Have Some Whimsy!

Kalei stared blankly at the wall opposite of themself.

The cell was the same as it had been for days. Random blood splatters or water stains (Kalei wanted to retch at the sight of water). Papers. Scattered papers, with words typed out in plain font for Kalei to read. They’d cut their finger once to draw something, but that had gotten taken away. Kalei, sitting in the corner, right in the blind spot below the camera.

Gaunt in a hospital gown. Leg trembling, chin raised up so Kalei could use their own knobby spine as a headrest. A beige blanket wrapped as tightly around their shoulders as Kalei could get it. Hands that twisted together, clinging onto skin so hard it tore sometimes. Eyes, unfocused and dazed. Lips that opened and closed without any sound at all. Breathing, that went from so slow as to nearly be absent to so quick it barely delivered any oxygen at all. A heartbeat Kalei could hear deep in their ears, inconsistent and as feeble as time.

Every movement hurt, yes, but… it hurt a little bit less. They’d been resting, as she told them to do. They’d been obeying, as they’d promised to do. Not entirely, of course, but when they could. Just enough to avoid the worst punishments. Every movement hurt, but a little less, so Kalei settled the debate by not moving much at all. They were the scared little cat that sat in the corner. Waiting for something to happen.

Hecate was sitting on her folding chair, playing on her own phone. She’d been using Kalei’s less lately, interestingly enough.

Nerves begin to send a message, increased production of melatonin and hair growth at a rapid scale. Through the corner of your vision white veins wrap you in tender embrace.

Words reverberate in the fibers within the skull.

“The wait is over. 

It is time.”

“This will hurt you greatly, 

but this is a small price to pay for freedom.”

What? Kalei relaxes into the feeling, despite their mind bursting alive with panic for a moment. Their body feels wrong, it all feels wrong, wrong, wrong-

It was time? Time for what? Why were they hurting?

A small price to pay for… oh. Her. No wonder they were so sleepy.

Instinct told Kalei to fight it. 

They embrace it as it embraces them.

“Thank you for your understanding, Kalei..” It whispers within. “And…”

“I’m sorry.”

It is then when Kalei sleeps, 

and The White Sentinel awakes. 

She looks upon their hand, their legs, the sorry state they were reduced to and the room that matched it. Slowly she got up to wander, beige blanket in hand slowly being disintegrated fiber by fiber. Her mind aches with the horrors brought upon this body and mind.

She turns to look at the camera and stares.

Footage Recorded: STASIS

Subject Kaleidoscope is seen standing in the middle of the cell, staring at the camera wrapped by their blanket, balancing on one leg. Hallways untouched, Scientists conversing Current Objective: Hunt down all of Massachusetts Department of Metaphysical Sciences Researching… Potential information leak to other branches Locating a New Host.

Oh Kalei, I never really managed to tell you this part did I? Sorry… You’re about to find that out really soon.

Curtains begin to fall around the facility.

Hecate glances up from her scrolling. She’d been texting Cher again- probably shouldn’t be, but it kept her awake, and saw…

What the hell? She sat up, at attention. “Subject. What are you doing?”

Kalei wondered, What part? What’s happening?

XIV doesn’t care, she’s done the necessary precautions to ensure that no one is reaching out to this branch. The Cell data begins to destroy itself.

In the meantime they peruse the cell, if they are capable of breathing, maintaining a normal temperature, there must be a ventilation system somewhere.

Hecate’s phone wasn’t buzzing like usual, nor was Kalei’s, but she paid both no mind. “Subject. Answer me. What are you doing?!”

Hah. She sounds confused.

Eventually, XIV finds the vent opening. They silently stood for a moment, braiding their hair that had gotten suspiciously longer.

After cutting it, they silently put it in the vent.

Melatonin introduced into the ventilation system, destroying all active ventilation filters.

XIV begins to approach the iron bars of the cell, tapping it out of curiosity. You see their eyes white and glossed over. Memories of a bygone era of human suffering pass through these bars.

What was going on…? A chill ran up Hecate’s spine. She set her phone down on the seat and hesitantly stood, walking forward until she was just a few inches away from Kaleidoscope.

It was moving… oddly fluidly, considering its disablement. And its eyes were- ugh. That wasn’t right. “Subject Kaleidoscope. Answer me. Now.”

Why is it looking at her so intently?

XIV looks up at Hecate, recording her face. An ego that feeds itself the belief that they are the fair and truest folk. 

They slowly begin backing away and grasping their chest.

Sigil in full force, executing release.

The sigil begins to glow violently as XIV’s hand sinks deeper into Kalei’s chest. Then it emerges.

At first, it was small, a bump on where the sigil was. Then, it grew taller and taller, pulling out a golden single edged sword with a white hilt and white edge. The sigil was rapidly depleted of The Yellow Sign and back to the Dreamcatcher loom that it used to be.

XIV slowly approaches the bar with a newfound sword in hand.

Hecate took a step back, eyes darting between the sword, Kaleidoscope’s face, and the exit. She was supposed to stay and keep the subject subdued, she knew, but what did she have? A glass of water? That was normally all it took, but normally Kaleidoscope wasn’t pulling swords from its chest. 

Could it do this the whole time? She couldn’t breathe. Everyone was wrong. This job really was going to kill her. “W-what are you doing?” she demanded again. “Kaleidoscope- Kalei. Answer me!”

Kalei approached the cell door and cut the lock open smooth like butter. They took their first steps outside, picked up the phone and held it up to Hecate’s face.

A single message:

“I’m sorry for what's to come.”

From, ##############

The last thing Hecate sees is a soft cheery smile before they disappear in a blink of an eye.

…oh god. No, no, no, no. Hecate doubled back for her phone, and- shit. It wasn’t working.

She started sprinting down the hallway.

Meanwhile,

Cil was working away at a new project, blissfully unaware of what was to come. 

The sound of an echoing drill and a scream rang out… 

He was purely evil, and aided those even worse than him. 

And Kalei is standing right behind him. Hitting the back of his head with the butt of the sword with extreme force.

As a result Cil collapses to the side.

“Oh hello,” XIV finally spoke through Kalei, but it sounded more… robotic than it used to be. Like a soldier who has been through the front lines.

In the distance, muffled booms sounded. Shouts ensued, before quieting down quickly. Whimsy travelled through the Massachusetts Branch of the Department of Metaphysical Sciences with a slow, ambling walk. Glitter followed in her wake, bathbomb-sized balls of colourful glitter being flicked this way and that, exploding upon impact and covering whatever it hit with a copious amount of sparkles. Her mirrors spun around her head, reflecting the lights. She was undisguised, in her usual purple and white magical girl dress, four ribbons each with a large yellow bead on their ends trailing behind her as she walked, barely peeking out from under her long ombre hair.

