I'll die another time!

seeing an actual GHOST on the street was enough to make gregg stop for a moment, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from grinning like a madman.  with a burst of energy he bounded up to the cat, giving his fist an excited bump that might’ve had a bit too much force before he was scooping the guy into a hug.

“  hey, don’t sweat it dude!!  i’m just glad you’re effin ALIVE, haha.  those guys weren’t messing around when we came to see ‘em.  they took my crossbow!!  which, speaking of, you definitely owe me a new one now.  one that’s like, MUCH better.  “

     Oof, that bump had hurt a bit, Casey shaking his hand slightly before he was suddenly scooped up into a tight hug, causing the felines breath to woosh out of him in one go. Quickly managing a laugh, Casey would gently pat Gregg on the back, both as a way of reassurance, and as a way to ‘tap out’ of the over eccentric hug,

“Mae told me everything, you guys... Shit, you guys were so bold. Brought a tear to my effin’ eye and everything. As for the crossbow, you can bet your tail I’ll get ya a new one, I’ll get you the best damn one money can buy! It’ll be able to like, shoot lasers and shit!”

     Casey was trying to hold back tears, he remembered everything that Mae had told him, about how devastated the band was to know of his loss, to know that they’d actually miss him... It was enough to bring the widest, dumbest smile to the felines features,

— I promise not to drink more caffeine, how about that? Oh, do you want smoething to drink? Tea, maybe soda?

Smiling, Adina disappeared into the kitchen. She knew he was right, but working in a new book, watching the stars, and reading past hours… How would she put aside those things? Vacations started a few days back. Spending time in her interests and future projects, even if it meant sleep less, was a price she was willing to pay happily.

— It’s a matter of perspective, actually. Just imagine a really big, black bag. If you throw paper inside, you wouldn’t be able to see it, right? Not if you were far from it. So, if you get close, you get to see that actually the bag still has the papers inside —when the water for her tea started to boil, she put it aside, starting to look for the tea bags—. It works like that. When you get real close to a Black Hole, all that you can see is light — all the light that ended ‘inside’ it. Obviusly it just a conjecture, as almost everything that we know of space out of our solar system. But interesting, nonetheless.

     He had to hesitate for a moment to think on that for a bit before a laugh would escape Casey, his head nodding as he’d lean backwards to get a more comfortable sitting position,

“Alright, ya got yourself a deal. I could definitely go for some tea though, I’m parched.”

     Casey would listen to Adinas explanation, his expression taking on one of interest now as he’d end up leaning forward again, placing his hands under his chin. Normally he didn’t care too much for learning, his grades back from when he was in school reflected that, but this was genuinely fascinating to him. He had always had an eye for the stars and what had gone on around them... Maybe if there had been an astrology class, he would’ve passed that with flying colors.

“Haha, alright... I’m just worried about ya, is all. Try and get some rest at some point, will ya? I don’t need you passing out on me.”

     Casey would shake his head slightly, a soundless chuckle escaping the feline as he’d address Adinas words. Even with her reassurance, he still couldn’t help but be a bit worried- he knew what lack of sleep could do to someone, God above knew that Casey himself had had more then his fair share of all nighters after all.

     Casey could’ve sworn he heard someone moving around behind him, and he wasn’t about to get kidnapped again when he saw it

“I hate to be disappointing. But it’s the same quiet town its always been. I heard a stand in pastor got involved in a scandal, but you know me. I never pay attention to the church. I heard Pastor K verbally kicked him over the moon, which is pretty cool. Wish I could have been there for that. I hear that she’s alright, so I guess I don’t hate her.”

Normally, he hated religious figures. But he acknowledged that some of them were genuinely good people, even if they were believing some stupid fairy tale. He didn’t agree with it, but that was how things went. He wouldn’t be like one of them. He wouldn’t judge someone based off of one trait alone.

“Mae got a job at Ham Panther, with her dad. That one surprised me. But she seems to be sticking with it, so I’m pretty proud of her. I tried a new diet that ended in me giving up after three days. Gregg and I adopted a baby puppy, she was a stray and we didn’t have the heart to turn her away. Our apartment allows for one pet, so it was alright. Uh, I think that pretty much sums everything up.”

