy. It was nothing but filler, a game he was playing in a place where games weren't meant to be played. No, he hadn't known Heliodora well, but he'd met her, he'd meant to see her again, maybe with Zac, or maybe-

Except, dwelling on the maybes was pointless. "Heliodora is dead..." he mumbled, "just like Adoelle and Michael. So that's... that's it, then?" Jamie still wasn't sure he was ready for what breaking the cage meant.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"It wasn't meant to be this way," Gloom said quietly, "but the writing was on the wall." For all that this was Jamie's sleeping form, the shadow marten tucked himself around his neck and squeezed to be reassuring.

"Y'will see soon, Gloom will too. What it will all mean."

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"Yeah..." was all Jamie could say at first, a quiet, resigned sort of response. "I guess... there's really nothing w-we can do b-but wait and see. And face things when they happen." One hand tucked tentatively against Gloom's cheek, softly holding him close where he'd gathered, no longer caring to wonder how touching him was even possible. Part of him wanted to admit to the feeling, to tell Gloom he was scared, but the words stuck in his throat. The shadow marten likely already knew.

What had started out as a surprisingly lighthearted adventure had left Jamie feeling empty, confused, concerned, and a lot more he simply couldn't find the words for. Slowly it began to feel less and less like he could make words at all.

"I... think I'm waking up," he muttered quietly, sounding strange and far away. It was a sensation he'd been through before. "T-Thanks for trying to help me." And then he truly couldn't speak anymore.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Gloom did know and it was why he was nuzzling as he was. "Y'come find Gloom when y'awake and Gloom will show y'the place, alright?"

He was sliding to the ground because Jamie was waking up. "It'll be okay, Jamie," he said, "you've got people with you that will make it be okay in the end. The road is hard but you'll be okay."

Which were Gloom's last words before he disappeared himself; the dreamer having awoken.

saedusk

thanks for playing <3