“Hum…~ I hope the fun hasn’t started without me!” she exclaimed with a giggle. Her eyes were half open, the pink and blue of her irises barely visible in the corners of the large white sparkle-shaped pupils of her eyes. A group of security guards ran along the hallway, shouting. “Ah, just in time!! Oh, this will be so much fun!” Whimsy twirled their silver wand, the bright pink ribbon lashing out and lengthening, quickly wrapping around the taser of a security guard who charged at her. Before he knew it, the strange lady had already yanked the taser out of his hands.

“Hehe, funny! Alas, tasers aren’t very effective against me!~” Whimsy chuckled, throwing the taser in the air and causing it to dissipate in a shower of glitter. Two guards charged at her, which was frankly quite the mistake, for she simply flicked her wand again and watched two more ribbons lash out, wrapping around their wrists and twisting. The tasers were dropped. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good fight like this! Do pardon if I indulge a little!~” With another twist, the guards yelped in pain as their hands were bent just a little too far. The ones that hadn’t engaged yet were sweating a little just from watching the encounter. Whimsy pulled on their wand, which caused the two that were tied up by it to also be pulled forward. Quickly snapping the ribbons back, Whimsy flicked the wand, which lengthened to a staff that was barely taller than Whimsy themselves.

“Haha! Well then, goodnight!” The last thing those two guards saw was the unnaturally pale face of Whimsy, widely smiling as ever, before they fell unconscious. Whimsy had hit them both over the head with her staff like a bat.

“Now then! Who’s next? Ah, but I can’t play with you guys forever, so I’ll juuuust…” Whimsy didn’t wait for a response. The ribbons lashed out with a fwip, wrapping around the guards who were trying to flee, tightly holding onto them by the waist. Several more ribbons manifested from the staff, and Whimsy lifted the guards into the air. Oh, how they struggled against the silky trappings like flies in a web! Whimsy couldn’t help but laugh at their struggles. The ribbons wrapped around them like a cocoon, barely leaving room for their noses to breathe. “Hehehehe, this was fun! But unfortunately, game’s over, and you lost!~”

After throwing the cocooned guards in a corner and covering them in glitter, Whimsy continued down the hall, dusting off their long gloves. She could sense XIV’s presence in the building already, working through the ventilation system. Anyone Whimsy couldn’t take out beforehand would be swiftly handled. A similar treatment was given to whoever else came her way, all wrapped up in pink ribbon and covered in glitter. Whimsy walked with a purpose in mind, platform boots clacking on the linoleum floors, leaving glitter and ribbon-wrapped agents behind.

She went up to a floor in the elevator, which was empty. Whimsy walked a little quicker down this hallway, taking down more agents as she went. Finally, she pushed open a door to a room. Startled shouts ensued from inside before they too were silenced by pink ribbon. Whimsy approached the dark room, looking up at the huge screen. On it were many dots, each pulsing a different amount. The energy radar that alerted the DMS on strange entities in Massachusetts. Not as powerful as the one in their HQ in D.C., to be sure, but for a branch located so close to a key town… it had to go. Whimsy placed their hand on the keyboard.

The screen crackled, electricity sparking and circuits shorting. With a bang, the radar burst, the screen cracking and going dark. They won’t be able to fix that radar for a good long while. Satisfied, Whimsy exited the room. Time to find dear Hecate!~

XIV stared at the creature with a blank expression, then looked away to the sound of Whimsy’s chaos. She scoffs. “Should have told her the plan.” 

Well. No matter. “You are free to leave as you wish. Whatever you are.” XIV begins to walk away.

The rest was easy pickings, one by one the guards and the incapacitated are sliced with the sword, leaving only white paint in its wake. Their hair dragging an Unconscious Agent Cil.

Target acquired: Agent Cil. Searching Next Target: Agent Crystal

Crystal was in her office, tap-tapping away on her computer. She still has yet to get a replacement for the vase she broke. Her black hair was tied in its usual bun, and it seems like she didn’t really bother to style her hair today, because her bangs were almost completely covering her eyes. She repeatedly had to brush it out of the way just to see her screen.

Perhaps it was because her office was so far up, but she didn’t hear the commotion until it was much too late.

Kalei is once again behind Agent Crystal, amnestics isn't work on her. But that's fine. She can just gaslight her using her entire department. She slammed the butt of her sword at the back of her head, just like Cil.

Shoving her aside she begins hacking through the files with Agent Crystal’s computer. Deleting everything she can find about Kalei, Fia, and Kat. Instead, replace them as false ID’s of one person.

Humming as she went, Whimsy went and scourged the rest of the rest of the branch, looking for Hecate. It was mostly empty, given much attention their commotion had drawn. Hopefully things were going well on XIV’s end! Oh, but what’s that? An archive room? How curious…

Whimsy pushed the door open, finding the room to be empty. There was a single computer in the corner. Shelves and shelves of binders and papers stacked to the ceiling. Pulling up to the computer, Whimsy quickly went through it. Files were disappearing from the cloud. Ah, must be XIV’s doing. “Ah! Of course…” they looked behind her at the door. Still silent. Good, nobody’s woken up yet. “Hum, let me just…” Whimsy went through and helped delete the rest of the files, leaving XIV to rewrite them. She then got up and stared at the shelves for a moment before tapping their staff lightly on the ground. Instantly, some of the files in the vast archives disintegrated into glitter.

“And that’s the physical copies aaaaall gone!” Whimsy skipped out of the archive room, shutting the door behind her. “Hum, now wheeeere are you, Lucia Hecate...?~” Back to the hunt.

XIV slammed Crystal into a janitor closet dragging another unconscious guy inside it before closing it shut, a fun surprise for when she wakes up.

There she continued dragging Cil’s unconscious body before finally succeeding in locating Hecate.

“There you are.”

Shit! Hecate tried to turn and stare at the subject, but ended up tripping in the process. Her feet tangled, and Hecate slammed onto the ground. Ow, ow, ow, shit, no.

She rolled onto her back and sat up to crawl away, staring up at Subject Kaleidoscope. It was… walking towards her. It shouldn’t be able to walk without that leg, but there was… some kind of prosthetic there now. How did it manage to get that?

Scratch that- how did it manage to do any of this? Hecate knew Subject Kaleidoscope was far too weak. It barely managed to crawl around its cell lately. There was no reason it should be walking, pulling things from its chest (it shouldn’t be able to do that, she thought), and chasing after her.

