The Kingdom of Luminous Echoes

The Wandering Echonian is quiet on this early summer’s night, the sky turning a beautiful shade of pink twilight as the sun dips the last few inches beyond the horizon. A small collection of travelers have made their way and are engaged in conversations at small, homely tables around the tavern, the taps of their boots echoing on the old wood.

The windows are open, allowing the sounds of crickets and the soft breeze to sing a melody through the panes, as if the kingdom itself is resonating with song.

In the back of the tavern at a small table is a tired looking🩵 Act 2 with a glass of beer that is still full. It’s one that he likely didn’t want, but it was put in front of him.

🖤 Punkish occupies the seat next to him, complaining about how he couldn’t quite stick the landing for today’s balcony jump, and is blaming it on poor balcony physics as opposed to his own recklessness.

Suddenly, the door opens and a Len variant known as VaLentine settles himself at the closest table to him and orders a beverage to satisfy his thirst after traveling.

Act 2 perks up noticing the new arrival that wanders in, watching as he sets himself down at a table not far from their own. He looks down at his beer, then back up at Punkish who is still talking endlessly.

“Hey. Did you see that?” Act 2 points to VaLentine, noticing how his hair is different from a typical Len variant like himself.

Punkish immediately stops talking, his gaze following the direction of Act 2’s finger, landing on the new arrival .

“Well, well, well…what do we have here?” The grin that spreads across Punkish’s face is nothing but mischief as he picks up his mug, taking a long swig before setting it down with a decisive click. He claps Act 2 on the shoulder before sidling out from the table, making his way toward the newcomer.

VaLentine looks up at the Prince “Hm? Oh Hello there. I recently travelled here to see some new scenery from my usual idol world that I’ve been in for a while.” He gives Punkish a sparkling smile.

Punkish returns the smile with one of his own that isn’t quite innocent.

“I see. Getting a little time away, so to speak. I’m surprised the industry was so willing to give you a break.” Punkish leans a little closer, just enough to get in VaLentine’s space without touching him.

“Judging by the size of your drink, you must have travelled quite far. How long are you planning to stay in our little slice of paradise?” Punkish gestures grandly around the tavern, his hand now resting on the table in front of VaLen. However, when he leans forward, the table suddenly moves, spilling VaLentine’s drink all over his lap.

Act 2 rises to his feet, running toward the table.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry about this. Are you all right? Punkish! You idiot!” Act 2 scowls at Punkish, looking at VaLentine apologetically. “He’s literally a walking disaster. I’m so sorry about this.”

“Hwa!?” VaLentine looks down at how wet he got. “Haa…got anything to wipe this off?” He asks them, a little annoyed.

“Ha…and about the industry thing, it not really…forget It. It’s a little much to explain currently.”

Punkish only leans in closer, both elbows now planted on the table, paying absolutely no mind to the water everywhere.

“You can’t lead with a line like that and not expect me to want to hear the rest. Spill, man. We’re all ex-diva’s here in one way or another. What are you running from?” His voice comes out as a rumbling purr, pressing ValLentine for an answer whether he wants to give it or not.

“Why don’t you focus on the mess you made instead?” Act 2 grumbles, his brow furrowed as he looks at ValLentine. He moves to the bar, grabbing a few towels from behind the counter, coming back and handing one to ValLentine before wiping the remaining water off the table.

ValLentine tries to wipe off as much water as possible “There goes the whole drink..I am still thirsty…” He sighs.

The Wandering Echonian is quiet on this early summer’s night, the sky turning a beautiful shade of pink twilight as the sun dips the last few inches beyond the horizon. A small collection of travelers have made their way and are engaged in conversations at small, homely tables around the tavern, the taps of their boots echoing on the old wood.

The windows are open, allowing the sounds of crickets and the soft breeze to sing a melody through the panes, as if the kingdom itself is resonating with song.

In the back of the tavern at a small table is a tired looking🩵 Act 2 with a glass of beer that is still full. It’s one that he likely didn’t want, but it was put in front of him.

🖤 Punkish occupies the seat next to him, complaining about how he couldn’t quite stick the landing for today’s balcony jump, and is blaming it on poor balcony physics as opposed to his own recklessness.

Suddenly, the door opens and a Len variant known as VaLentine settles himself at the closest table to him and orders a beverage to satisfy his thirst after traveling.

Act 2 perks up noticing the new arrival that wanders in, watching as he sets himself down at a table not far from their own. He looks down at his beer, then back up at Punkish who is still talking endlessly.

“Hey. Did you see that?” Act 2 points to VaLentine, noticing how his hair is different from a typical Len variant like himself.

Punkish immediately stops talking, his gaze following the direction of Act 2’s finger, landing on the new arrival .

