#voidoworks

Welcome to MY table, Melrose.

...Lets use every last drop.

;3

Two footsteps walk in rhythmic motion down lifeless halls, Rosa’s head hung somewhat as she keeps her eyes away from Thorn’s.

“Thanks for, ah.. coming- I know you really didn’t have to, so it.. meant a lot to me, You know?”

“Of course!~ I’m excited to see it, It’s not everyday you get to see your buds’ apartment! Plus it means you’re not afraid that I’m gonna, like, KILL YOU while we’re there or something!”

They both chuckle a little, Rosa’s sheepishness lightening a little as her cheeks warm and her smile shines once more.

Despite the cold, white walls and the patterned carpets which feel like Visual static to look at.. it felt warm with the two of them walking down the hall, Not quite filled with the typical existential real world dread most places are filled with, now instead mostly just friends laughing and giggling together. It was nice.

Soon enough, a key turned in a knob of cheap metal as the door clicked, quickly pushing open as the cold air gushed into the room with Rosa and Thorn, eliciting a small shudder from Thorn.

“Chilly!”

The wolf breathes deep, relaxing at the smell of home. Her Home.

“Haah.. yeah, It gets pretty cold in here- I don’t mind it though, gives me more opportunities to get snug and cozy. If you get too cold though, lemme know- I probably have a space heater in some closet.”

“Will do, will do- Wwhhhew..!”

“…If you’re really that cold- Here.”

Rosa moves over into the darkness of her apartment, easily navigating over and picking up a shadowy mass of cloth, throwing it over at Thorn- who promptly catches it, albeit barely. It was a small mini-towel…

“…O.. One, why would you have this on your couch- Two, why would.. HOW would this help??”

A smile crept on his face at he looked over at Rosa, clearly amused whilst wrapping the towel around his neck like a makeshift scarf.

“…Well, If you’re REALLY that uncreative I suppose I could give you my hoodie..”

“No- No, I’m good.. thank you for the offer though. Now- Can you, ah…”

“…turn the lights on please,”

“OH. RIGHT. Sorry..!”

A nervous giggle followed with a somewhat hoarse throat clearing rung out from the shadow enveloped wolf, walking over to the light switch and flicking it on- flinching a little as the harsh light bit at her eyes.

“I usually keep them off, since.. I always forget to turn them off before I go anywhere, and I don’t wanna waste any money. That, or I end up getting too attached to the lights being on and get sad whenever I have to turn ‘em off.”

“You’re a LITTLE pathetic, you know that~?”

A mischievous snicker comes from the smug(?) looking Thorn, smiling slyly at her.

“HEEEY! Talk about rude- AND in my own home no less, where I’m Queen!~”

She took a second to realize it was a joke, quickly realizing soon enough and laughing in addition to his snicker.

“Okay- You wanna get comfy on the couch or would you wanna.. like…”

“…I’M gonna make us two grilled cheeses. You can feel free to do whatever you want in the meantime, ‘Kay?”

“Sounds like a plan to me! I’m gonna go snooping.”

Almost IMMEDIATELY after saying that he hopped and skipped along, basically driving himself thoughtlessly down the path to wherever he thought Rosa’s bedroom would be, as there’s a burning curiosity in his mind regarding a very specific something.. something that’s been on his mind for a good while, ever since meeting her, and that something—

A single bell rings and cuts clean through the symphony of the city, disorganized footsteps and organized walking swift through into an ice cream parlor, the frozen chill of the cold store being somehow outmatched by the jagged edges of the wild winds outside. After a bit of indistinct chatter and debate, two people finally find themselves at a good booth to rest at- one gently placing their cone to their lips, and the other opening their maw wide and taking a BIG bite.

“Mmmhf!~”

She swallows quick after chewing the doughy chunks in her ice-cream, a satisfied “ah” following suit.

“Thank you again for taking mm—You know! Ice cream- you- you get it..”

Despite having prominent bone on her face, a blush shines bright and clear- stumbling over her own words, quickly silencing herself with another bite of ice-cream.

“Of course.. it was a pretty simple decision, Y’know! All my other friends were off busy, I wanted to get food, and CLEARLY you were hungry!~”

He chuckles, smiling warmly whilst nibbling and licking at his own cone of icecream- slowly carving it out.

“And also- judging by your expression, YEAH- I told you so!~ This place is the BEST, at least if you have the energy to go out.”

She makes a noise, looking away and even FULLY turning her body at an angle to not directly face him, letting her eyes fixate on the table as her beret shifted down a little. Unfortunately, that thing was NOT going to hide her face even a LITTLE bit.