“Stay away from me, Subject,” Hecate hissed. “Security is on their way, it will be easier if you comply.”

“I can’t say the same to you, Researcher.” XIV spoke through Kalei, no longer carrying the fearful tone the subject used to carry. A predator that has beaten its prey in a battle of attrition. Surrounding her are her seemingly dead coworkers, white substance that smells so faintly sweet yet so metallic.

They held up the unconscious body of Agent Cil. “Stay right where you are, or he dies.”

Hecate knew she was in danger, she knew this would happen. Why had she allowed Kaleidoscope to remain mobile? Well, she’d assumed it wasn’t. (Again- how did it get that prosthetic?) Was this even Kaleidoscope? The subject she’d gotten painfully acquainted with was weak. Weak and trembling, but remarkably stubborn. This was… this…

She looked around at the crumpled bodies and the white stains. The saccharine smell was choking her, and Cil. Hecate froze in her tracks. “...what are you doing?” she asked. “Release him.”

“Not until you answer my questions, doctor.” XIV held up a sword, the blade’s tip leaking white fluid upon contact with the skin. “I’m sorry to hurt you this way, but one must do whatever it takes to protect themselves.”

“Now. How many sites are there located within the Massachusetts branch of the Department of Metaphysical Science?”

How many sites? That information was classified, under threat of death if shared-

“Three.”

-but somebody might die here anyway. Kaleidoscope was far more insane than she’d accounted for.

“Excluding K-... My tumblr account, did you spread information about me towards the other branches within the United States and beyond?”

Hecate shook her head ‘no’. “I… I was waiting until more definitive progress was made, or for the typical month periodic reports. Everything is spread throughout this site, and the other Massachusetts sites.”

Noted. I’ll be stalking them next.

“You’re not lying out of your teeth are you?” Kalei squints at them, scrutinizing every word spoken in their head.

She wasn’t. That would’ve been a good idea, but she had told the truth. “No, I- please. Let Agent Cil go. He’s an innocent man when it concerns you, he hardly even knows you, Sub- Kaleidoscope.” Being nice to it was a pain, but it very well could kill them both. “Alright? Subject, we can negotiate. I can allow you to text your friends more often, perhaps even give you another blanket. This violence is not necessary.”

Kalei threw Cil to the ground. “Thank you for your cooperation.” And stabbed him with the sword. Pushing outward, it spews white liquid everywhere. With a flick, the smell of brain matter sickeningly grew. 

She approached Hecate, and sliced through her too.

“Now for the real carnage..” Xiv picks up one of the guns before searching for the coppelganger.

Hecate crumpled limply to the ground.

Oh. Kalei hadn’t realized that XIV would be killing people. They should feel strongly about that, they knew, but…

Nobody was dying. Right. Kalei could gleam that from XIV somehow (oh, to be so close with a god your thoughts intertwine… what a weird thing to feel when falling asleep), and they were somewhere between glad and apathetic. On one hand, Kat despised murderers, which Kalei already was. They were lucky she didn’t hate them. On the other hand… god, they hoped Hecate and Cil wouldn’t do this to anyone else. It would've been nice to have a way to stop them.

XIV is on a hunt, a feeling of her calling, her instinct, her nature lead her to her targets: the true threat of the facility.

It sat in a janitor’s closet, waiting. Still. Silent.

There was no visible movement to it- no lifting of the chest for breath, no swaying in the dark. Its pupils were entirely undilated despite the light not being turned on. The face was just as ugly as ever, and it had split knuckles. Split knuckles and a missing tooth. Somebody had tried to fight back, it seemed.

XIV silently stood in front of the Janitor closet where the mimic hid. Almost waiting for something.

Through the door came pouring white hair, reaching for what’s inside. It clings to the skin, wrapping itself throughout the entire body.

Then

SPLAT!

Blood begins pooling at the underside of the closet door, the only shade of color this facility is going to have amongst the white. The hair returns in a slick shade of red before continuing the hunt.

There’s more of them. I’m sure of it.

There were, in fact, more of them. Having come across the blood pool not long after XIV had left that area, Whimsy looked up and behind her at… well, would you look at that. Several coppelgangers floated behind her, bound by layers and layers of ribbon all connected to her staff. The sight did not look too far off from a child carrying a large amount of balloons behind them.

“Well! If I’d known I could kill you guys, this would’ve been dealt with a lot sooner!” Whimsy giggled, which paired with the statement would’ve seemed manic in nature if not for the fact that Whimsy is sound of mind. With a sharp tug, the ribbons sliced through the bodies of the several coppelgangers behind her. Snap, crunch, splat. Shaking out the blood from the ribbons, Whimsy quickly skipped off, leaving a small pile of corpses behind them.

“Just a shame that XIV got to Hecate before I could…! But it’s alright, heheh!” If Whimsy stopped to wonder why there were multiple of these doppelgangers in the first place, well, she didn’t say it.

XIV sits there as Kalei, sitting at the very front doors of the establishment. The ground was also stained in white substance, scattered about. They eat a single cracker, stolen somewhere.

Outside. If Kalei had ownership of their body at that moment, there was no doubt that they would be weeping. Yes, they’d seen Minecraft outdoors, but… this was real.

It was real. Kalei was out. With help from XIV and Whimsy (more than help- only because of XIV and Whimsy), Kalei wasn’t stuck in that damn building anymore. The wind was cold on their body, the flimsy hospital gown doing little to keep them warm. That was fine- Kalei could go home and find warmth there. Or light a fire just to watch it burn. They had autonomy again, choices again, they…

Holy god. They were out. “Thank you,” Kalei tried to call to XIV. If they were speaking or simply thinking was, to them, unclear, but they knew she’d hear regardless.

Kalei feels an exhaustion different from their own. A weak heart that beats from a distant shore.

After a while, Whimsy joined the two outside, shaking out her staff. Blood tracked on the soles of her boots, but that’s fine. She can clean that up easily.

“Hum!~ Allll taken care of!” With a flick, the staff retracted into its usual wand form, clean of blood and gore. “That was good fun! Heh, how’re you two feeling?” Whimsy leaned against the doorframe, looking down at Kalei (and XIV, they supposed).

Tired.. So… So Tired… This body feels wrong… It itches… I need to go back,

Back home

Back to someplace safe.

XIV turns Whimsy with a smile, “Never been better now that my precious knight is safe and sound!”

They got up before slowly walking away. “Thanks for the help, Whimsy. I mean it.”

