#scarredface

[He pauses, the words falling quiet and too faint to make out. It seems he's noticed something, because he's looking around and letting his wavering grin fall flat.]

[There is a long pause, you're waiting for him to continue, but he doesn't. His eyes are on the sky.]

(You follow this strange cat into the light despite the strangeness of this situation. The closer you get to the light, the more light-headed you seem to get. It's like your body is becoming fuzzy and distorting, you can't feel anything anymore. The moment you touch the light, you black out.)

(As you begin to wake up, you feel the gentle breeze ruffling your fur and a flowery scent tickles your nose. A purr rumbles from the strange cat as he looks you up and down, his paw extended in an offer to help you up. You accept and look around.)

(The surrounding plants are pink and green, and water flows from an unidentified source from above into a creek in front of you. The cat introduces himself as Scarredface, though he seems quickly caught off guard and gets confused.)

(There are many, many more ghostly spirits around you than you thought there were! They may not LOOK like you, with your cat-like form and their glowing orbs of many colors, but they're certainly buzzing around and speaking around you. Scarredface is clearly nervous, but brushes off your concerns and clears his throat.)

(You don't even offer any distractions before he gets off-track again, likely from stage freight.)

(He looks at the rest of the spirits as he talks, purposefully avoiding looking at you. Apparently, only the orb-ghosts matter? You don't know, but whatever the case, it seems he's prompting everyone to choose how you look and pick other traits for you to have? How worrying...)

(You listen to Scarredface's command, standing away from him as he watches on the sidelines. A deep breath rattles your core, the anxiety making this change less and less desirable the longer it takes.)

(That's when you begin to feel something shift, your extremities tingling and your mind open to the other ideas of these spirits Scarredface brought along with you. Turning to watch the change, you find yourself walking in circles around yourself.)

(Your fur lengthens, your colors darken, ears growing in size. Just about everything that could change did. No longer are you a blank slate; you are now an individual together, you and the many souls.)

(Scarredface approaches you and congratulates you on your new appearance, his expression happy even if he seems taken off guard. Maybe he was expecting different choices? Whatever the case, he offers you his support and encourages you to pick a name out.)

(You're tired of all of these long-winded discussions on these kinds of questions, so you just prompt your souls to give one SINGLE suggestion they each have for your name. Scarredface is excited that you're taking the lead, nodding along as he sits to write down each suggested name in the bark of a nearby tree to make things easier.)

(It's been... an indeterminate amount of time, but long enough to notice. Scarredface had fallen asleep what felt like ages ago as everyone got focused on picking an appearance. You'd been trying to give your own input, but much of it was drowned out by other voices. It was only when it became mostly quiet, or questions directed to the sleeping spirit, did you wake him up to continue with the process.)

(You've just woken up in a strange, dark world. Around you, souls flitter about like butterflies adrift in the wind. It's an endless expanse, and the only thing you can touch is the strange transparent surface you're standing on. It leads to a blinding light that glimmers with stars.

(A glittery spirit's voice echoes into your ears, startling you out of your thoughts. It drifts away from you and circles around Scarredface, before floating back to you expectantly. Your paws feel the urge to move beneath you, and Scarredface looks at you with an uncomfortable and confused expression.)

(As you walk up to Scarredface, he straightens up and stares at you with wide eyes. There's an unreadable expression in his gaze, you can nearly *feel* the thoughts running through his mind. The moment you reach your paw up and touch his nose, he jolts and lets out an embarrassed squeak.)