“Yeah- Yeah, I should’ve believed you when you said it.. it’s SOOO good though.. I’m almost tempted to let you take the win- Buuuut, I won’t! Because YOU’RE gonna get in trouble for being a weiirdo who offers strangers ice cream!~”

“Wooooowww..~”

He scoffs lightheartedly, crossing his arms a little (whilst of course still securing another lick).

“Maybe I should just take your icecream for mys—“

G L A R E .

“. . .”

“N-Noted! Ahm..”

He coughs a little, clearly a little embarrassed / flustered / something or the other. Intimidated could fit, but even then..

Regardless, though,

“..So.. what’s your name?”

She blinks immediately, freezing up like a deer in headlights. She takes a while to do.. ANYTHING, eventually swallowing her bite of ice cream.

“..A..Aah..? Pardon? My- my name?”

She blinks, yet again, staring at him emptily- ears lowering a little as she very slowly processed things, with no help from the icy food in her system synonymous with causing pain in the brain.

“…OH- FUCK— DID I NOT TELL YOU MY NAME?? I DON’t— I didn’t evenaskforyoursohmygodI’msosorry”

Quickly she covers her face with a paw, letting out a quiet groan from the raw embarrassment.

“It’s fiine, don’t worry! My names Thorn.”

He extends his own hand out, clearly offering a shake.

“…”

She shifts up, removing her face from the thin blockade her paw made- looking at Thorn’s hand before making a quiet and subtle noise, keeping her eyes off of him whilst “subtly” muttering.

“mynamesrosaitsnicetomeetyouimsosorry”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you in return! Now seriously stop worrying about it or else I’m eating what’s left of your cone—“

C H O M P

“—or apparently what doesn’t remain of your cone”

“Mhine.”

She lets out a faux, hushed growl as she swallowed the last bit of what was her ice cream and co(ne).

“Hah.. Thank- thank you again for the treat, it was really nice.. I honestly can’t remember the last time I had ice cream- This was nice..!”

She coughs, brushing off her somewhat crumb riddled jacket- quick to wipe off the remainder of the crumbs on her cheeks afterwards.

“A little uninvited trivia- I will KILL someone for you if you get me good food.”

A snicker comes after she finishes her sentence- from the both of them no less!

“How many times have I said this already?—It’s fine, seriously!~ If you want, I could get you anot-“

“noitsfine”

She squirms in her seat, making another huff- clearly desperate to escape her natural shyness and embarrassment of her gluttony.

“So- uh-“

“…friends..?”

“…”

“Friends.”

He smiles warmly.

[I remember the way she looked at me when I asked her that. The way she suddenly snapped back to reality, the way it seemed like her entire body jolted before quickly settling back to a kind of melancholic calm. I remember how it seemed like I had startled her and woke her up from some weird dream.]

[She stared at me so weirdly. It was kinda funny, now that I think back on it..! In a good kind of way of course. She took a little to respond, before..]

“…”

[..I cleared my throat.]

“Y-Yeah. Of.. of course you can.”

“…Cool! Thanks! My legs are SOOO tired from walking around this place..”

[I watched her fidget around a little, her voice had sounded shaky and rigid, and she kept her eyes off of me- they looked like they were drilling into the ground, in all honesty..]

“…”

“…”

“..Hmh.. ah.. Y’know- the more I think about it the more awkward this is gonna sound, but you look REALLY cool. I’ve never seen anyone with like- BONE on their face. On- on the outside of their face, I mean! It’d be crazy if I met someone without any bones in or OUT of their face.”

“…Wait- wait, no, uh… oops..”

[She chuckled quietly, looking up a little- a faint little glow illuminating those hard pale cheeks and the soft fluffy parts of those cheeks that weren’t covered in bone. I don’t know HOW bone can blush like that, but.. okay!]

“..T-Thank you. It.. means.. a.. a lot, I guess? Or- well, it does mean a lot. Thanks..”

[Shakily, She clears her throat, as He sits up a little.]

“What’re you.. doing out here? Not a lot of people usually like to go on a walk nowadays, at least down here. People usually prefer, Y’know..”

[She gestures with a claw, motioning it towards the buildings.]

“. . .”

[I stared at her, probably blankly, for a little bit, trying to figure out what she meant- until it FINALLY clicked...]

“OOOHH! You mean like, up on the rooftops!”

“…You.. you’re aware that, like, half of this city doesn’t do that kinda stuff right? We’re not all flexible let alone built to take the risk of falling!”

“. . . Oh.”