Whimsy grinned back, blood-stained as she was. Quite the juxtaposition, her bright and sunny disposition against the gore that covered them. What sort of magical girl would be covered in blood like this? Only Whimsy, one could suppose.

“Heh, it’s no trouble at all!” She tossed their hair back over their shoulder, not caring that her gloves were stained with blood. In fact, she rubbed off a few drops that had splattered onto her fair face. “Anything for my dearest friends!”

Tapping the tips of her boots on the ground to clean off the blood on the soles with magic, she skipped away from the bloodied and silent scene, raising her wand to the sky. They jumped off the walls of the facility, disappearing in a shower of pink and white flower petals.

I’m sorry.

Kalei’s body couldn’t be a very nice vessel, as hurt and sick as it was. XIV was enduring quite a bit to help them, wasn’t she? Even gods felt pain, after all.

It was unfortunate that Kalei couldn’t speak on their own, but thankfully they and XIV agreed perfectly. Kalei was so, so grateful to Whimsy. And Kalei was ready to go home. Hopefully XIV could go back to wherever she considered home as well.

“Don’t apologize… Ever.” XIV, after now inhabiting a human body, relaxed their voice into something human. Like a soldier leaping into action away from the safety of the trenches, she leapt off the walls and began fleeing from the facility.

The moment The Knight fell asleep- at least, how it seemed to them- they woke up in the library again.

It was a small room of a larger library, they somehow knew. Two stories, but the higher floor was open to the lower on the side. It was like a balcony, in a sense, with bookcases coming down from it to close off some room inside that they had never bothered to explore.

The walls were made entirely out of bookcases. Beautiful, wooden bookcases filled with books. The books were all older in appearance, but their contents shifted and changed. Sometimes they were new, sometimes archaic. Sometimes comforting. Sometimes tragic.

Candles were hung from the ceiling as the light source on the inside of the room, keeping the room from being too bright. It was an old design, iron candleholders dangling from chains, but The Knight quite liked it. The ceiling was complex, wooden beams and iron-clad supports crisscrossing higher than they could imagine. There was a roof somewhere, they were sure, but it was hard to determine where.

A few feet above the second story was where Xiv had hung her hammock. She passed the time laying in that, doing… well, whatever Xiv’s did.

Their own area was on the first story, and diagonally to the left from Xiv. A large window, two or three times as tall as them, rested in a small alcove. It was specifically angled, they noticed, to not block their view of Xiv. They wondered if that was intentional. In this window, they could see beautiful scenery.

Sometimes, it was of a rolling field. Sometimes a mountain. The images shifted like clouds, fading and mixing into one another. The Knight spent hours watching, sometimes. The floor there was covered in pillows and blankets, clearly intended to be a plush reading nook.

This place was their only respite, most days. Sure, being thrown directly from torture into another waking dream might be exhausting, but it was the only way they could get real rest. Sleeping naturally, they were quite prone to nightmares.

The Knight took their crutch that always seemed to be nearby and walked over to their nook. Discarding the crutch, they collapsed on the pillows, burying their face in a particularly plush one. Thank God their brain had recovered, but… things were only getting worse.

They were so, so tired.

XIV carefully descended down into the hammock from an unseen white crack somewhere. Upon her gentle landing, she leans over to look at Her Beloved Knight.

The tail of the ribbons tied behind her back begin to descend, molding into a tiny hand to gently caress their cheek. Then it retreats just as quickly.

Slowly she held out her hand, and pulled out a worn down guitar.

* Now Playing - Cafe 1930 by Astor Piazzolla, COVER by Alexandra Whittingham and Esther Abrami

Whimsy entered the dream quietly, unlike her usual self. Even more different is her appearance, which was shockingly human compared to her usual for someone like her. Well, more human than they already looked. Her eyes were barely open, though she had her mirrors floating about her, and her hair was longer than they remembered it had been (it was her usual knee-length), but much of it was still the same as how The Knight had met them, down to her constant smile. Though, it was much smaller than usual. Perhaps she had finally realized the direness of the situation. My my, was Whimsy feeling something other than pure happiness? How unusual indeed…

Tonight, she wore a lacey white blouse, which had a large bow at the neck, and a pastel pink jumper dress on top with four gold buttons. Silently, she held her white-gloved hand out, in which manifested a violin, a bow in her right hand. A standard violin, to be sure. As she slowly approached the duo, she began to duet to Xiv’s guitar.

Whimsy remained standing through the duration of the song, in front of a bookshelf by The Knight’s nook that was facing them.

The Knight was used to Xiv’s brief, but gentle touches. What they weren’t expecting, however, was to hear a second instrument join the mix. They sat up in the pillow-pile, pulling themself to be more or less cradled by a bunch of them. After rubbing the blur from their eyes, they looked to see where the violin was coming from, and- oh!

She actually came. That night was a little bit of a blur, admittedly. The Knight remembered how it felt. They remembered the comfort and relief, and they remembered all of Whimsy’s words. By some miracle, however, much of what they’d said had been scrambled in their mind. Both a blessing and a curse, they supposed…

Sheepishly, they adjusted their sweater. They wore a dark green knit sweater here, with some soft black pants to match. Fuzzy socks, for some unknown reason, covered their feet. They were far from as fashionable as Whimsy seemed to be.

Quietly, The Knight paid attention to the music. It wasn’t often you got to listen to a concert from the gods, they supposed. How dire must a situation seem, they wondered, to inspire something like this? It was a beautiful concert, anyway. If that was not an original composition, The Knight might just have to ask what the song was. They’d quite like to listen to it i- when they get home.

Eventually, the song ends.

XIV tilts her head towards Her Knight who is now awake, a permanent smile etched to her face. A soft cheery voice dropped down to greet him, “Had your fill of sleeping? Sorry if the noise woke you up.” 

She turned to look at Whimsy, and her smile was slightly wider. A divine sense towards a crack in the facade, a mirror to her own. In this battle of attrition, she will emerge victorious. “That was a great play, Whimsy!”

Whimsy held out her hands again and let the instrument disappear in a puff of glittering pink light particles. She grinned at XIV, a bit of her usual self returning.

“Thank you! That was wonderful, yes! Ah, I missed playing music! Ever since Puppeteer disappeared, and… heh, I’m saying too much again, aren’t I?” Whimsy chuckled, leaning back against the bookshelf.

“I did say I’d visit, so here I am! Hello, █████!” Whimsy turned her attention to The Knight, pulling her gloves further down her palms. “Nice place, by the way. I must admit, you have great taste as usual!~” Both at XIV and the human.

