be gay ✰ do crime

TW for mild grief & loss & suicidal ideation

Nula is an exorcist/student of the occult who is contracted by the pirate crew Veara is with to exorcise a shipwreck with treasure they plan on raiding. Veara, being an expert in deep-sea free diving, takes Nula to the site of the shipwreck where she cleanses the wreckage. Upon returning to the crew, the captain tells nula theyll pay her the following day after they retrieve the treasure, & he invites her to celebrate with them until then. Veara, who has a feeling her captain has no intention of actually paying Nula, insists she leave & pays her out of her own pocket. Confused, Nula accepts the payment because she needs the money to buy medicine for her sick petpet cala (which is a plushie spyder given to her by her little sister).

Hours later, Nula returns to find a sea monster attacking the crew for taking its treasure at the wreckage, and discovers that everyone is mortally wounded (The treasure was guarded by a monster, not a curse after all). Moved by the kindness Veara showed her earlier, Nula impulsively saves Veara by transferring her soul into her own body as a way to buy time to heal her injuries. The following months, they trek across Neopia to find a way to put Veara back into her own body.

Along the way, we find out that Nula lost her sister while they were exploring the Grave Danger caves in the haunted woods- a tragedy that Nula blames herself for. Unable to accept the loss, Nula tried to bring her sister back with a zombie paintbrush, only to end up turning her into an actual zombie that she keeps locked in her home. Since then, Nula has thrown herself into studying the occult, despite previously having a fear of the dark & anything remotely scary.

Veara grew up in a pirate crew with her parents & older brother, who she considered her hero. One day their crew was attacked by a sea monster & her brother saved her life at the expense of his own. Being the lone survivor of the attack, Veara was passed along from crew to crew & constantly bullied. Years later, a"prank" that involved her being thrown overboard with an anchor tied to her resulted in her finding out she had the ability to hold her breath for a long time & safely dive into deep waters. The incedent made her more callous & standoffish to others, though part of her still deeply longed for connection & family. Though Veara was once scared of the deep ocean due to the attack that killed her family, she keeps diving with the idea that one day she'll make herself stay down there to make up for being the lone survivor.

Due to sharing a body & their consciouses gradually merging, Veara starts to see herself through the eyes of someone who cares about her and considers the fact that she may want to live after all. Meanwhile, for the first time in years, Nula is pulled away from looking for a way to bring her sister back. After opening up about their respective losses, Nula starts to process her loss & entertain the idea that it might be time to stop her research.

Months later, Nula & Veara realize theyre running out of time to put Veara back in her body. The body-sharing spell is becoming unstable & the time-stopping magic that Nula used on Veara's body is wearing off. Desperately, they look for any solution while intimately feeling Veara's consciousness slip away. One night while Veara's mind is particularly weak, Nula discovers a forbidden magic text that says it is possible to bring someone back to life if they steal the life force of a fairy. Though deeply conflicted, Nula tracks down the nearest fairy's home & takes her life.

The next time Veara regains consciousness, its in her own body, which has been fully healed (& has gained some fairy powers, which she later finds out). She asks Nula, who is utterly disheveled, how she was able to return her to her body. While initially reluctant to tell the truth, Nula eventually comes clean & Veara is both devastated & in shock. Veara goes to the fairy's home & sees the aftermath of a violent altercation. (Nula doesnt tell her the details, the events of that night come to Veara in a series of nightmares down the line). Upon searching the house, she discovers she was a well-known & well-lover fairy, & there would without a doubt be an investigation. Nula & Veara flee the scene & begin a life on the run.

In the aftermath of the murder, Nula & Veara process the fact that they are unable to live without each other. They livw in fear of knowing how far they will go to save one another. Though their relationship becomes tense for a while, they ultimately become inseparable.