“Well, well, well…what do we have here?” The grin that spreads across Punkish’s face is nothing but mischief as he picks up his mug, taking a long swig before setting it down with a decisive click. He claps Act 2 on the shoulder before sidling out from the table, making his way toward the newcomer.

VaLentine looks up at the Prince “Hm? Oh Hello there. I recently travelled here to see some new scenery from my usual idol world that I’ve been in for a while.” He gives Punkish a sparkling smile.

Punkish returns the smile with one of his own that isn’t quite innocent.

“I see. Getting a little time away, so to speak. I’m surprised the industry was so willing to give you a break.” Punkish leans a little closer, just enough to get in VaLentine’s space without touching him.

“Judging by the size of your drink, you must have travelled quite far. How long are you planning to stay in our little slice of paradise?” Punkish gestures grandly around the tavern, his hand now resting on the table in front of VaLen. However, when he leans forward, the table suddenly moves, spilling VaLentine’s drink all over his lap.

Act 2 rises to his feet, running toward the table.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry about this. Are you all right? Punkish! You idiot!” Act 2 scowls at Punkish, looking at VaLentine apologetically. “He’s literally a walking disaster. I’m so sorry about this.”

You're wandering along a dirt road and come across this man leaning against an old wooden fence, a cigarette casually hanging from his lips.

As you get closer, you realize he's already looking at you.

He lets out a small huff of a laugh, taking a step back only to lean nonchalantly against the fence again, crossing one ankle over the other.

He stares incredulously at the strange man, unsure if his warning held any weight at all seeing as they've never met. He still feels incredibly anxious.

"Man, you're wound up pretty tight aren't you? Would you relax? I'm not gonna mug you or anything." He rolls his eyes, folding his arms over his chest.

"Am I?" he asks. "This is the way I almost always take..."

He twitches at the man's low voice, and he stares at the ground.

"Well, I'm sure I've never seen you before. And believe me...I'd recognize you."

Punkish's eyes travel over him again before adjusting to a more relaxed posture, crossing his arms behind his head, his eyes closing with feigned disinterest.

His face turns from red to white at that final statement, and he stiffens up.

"I do have one question."

He takes a deep breath and starts fiddling with his fingers.

He looks down and twiddles his thumbs some more.

He shakes his head shyly, seeming much less irritated and more embarrassed now that he knows who Punkish is.

"N-no...I suppose not. I had...no idea this place was around here. I walk around here frequently, how could I be so oblivious?"

He slowly raises his head and looks in the direction Punkish points at.

He looks up at Punkish with big eyes.

He looks at the road ahead of him that Punkish advises he stick to, then back at Punkish himself.

He closes his eyes to remember his mental list.

"Just some sweets and replacement strings for his guitar..." Goth answers. "One of the strings broke, so I wanted to fix it for him...and his favorite confectionery isn't far from that store so I wanted to stop and get him some sweets..."

"Oooh! That's so cool!" he exclaims. "And yeah...I get that feeling. I play a bass, a Bacchus brand red 4-string bass...for a long time, they were the only person who understood me, too...I love that thing so much..."

Goth stares at Punkish's guitar, and begins thinking about his lover, missing him.

Goth watches Punkish put the guitar down and envisions his own spouse with his keytar.

Goth looks up at the sky as he recounts an old memory.

"I remember when he showed it to me for the first time. He threatened to murder me if I touched it. I mean...I understand the apprehension on his part, I myself would be inconsolable if anything happened to my precious bass."

He looks down again, reminiscing on how long ago that was.

"But I never go anywhere without her. She's like an extension of me, and you never know when you're going to need to strum a few chords to get your point across. Or start some chaos." His grin relaxes into something more friendly in appearance.

Goth looks down at those words, suddenly wishing he had his bass with him.

"I'm not normally one for disrupting quiet, but...now I do kinda wish I had my bass with me. I used to carry it with me everywhere. It was like my safety net. It's...nice to talk to another person who understands."

Goth looks up and envisions him and his lover playing music together. Him on his bass, his lover on the keytar, the power and volume...he almost loses himself in his thoughts before he remembers where he is.

Goth looks up and thinks back to their first time playing music together.

Goth follows Punkish's gaze, then turns to look down the path he was headed.

Sudden Encounter: Act 2

You're walking through a field of flowers, a tall oak tree reaching high into the sky in the center. Seated on a rock next to the tree, you notice this young man sitting on a rock eating a cookie.

As you get closer, you realize there are tears streaming down his face and he is sniffling softly.

He takes the tissues, dabbing at his eyes some more before standing up and brushing the crumbs and wrinkles out of his long blue and silver coat. "I do apologize for making a scene like this." He pauses, offering a small smile.

-@bakulenthetrickster