“Anyways, down to business! Do you play any card games, █████?” with a flick of her wrist, a pack of playing cards appeared in Whimsy’s left hand. “You can join too, XIV! Hum, I should visit more, shouldn’t I? I missed this…!” Whimsy bounced over to The Knight and waved for XIV to join them, taking a seat beside them. She took the deck of cards out, discarding the jokers, and began shuffling. Nothing fancy, just a standard shuffle. She wasn’t even looking at the cards, instead having her head facing The Knight while a few of her mirrors pointed in different directions.

Strange, were her eyes white? Or is it just because they aren’t fully open? Who knows.

Whimsy was such an outgoing person, The Knight thought. Very different from most of their friends (was Whimsy their friend? Or just… an especially kind stranger?), but it was a nice change of pace. They sat up a little bit straighter. “Ah- hi, Whimsy. Um… I haven’t played with cards in a long while. I do know the rules to just about everything, though, so if one of you two has a preference…”

They wanted to be as accommodating as they could, even in their dream. Xiv had no reason other than kindness to give them a break from the DMS, and Whimsy had no reason other than her own boredom and kindness to be here at all. The least they could do was offer to let them choose the card game. 

The whiteness of Whimsy’s eyes was noticed, but admittedly? It didn’t bother them much at all. Maybe they’d been seeing too much Xiv as of late, but entirely white eyes were starting to look normal now. (What horrifying implications for the future.)

Whimsy and Xiv’s presence, however, was clearly already starting to benefit their mood. This was the most alert they’d been in… quite some time.

“What game are we playing again?” XIV slowly descended from the hammock. “Is it poker? Or..”

“Hmm, let me think…” Whimsy hummed and thought about what game best fit the occasion. “We could play poker, sure! Or something like Go Fish, or Hearts? Ah, I sound old, don’t I?” Whimsy chuckled. They placed the cards down on the seat and riffle shuffled them, the cards quietly slapping together against each other.

Card games. What was their favourite one again? …Dammit, she couldn’t remember. How puzzling.

“Aaaaaanyways, how about it? You can pick, I have no preference! Whatever you think will make you happiest!” Whimsy looked to The Knight expectantly, pausing in shuffling the deck.

Ahhh, um…. They tried to think of any game they had played at some point. “Do you know how to play Blackjack?” they asked. “It’s a good one to warm up with, I think.”

“Sounds good to me!” XIV nodded, she turned to Whimsy, “Well? Shall we?”

“Sure! Let me just…” Whimsy stopped shuffling and with her free hand, snapped her fingers. A small pile of chips appeared next to each player. “I don’t usually gamble, but why not! Might be a little rusty, eheh… I’ll deal!”

Two cards were dealt face up to XIV and The Knight. One face up and one face down for Whimsy. She placed the pile of undealt cards next to her. The card that was face up for her was a Jack of Hearts.

They glanced down at their hand.

…what the fuck. A jack of diamonds and a jack of clubs.

“....I will stand.”

On XIV's end, 2 of Spades and 5 of Clubs. 7 in total. “Hit.”

She picks up a card and flips it face up. 7 of Spades. 14 points. “Hit.”

She picks up another card. A King of Hearts.

Busted! XIV giggled with excitement. “Whoops! Guess I'm out!”

“Aww, shame!” Whimsy flipped the face-down card up. A four of spades. “Hm, hit.”

Another card drawn. Six of diamonds. “Hm, guess it’s a draw! Wanna go again?”

XIV turns to her Knight, “Ready for another round? Because I am.” She licks her plastic lips.

They nodded with more energy than Xiv had seen from them in a long while. “Yes, please.” How long had it been since they got to do something silly and fun like cards? Just. Ignore the fact that it’s a dream. And they’re playing cards with gods. And this was just silly, fun, and innocent.

XIV nodded in acknowledgement. “Well then, who is the next dealer?”

Whimsy gathered up all the cards again and sorted them out. “Hmm, I can deal again, unless one of you guys want to?” Whimsy’s eyes were closed, but it seems like she can still see. How odd, but perhaps not the strangest coming from gods. Her usual smile had returned too.

“Hehe, this is fun!”

The Knight spoke up hesitantly. “I can deal,” they said. Butting in to deal cards to gods was probably not a typical nighttime activity, but hey… who were they to play normal?

“Alrighty then!” Whimsy handed the deck of cards to The Knight, waiting for them to shuffle and deal. The mirrors spun slowly and reflected the light of the library.

XIV silently watched, her elbows to the table and palms under her chin.

With slightly shaky hands, The Knight performed a bridge shuffle twice, to ensure that the cards were properly mixed. They weren’t entirely sure when they’d learned how to do that and felt it best for their mental health not to try and figure it out. They dealt two cards to Xiv, two cards to Whimsy, and then two to themself. The one face up on their deck was the queen of spades.

“Alright,” They said.

XIV smiled at the sight of her cards, 4 of Diamonds, 5 of Spades. 9 points. “Hit”

She draws another card. A Queen of Spades. 28 points in total. “Busted!”

Whimsy glanced down at her cards. A Jack of Spades and 6 of Hearts. “Hit.”

Whimsy drew another card. 9 of Diamonds. “Ahh, busted!” Whimsy chuckled, unfazed.

Turning their other card to be face up, The Knight revealed that they had a queen of spades and a nine of diamonds. “Nineteen. I am the winner by default.”

“Well would you look at that! Congratulations!” XIV claps her hands. “I’ll be dealing for this round. Let's see how far that luck is going to take you.”

With a wink and a beckon, all the cards came to her palm. “Honestly, you think so little in dreams. You can always get creative!”

She holds onto the deck and tosses it in the air. One by one they begin to fall and surround her like a halo. She held up her right hand and the cards began landing towards it in a single file.

Upon completion, she smacks it with her other hand, forming an accordion pattern. Cards begin to flip on 9 of Hearts, 5 of Spades, and Jack of Clubs. 

With another slam, she starts distributing 2 cards to both Whimsy and Her Knight, her card face up and face down. A Jack of Hearts.

“Hehe, that’s true…!” Whimsy had to agree there. Alas, right now she was content with being plain. It was nice to not think so much after… recent(?) events.

Two fives, one of Diamonds and one of Spades. “Hit!”

Another card drawn. Four of Spades. “Hit again!” Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like she had very good luck. The next card was a King of Clubs. “Aww, 24! Busted, that’s too bad!” If an average person had lost twice in a row, they might be a little (or a lot) annoyed. Not Whimsy. She seemed fine with just about everything.