“Pastor K’s pretty chill, yeah. I’ve actually met her before, she ain’t half bad, and doesn’t nag your ear off like some pastors do. Plus she seems genuinely concerned about some of the people who live in this town, which is rare cause it feels like most just give up on us.”

     The last part was always something that hurt Casey in ways he couldn’t even describe. Did he know he was a miscreant? A criminal? Yeah, definitely, but to hear from other people that he’s beyond saving... Shit hurt him in a way he didn’t even know it was possible to be hurt in. When Angus spoke up again though, Caseys eyes would widen, and he ended up laughing now,

“Haha, oh man! You made it sound like not a lot happened, but in this quiet town, that’s a lot Angus! I’m just glad to hear everything’s going alright, even with my... Ah, extended absence. Ya gotta let me see the puppy sometime though, I’m a sucker for cute things.”

“They’re only around today. Think they’re taking a train to Hunwick.”

Germ either didn’t notice the offered lighter, or he was ignoring it. It was always hard to tell with Germ Warfare. When Casey indicated his earrings, Germ did as he was told and checked ‘em out. He continued checking them for a bit until he came to the conclusion that Casey was right, and they were indeed rad.

“Nice,” Germ said approvingly. “Reminds me of Jackie’s gauges a little. Only they’re different.”

“Ah, really? Crap, probably missed them then. Ya gonna take the lighter by the way?”

      Casey knew Germ was always a little bit of a pain to read, but that was perfectly fine by him. Happy that his friend at least approved of the earrings, the felines ego virtually inflated as he’d nod his head slightly,

“Yeah, a good friend of mine did them for me at a lower price then normal. Might get a tattoo at some point as well- how does ‘I ran into a murdercult and lived’ sound for a tattoo?”

“Hi, it’s me.”

Germ reached out appreciatively for the offered cigarette. He didn’t smoke very often, but a cigarette always helped when he had too much on his mind. Which was often. Instead of lighting his cigarette, however, Germ stuffed it into his jacket pocket. Like a weirdo.

“Thanks. I’ve been hanging around. Met some cool crusties the other day. One of ‘em had an eyepatch.”

“Woah, no joke? Dude, people with eyepatches are like, the toughest kinds of people. You’ve gotta introduce me to them sometime, that’d be so cool.”

     Closing the carton of cigarettes, Casey would fish out a lighter, holding it up to his cig and flicking the switch a few times before getting it to light, lighting the end of the cigarette and taking a deep puff from it. That was the good shit right there, and he’d offer the lighter to Germ while turning his head away, blowing the smoke off to the side before turning back to face Germ,

“I just went out not that long ago and got these new earrings. Check ‘em, don’t they look rad?”

“Germ Warfare! What’s goin’ on dude?”

      Now here was a face Casey didn’t get to see often, but it was a very much welcome sight to see. He had always seen Germ as a fairly good friend, and had even helped bring that nickname of his to popularity, and he’d fish out a pack of cigs to sneak one out, placing it in his lips before holding the carton out to Germ as an offer with a light grin,

“Life happens. I know that as well as anyone. They’re cool earrings.”

It certainly perked him up. Hearing from an old friend had a way of doing that to someone. Gave him some energy he didn’t have previously, which was pretty good. Put a smile on his face, that was for sure.

“I’m just glad you’re alright. That’s really all I cared about.”

“I’m glad to see you’re doing alright too, ya big lug. You gotta catch me up on everything, how’s shit been?”

      Caseys voice was nothing but sincere, feeling the happiest he had been in... Well, God above knows how long. Reunions do that to you, he mused in quiet as he’d tuck one hand into his pocket before taking the other and making a little spinning gesture with it,

“And don’t skimp out on any details. Gimme the juicy stuff, or is it the same quiet town its always been?”

“Well, well, well. If it ain’t my good friend Gregg, what’s up my dude?”

      Kicking himself off from the wall he was leaning against, Casey’d take the cig he was smoking out of his mouth and knock some of the ashes off the end before grinning over at Gregory. Offering his fist to the fox for a fist bump, the feline couldn’t help but grin widely before his eyes would widen, and he’d mentally hit himself on the head,