ghertified Phantom Phreak

It was the end of a pretty slow day. The weather was slowly turning colder, which coaxed all the ghouls to get their chores done quickly so they could retreat to their rooms or the lounge to cuddle up with their respective partners and stay warm.

Well, some of them, at least.

In one of the rooms, Rain was curled up in his large plush armchair nestled in the corner, just to the side of the cracked open window. A soft floor lamp beams down on him and the book he's currently reading, with his mug of tea resting on the opposite side atop the nightstand, wisps of scented steam curling up and away from the brew. A leg crossed over the other while his tail drapes elegantly over the indented cushion seat, swaying like seaweed on the ocean floor.

To the siren's right, in front of him, is Phantom at his desk at his PC, intensely focused on what looks to be Minecraft of all things. The quint had his headphones on, a long finished Monster drink at his left, and an open bag of chips to his right. 

Rain finds it endearingly amusing how fast his partner took to gaming after showing him merely one playthrough of some other video game on YouTube back when Phantom was freshly summoned about a year and half ago. What's more amusing to him as well is how serious Phantom takes his cozy games than any of his PVP-type games. But it is also quite cute to see the ghoul's brow furrow with focus and his whole body leaning in just too close to the screen for it to be considered healthy.

Rain takes a peek over his book to observe Phantom. Just as he predicted, the quint was hyperfixated on the game. Even his tail barely moved, only a sharp twitch of the tufted hair moved when he got particularly excited. Rain smiles faintly to himself, taking his mug to finish up the last drops of tea before diving back into the tome.

He’s not sure how long time passes when the comfortable ambiance of the space is abruptly broken by a noise of emotional distress, jolting him out of his mindscape where he was occupied exploring the world of the tale he was perusing. He puts his book down and sits up with wide eyes, confused and cautious as he immediately looks at Phantom first.

The other ghoul had dramatically slumped over his keyboard and desk, groaning muffled curses under his arms that wrap around his head with the headphones slipping down in equal anguish. Rain can’t decipher exactly what his partner is muttering, so instead he performs a quick investigation around the area.

It doesn’t take long to spot the reason for Phantom’s woe. On the PC screen, the dreaded pixelated message of “Game Over!” is plastered right above the score, which was considerably high, and the message for the reason of death to the poor player reads “PhantomMenace fell from a high place.”

Rain’s eyes widen now for a different reason; sympathy. From what he remembered of Phantom’s sporadic ramblings about Minecraft, the siren does recall how his friend had started a “hardcore” world about a month ago, and was making carefully swift progress within it. More than once, Rain would awaken at the most ungodliest of late night hours to find the room illuminated by Phantom playing the sandbox game. It was only when the quintessence had difficulty sleeping that he would instead indulge in video games until he got tired enough to try and fall back asleep. Rain didn’t mind too much; he himself understood having sleep troubles and looking for something else to busy the mind with. The only issue he had with all that was that he wanted to cuddle and hold his partner as he slumbered, but that was a selfish reason that he kept to himself.

The siren gives Phantom a moment to just wallow in his grief. It seems silly to an outsider that the other ghoul is so upset about dying in a video game, but Rain knows how big Phantom’s heart is and his determination to go all in on his endeavors is admirable, to be honest. Even for something like Minecraft.

“Hey.” His voice is quiet, patient with no ounce of pity or judging. Just a reminder that he’s here whenever his partner needs him.

Phantom’s ears twitch slightly from where they were plastered against his head, damn near hidden by his messy waves. He tilts his head to aim a golden eye through his arms at the water ghoul, the outline of the iris quivering like heat waves on a hot day. It makes Rain’s heart sink lower; a clear sign of Phantom desperately holding back tears. Phantom is not a huge crier, but he will tear up in some cases.

Without another word, Rain sets his book over the armrest and holds his arms out in an open gesture of comfort. Phantom swiftly slides out of his chair, putting his headphones on the desk and rather than accept his partner’s embrace, instead he drops to the floor at Rain’s feet on his knees, much to the siren’s surprise.

Phantom shifts his gaze upwards to Rain, the side of his face resting against the water ghoul’s crossed thighs, furry cheek smushed against the soft silken fabric of Rain’s lounge pants. His expression is so pitiful and dejected that Rain wishes he would allow him to be held, but the quint seems to prefer the floor right now, so he respects that.

Rain descends his hand to run through Phantom’s hair, then downwards to caressing the other cheek with his thumb running through the snowy star-speckled fur there. Phantom’s sad eyes flutter shut at the tender gesture as he leans into his partner’s hand.

“You okay?”

Phantom lets out a deep sigh, tail flicking weakly then curling around his legs. His paws seek out Rain’s own tail and he runs soft fingerpads across the delicate scales as he takes a moment before responding.

“Yeah…” His eyes open halfway to peer up at Rain again, more tired than dejected now. “Just… really fuckin’ bummed out.”

Rain hums softly, hand now shifting behind the quint’s ear. “I know, baby. You’ve put a lot of work into that world and got so far. I’m sorry.”

Phantom shrugs, letting Rain begin to scratch and massage behind his ear, resting more into his thigh. “S’not your fault. I just made a wrong move and fuckin’... died. But it’s just a game. I’ll just start a new one.”

They both fall into silence. Rain continues to provide comfort via kneading Phantom’s ear while the quint stays curled at his feet, his own pawed hands absentmindedly running over the siren’s tail and occasionally picking out any loose scales that he ends up pocketing. Soon enough, there's the faint rumbling of the familiar purring emitting from Phantom. An indicator of serenity and acceptance. It warms Rain’s chest to hear that sweet sound; some of the most beautiful music can be found within the natural tones of any living creature. And Phantom’s is his most favorite song, maybe even more so than his own.

After a while, Phantom finally stirs with another little dramatic sigh, and Rain’s hand ceases its scratching of the quint’s ear.

“Feelin’ better?”

Phantom nods, eyes no longer disheartened and have regained that unwavering fire he seems to always sport. “Yeah. Thanks for just bein’ here.”

Rain smiles, giving his ear one last rub before departing. “I’ll always be here, sunbeam.”

The endearment perks the quint’s ears up further, adding on a soft smile to match Rain’s. He stands up with a drawn out rumbling groan as he stretches his limbs, ending with a satisfied sigh and hands on his hips.

“You think you’ll try again?”

Phantom hums at his partner’s query. “Probably. I know how I fucked up this last time, so I’ll just make sure to… well, not do that again.”

“And that’s the beauty of it, hm? Learning from your mistakes?” Rain adds on with a tilt of his head.

“Yeah, yeah,” Phantom waves him off, smile turning sheepish. “I know the lesson here. It’s just a video game, Rainie, don’t take it so seriously.”