The Knight examined their cards. An eight of diamond and a ten of clubs. That was… tumultuous. “...stand,” they decide. Best not risk it, right?

Eh, perhaps they could’ve tried, but what were the odds they got a 3 or lower? Slim to none, honestly. Unless Xiv did something to the deck.

XIV unflips her card. 11 points with the Jack, and now 15 with 4 of clubs. Another card and it was a 10 of Hearts. 

25. Busted.

“Well well, guess you won again!”

“Haha! Perhaps luck does favour you after all!” Whimsy laughed. Ah well, they could use this after all the misfortune they’ve been through.

“I’ll deal now!” Whimsy hummed as she gathered all the cards, shuffling them. It’s rather unusual how plain and basic her shuffles were today. Since when did she not want to put on a show? A cascade shuffle to finish off a sequence of plain riffle and overhand shuffles. How unusual indeed.

“Humm.. say, █████?” Whimsy tilted her head at The Knight as they dealt the cards. “How well do you think your friends would fare in this game? I mean, luck’s been on your side clearly!”

Looking down at their own cards, Whimsy got a Jack of Clubs for the one that’s face up.

“I think █< Piece of Connection >█ would do oddly well,” They said. “She tends to have a knack for things she claims she’s never done before.” It was easy to talk freely here, as, well… The Knight was in their dominion. Anything short of insulting the two gods, and they felt whatever they did would end up being more amusing than anything else. Hell, maybe even if they insulted them. Not that they wanted to, of course. “As for █< Knight of Hearts >█… I believe it would go bad. Immediately. Just shitty luck.”

Their two cards were a two and four of diamonds. “Hit me.” Nine of clubs, bringing their total up to… fifteen. “Hit me.” Ten of diamonds. Fucking diamond. Son of a bitch. “Fuck.”

“Just goes to show that you can always get unlucky!” XIV laughs to herself before looking down at her cards. 7 of Spades, Queen of Diamonds. 19 points.

“... Stand.”

Whimsy giggled, flipping over her card. Two of Clubs. “Hit!”

Another card drawn. King of Spades. “Ah! Busted! You win, XIV!” Whimsy clapped in delight. “Only one bad card can really mess up your whole hand, hmm?”

“Yay!” XIV held her hands in the air.

The Knight laughed as well, finding that it was hard not to get wrapped up in Whimsy’s unending mirth. “I think diamonds are cursed for me,” They joked. “It’s rather convenient that one of them ended my win-streak.”

Granted, that win streak was… what, two games? Three? “I haven’t played Blackjack in years,” they said. “Last time I played, we…” They flushed. This was an embarrassing story. “We were gambling for the last bottle of vodka.”

“Hah! Really?” Whimsy laughed. “Oh, right! Yes, I remember briefly seeing that…! Heh, it was quite an interesting time indeed!” …Wait. How long had Whimsy been watching The Knight, then? Who knows? Sometimes, out the corner of her eye, they simply saw things.

“Hum, diamonds, huh? Now that reminds me of someone…” Whimsy tapped her chin, thinking. “Ah well, best not to dwell on it! Your turn to deal, █████!”

As much as inhumanly possible card shuffling tricks would’ve worked, The Knight decided to save those for a different dream. (What dream? Probably one that would never come to pass, but regardless.) They shuffled the cards together in another bridge before passing them out along their trio, leaving one of theirs face up. A Jack of hearts.

Wait. “Wh- you saw that?” They asked. “How did you… know I was alive?”

XIV quietly observed their conversation, the ribbons trail off elsewhere and return with a small bottle. Slowly filling with what believed to be star candies.

She looks down at her set. Ace of Clubs, and 10 of Hearts. 21 points. “11 Ace Points. Stand.”

If XIV could smile any wider, she would.

“Oooh!” Whimsy giggled and looked down at her cards. Four of diamonds and six of spades. “Hit!”

Another card drawn. Seven of diamonds. “Hum, 17… stand!”

Whimsy watched as the star candies filled the jar. “Hehe, let’s just say that human lives are fascinating to watch! I’m not sure if it rubbed off from them or not, but either way I don’t mind!”

The Knight was so fucked. They would lose if they didn’t try, so… “Hit.” Oh. Holy fuck.

“...it’s a tie.”

What were the fucking odds The Knight got a Jack of Hearts, 10 of Diamonds, and an Ace? What the hell?

“Is… is this game rigged? This doesn’t feel right.”

“Ha. Haha!” XIV tilted her head back to laugh. “So it seems to be a push.”

“Hehe! So it does!” Whimsy, miraculously, hadn’t won a single game, yet she was incredibly patient. Her time would come, eventually. Besides, she had all the time in the world!

“Rigged? Haha, why would you ever propose such a thing?” Their brows wrinkled in slight confusion, though her smile persisted. “I must admit, this is a fascinating display of luck! Makes me wonder if…” but Whimsy didn’t continue her sentence, instead letting it trail off into silence.

The Knight frowned and tilted their head to the side. Not an expression of pain or disappointment (unlike usually…), just one of… curiosity. “Wonder what?”

“Yeah Whimsy, you have interrupted your pondering for quite some time now.” XIV leaned back, crossing one leg over in a lax position.

“Hum… yes, I suppose I have!” Whimsy hummed. “Well, I was wondering if █< Piece of Connection >█ would really be so good at Blackjack like you said, heh!”

Whimsy sighed, standing up and smoothing her dress. With a curtsey, she exclaimed, “Hum, this was fun! I’ll come back again sometime later, perhaps! For now, goodnight!” Walking a few steps away with a wave, they disappeared just like that, leaving the dream.

…oh. Had they said something wrong? With the frown still present on their face, The Knight waved. “Ah… bye, Whimsy.”

XIV silently watched Whimsy leave, and she slowly stood up. She turns to face Her Knight “... How are you feeling, █████?”

“Stay strong… I will find a way to save you.”

Ah. The Knight settled back into the pillows that they were nestled in before, mulling over the question. They were feeling… “As alright as I can,” they said. “It was nice to play a game. I… I’m just tired, though.”

So, so tired. But- “I know you will,” The Knight replied. “Thank you. I’m… I wish I could do more to save myself, but I just.” It was hard enough not to completely lose their mind. To even attempt to escape… they feared the consequences too much. “I don’t know what to do other than to rest and wait for things to settle. As much as it pains me. I imagine you have better perspectives, though.”

“I understand, and I do not blame you for being as you are.”  They are starting to sound so eerily similar, It’s funny if it weren’t so sad.Through the back of his mind, I find…

“Staying strong, saving what’s left of your sanity, and being resilient is all you can do, patience will be your key to your freedom.” XIV knelt in one knee and bowed. “You will suffer, but that suffering will make way for something greater.”

Ribbons tugged away, causing her body to be lifted off the ground.

“Stay strong… For I believe in you so.”

Just like that, XIV falls into the white crack above and disappear

Wren was sitting in their hospital bed, thin white sheets covering them; Thankfully the days were getting hotter, as those didn't look like they'd warm much, if at all. She had her phone out, scrolling through the blogs and answering asks whenever she was given any. Her face transitioned from disgust while reading Kalei’s blog, to neutrality from Avery’s blog, and confusion while reading the pirate’s.

Whimsy—her name was—had scheduled (.. although, can it really be called scheduling if she just.. decided to go visit it?) a meeting over in it's hospital room, with a promise of a board game and that she'd keep an eye out for the others. Wren had accepted because, hell, the only company he'd had in days was of the creature in the corner of the room, whom he named Pest.

He was, frankly, going insane. A friendly face would always be appreciated.

As promised, a person walks down the hallway and opens the door. She smiles widely at Wren, holding a box of Ludo.

“Hiiii!! Wren, right?” they skipped over to their bedside, smiling all the while. She smoothed out her pink skirt and ran her hand through her light brown hair, which was in a waist-length jellyfish haircut. The ends of the wider top part of the haircut is dyed pink, while the bottom of the long part is purple. “I’m Whimsy! Nice to finally meet you in person!”

Wren looked up from his phone, blinking a bit—processing, maybe. It's been so long since somebody spoke kindly to them. Their lips tilted the slightest bit upwards.

“Ah..” —Well, the name definitely fit her, that's for sure.— “I could say the same. Nice meeting you, Whimsy.”

It looked down at the board game she brought along. Huh. So the question wasn't just for niceties, was it. That's…thoughtful.

“Uh- There’s not many places to sit, I'm afraid. You can-” He gestured to the bed. “..sit here, I guess. The nurses didn't think I'd get visitors so they didn't bother with chairs.” Neither did he, truthfully speaking.

Whimsy took a seat on the bed with a bounce in her step, opening the boardgame box and beginning to set it up. Her hands had short white gloves on them that barely reached the wrist.

“I don’t mind!! Are you doing better lately?” they asked as they took out the board. “What colour are you usually? I don’t mind being any!” Ludo. They used to drag her friends to play this with her whenever she realised they’re available. Or not. They entertained her sometimes anyways. Puppeteer would be green, Lextus would be blue, Whimsy would be yellow, and…

And…

…

Well, it’s no matter! She was doing alright. She was happy! But Whimsy couldn’t help but wonder… if they would still choose the red piece.

“Hum, well I heard the nurses here are quite rude!” Whimsy exclaimed as she set up the pieces. “It’s really unfortunate. I mean, come on! Being transphobic and things isn’t fun at all! Why not dedicate their energy to other stuff like their jobs instead of making weird comments and misgendering people?” Whimsy sighed. “It isn’t good, but at least I can be annoying to them about it, haha!” Even in the most unfortunate circumstances, this woman manages to find humour, huh?

Wren was staring holes into her, it's eyebrows furrowing before it went back to it's normal, neutral face. She hummed, watching the stranger (..?) attentively. When she wasn't looking, mostly.

“Yeah, I've heard backhanded compliments quite a few times. Get the feeling they don't really like me. But well, can't do anything about it can I?” She'd say, as if discussing something as tame as the weather and not their identity. “I'll take blue. You?”

Blue. He liked the color blue a ton. His hair was dyed a tone of blue by middle and tips, he colored his pronouns with blue. Opposite of pink—Err..not that they had anything against the woman sitting in front of them, of course.

“Ah, as for your question- I'm doing alright. I think I'll leave soon enough, so there's no need to worry.”

“Hmm, I’ll be yellow then!” Whimsy said, setting up the coloured pieces. Accidentally, she picked up the red one first, then hastily dropped it.

“Whoops, wrong colour, haha!” they chuckled sheepishly, waving off the mistake.

“I’m glad you’re doing better!! I’m sure Cake would love to have you back soon,” Whimsy looked up and smiled wider. Her smile never really went away, did it?

“It’s just unfortunate that some of the nurses choose to spread hurtful ideologies instead of treating everyone with the lack of bias they’re supposed to have, that’s all,” they remarked with a sigh.

“Hmm, I take it you like the colour blue then? It’s a lovely colour! A few of my friends really like it too!” Whimsy pointed out casually. In fact, the ribbed sleeveless sweater she was wearing was a pale shade of periwinkle. Underneath the sweater appeared to be a very frilly blouse, with the white laced flutter sleeves poking out from under the sweater.

She hummed, looking at the board on top of the bed. It seemed like red was something of notice in her—At least in this game. She couldn't immediately assume, though. But she knew she was right, anyway.

No. Shut it, Wren. Treat her kindly and with respect, she may be the only person ever coming to see you at the hospital.

“My favorite color, yeah. Wouldn't be too far off if I said yours was pink?” They said, adding: “It does suit you.”

Wren was wearing the damned hospital clothes. Hell, can this even be considered clothes? A washed out, green-ish gown was beyond humiliating, especially for someone who enjoyed dressing their style. Almost reminded them of back then.

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Don't focus on that now, you have a visit.

“Thank you, for uh..Coming here. I really do appreciate it.” Honesty was slipping through, how.. unexpected.

Whimsy giggled as she finished setting up the board.

“Yep! I looooove pink! It’s so preeeeetty!” she took the six-sided die from the box and rolled it to decide what turn they would be going in. “Mm, oh, a five!” Whimsy exclaimed. “Yay! Alright, your turn!” they looked up at Wren, gesturing at the die.

“It’s no problem! Not like I’ve got much to do today anyway, hehe!” Whimsy grinned. “I’m just glad I can cheer you up! I can come more if you’d like, you know! Have you had any other visitors lately?”

Wren winces, turning her attention to the window instead of Whimsy. She grabbed the die without a word and rolled it. A two. Seems like her endless Ludo luck is still in place. At least that didn't change.

“...I have not.” It muttered under it's breath, gaze searching for.. something. “That's alright, I don't wish anyone to see me like this, anyway. Not those closest to me.” That's what it told itself; it's better to not go visit them, they don't look like themselves. He's wearing stuff that isn't his, eating food not made by himself. Sleeping in a bed that wasn't earned. Scars tainting her wrists, worse than they ever were. She wouldn't want Cake to see those, most definitely.

Loneliness was the best option for now.

But Wren was selfish. Although thinking and repeating the many valid reasons to not be visited, it still wants company. Despite what it wishes upon other people, despite what it did to it's brother. Despite being a human incapable of being loved, it still begged for it when alone. How despicable.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that.” she said, taking one of her pieces and placing it on the starting square, then rolling the die. “Ah, a one… eh, it’s fine!” Whimsy moved her piece one square forward.

“I understand..! Hmm, when did you say you’ll be discharged again?” they asked Wren. “Maybe I’ll go check in on Cake! Ah, if you’re okay with that, of course…!” she didn’t want to repeat the same mistake Diamond did. She saw how hateful Wren was towards it. While Whimsy technically didn’t care one bit, it was probably better to ask.

As if reading Wren’s mind, Whimsy tilted her head to the side and for a brief moment, did her constant smile waver? “You know, you deserve love and happiness just like anyone else! Really. I mean that.” she said softly, with utmost sincerity. Their tone was serious. “I know it might be hard to believe, but it’s true. I may not know you very well, but that’s one thing I know about everyone, and that includes you too!”

..God, the name really did fit her.

“Heh. Thank you for the kind words, Whimsy.” He said, finally lifting his gaze to her once more. Although, he winced in pain at the movement, putting a hand on his forehead. Fuck, not now.

“Uh…checking up on Cake..Well, you're not that freakish asshole, so. But I don't think I can trust you just yet. My apologies.”

Selfish. Selfish selfish selfish. She's being so kind to you and not even letting her see your brother you allow? How far gone you've come.

They closed their eyes again, tightly. The light from the window was getting too bright for them, especially without glasses. And it hurt. Headaches that felt like your head was about to explode. That getting a bullet through it would hurt so much less. “Ugh…S-Sorry. You.. asked me a question..?”

Whimsy noticed Wren’s pain, looking towards the window. Ah, the light was right over their face. That can’t be good. In a swift motion, Whimsy got up from the bed and walked over to the window, drawing the curtains closed with a whoosh. She bounced back to the bed soon enough, taking her seat once again.

“I understand! I won’t go over in person, then.” she tilted her head. “Do you mean that Diamond person? Is it with Cake right now?” let’s just say they’ve heard things about it… not so good things.

“Oh! Yeah, when do you think you’re getting discharged?” Whimsy repeated her question. She then gestured to the Ludo board. “Also, it’s your turn!”

Wren grabbed the die again, rolling it. Six. Nice. They took out another blue piece before speaking again:

“I mean, if they don't decide to keep me here for longer, probably in two or three days at max. Thank goodness, I'm so done with this place. Especially because of…” They wave their hand dismissively to the corner. “That.”

It attempted to ignore how the name Diamond causes it's blood to boil. Hell, worse than Kalei's has ever, even at the beginning of it all. “Yeah, it's with my brother. When I go back home I'll crush that freak, I swear..”

He paused, noticing he said that out loud. Great.

“..Not really, but- Uh. I don't like it.”

Whimsy rolled the die again. Yet another one, but Whimsy didn’t seem to mind at all. She moved her piece one forward.

“That?” she looked towards the corner Wren pointed towards. It was empty, or so it seemed. She could feel… something there. What, exactly, she couldn’t tell without tapping into her own powers. And that was, unfortunately, not an option at the moment. Not with Wren there. “I… don’t see anything..?”

Whimsy chuckled at Wren’s angry statement. It was funny and admirable how protective they were of her brother. If Whimsy had siblings in Cake’s situation, she was sure they would react very similarly. “Understandable! It’s… hmm, its actions are certainly choices!”

A scoff, then: “You can say that again. What an asshole; Scaring children, manipulating them. It makes me sick.”

It looked back at the corner, then at Whimsy. Fuck, did that thing hide? Great, now it just looks like it's mentally insane. Not wrong, is it?

“..My mistake, I don't have my glasses on. I must've miss-seen it.”

She grabbed the die, throwing it lightly against the board. Three.

“Hm.”—Whimsy didn’t really believe that they miss-saw anything. She squinted at the corner. There was definitely something there, but they decided to let it go for now. She can investigate it on her own later.

“Alright then!” she said lightly. After Wren moved their pieces, she rolled the die again. A four. She grabbed her piece and moved it 4 squares forward.

“Yeah, I agree! I wonder what its end goal is, though? I guess at the end of the day it doesn’t matter though, what it’s doing is still terrible of course!” they tapped her knee in thought. “I don’t know why anyone would do what it’s doing; it just doesn’t make any sense!” Whimsy exclaimed, sighing. “Cake is just a kid! What could it possibly want with them anyway?”

They grabbed the die, rolling it again. Eyes shifty. Have they always been that way? Or did it start with the “thing” conversation? Wren looks like the type of person to be paranoid often.

Two.

“From what I understand, it wants to use him as leverage against me and my dear Kalei, given he's like…our little brother.” Yeah that's it, say things for how they are. No longer the favorite, Wren. Way past that.

“It's being sweet to him because Cake will see it as a friend, and it knows we don't wanna hurt them, so we'll just let it pass. How dare he, use a child as a way to reach other people. Disgusting, vile creature.” Words spewed out of her mouth with poison. She really hated diamond and it was clear to see.

“Hmm… I see!” Whimsy rolled the die. Six! How wonderful. Whimsy smiled wider as she moved their piece forward.

“Leverage? How curious… then it must want something from you two, right?” Whimsy pondered. “It appears to be quite the master manipulator… And I don’t mean that in the good way!! I’ve seen some things, particularly… well, what it did to Kalei a while back. Used them like a tool, forced them to be an accomplice in a crime…” she sighed, her smile drooping until only the corners of their lips were slightly upturned. They never did stop smiling, just how much.

The two continued playing Ludo and chatting until visiting hours were over. Whimsy had won the game by the end of visiting hours. She packed up the game with a smile.

“Well, that was fun! I hope my visit brought you some joy, Wren!” she exclaimed with a grin. “I’d love to drop by and play more games with you guys sometime!” they hugged the game set close to herself, smoothing her clothes and hair as she stood by Wren’s bedside. They really did want to visit the two siblings sometime, maybe after this whole Diamond debacle was over?

Sometimes, though very rarely, Whimsy did need reminding that this is her purpose in life. To bring joy to others, and to herself. Today, by visiting Wren, she hoped that she could fulfil that. At the very least, Whimsy feels happier, and they hoped that Wren did too.

Wren managed a smile as well, nodding her head.

“I'll be looking forward to it, then. Take care, Whimsy.”