[..Fffuck. Why didn’t I think of that sooner? That’s pretty obvious, and I saw a BUNCH of people on the sidewalks below when I used to do it.. and got shouted at a couple times,fuckkdidireallyjustembarrassmyselfalreadyinfrontofthefirstpersonivetalkedtoinwhatsfeltlikemonths]

“Ahm- well, that.. definitely makes sense. I don’t.. don’t know why I didn’t- didn’t think of that sooner, Duck- FUCK!”

[FUCK,]

[..A-ah- aahhtleast he’s laughing..???!]

“PFFFTHAAahahah! It’s okay, it’s okay, promise!~ Giving ah, by your.. ‘reaction’, I assume it’s safe to say that you’re one of the folk who raid the rooftops?”

[It’s hard not to crack a smile whilst I relax against the bench, crossing my legs whilst keeping my head turned over to look at her.. But, my smile quickly falters as I watch her look away- a frown quickly spreading on her expression.]

“..Uh..”

“…We- We don’t have to talk about it! Sorry!”

“N.. no, no it’s fine. It’s fine, swear. I, uh..”

“……”

“Let’s.. let’s move on…”

“Of course, I—“

[BZZT!]

[Both of them had jolted up instantly, frozen for a little bit.]

[Quickly, the stranger rummages through his pockets before pulling out his phone- eyes widening a little before he quickly stuffed it back into his pockets.]

“Shit! Sorry, sorry I- I’ve REALLY gotta go, uhm-“

[Quickly and without much delay, he gathered everything that belonged to him that might’ve fallen out from his pockets from his reckless rummaging and eventually slung a backpack over his shoulders- stood up and already starting to power walk away.]

“BYE!! PLEASE TAKE CARE, IT- IT WAS REALLY NICE TALKING TO YOU! I HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN, I REALLY MEANT IT WHEN I SAID YOU LOOKED COOL!! BYE!!!!!!”

[. . .]

[I remember that weird, crushing pressure in my chest when I saw him walk away. It was horrible, and I don’t know why I felt it. It was so, so.. stupid, and- and icky, and— god..]

[I remember watching him walk away- or jog, or.. yeah, and.. I just sat there. Weird, uncomfortable, and cold, and.. I just couldn’t stop thinking about every little fuck up I made during that conversation. And it sucked. All of it really, really sucked, but..]

[I still remember smiling. A-And the weird crooked way it felt on my face. And I still remember the one pervasive thought that was loud and clear.]

[Baseball, soccer, making music with instruments- Tried out the guitar, couldn’t read sheets. I tried to learn so much, it’s weird being here now with nothing much to do. I did everything I really could try, you know? I showed up in the rain to those games and remembered barely being able to follow what all the people around me were saying, all of those instructions. All of those people scolding me for doing something wrong, huffing when they realized that I still didn’t know what I was doing.]

[I guess I’m glad I didn’t stay? I would just be forcing myself, honestly. And I’ve never took pain well- even when I fell over and over again from parkour. Oh- yeah. Parkour.]

[It was the longest thing I did by far. It was the one thing I did actually learn, and the one thing I learned to enjoy. It was nice for a time, and.. the people who taught me- my friends who had taught me, they were such wonderful and amazing people. I needed them in my life, and.. I was desperate to fulfill whatever They needed.]

[It was nice. I could understand what they were saying, and they repeated it as many times as I needed- and even if they got frustrated, they’d see me still trying and they’d understand I wasn’t misunderstanding on purpose. For the first time in a long time it felt like I was around people who didn’t judge me, and that even if they did it would be fine because.. it was, well, them.]

[. . . But things are different now, and I don’t really wear the gear they got me. I just can’t. I can’t handle the idea of being seen as someone who does all of that again. I just want to move on, even if it feels like I’m choking on this decrepit black ball of sludge in my chest, like a horrible malformed sob twisted and malnourished or something. It’s hard, and it sucks to swallow, but it’s what I have to do to move on. And maybe it’ll never go away. But maybe once I get used to this, I’ll find a way to be happy in this mundane life again..]

[..Right. My latest passion. I, uh, I bought this really nice Polaroid camera thing for myself recently. I’m no professional, hell, I see way better photos taken online everyday- I just hope that maybe I’ll be able to relive the moments I captured them through with the lens when I need them. That.. even when I can’t be around the people I find to love again, I can still see them and keep our moments close- even if nobody else is around to carve them into reality through their knowledge of the event.]

[God. I sound like an insane person, don’t I? Then again, maybe I am. All I do is rot in this stupid apartment most of the time anyway, and it feels like sometimes the hallucinations I see of stupid things that disappear in the blink of an eye and the noises I swear I hear yet SHOULDN’T hear.]

[God. God, I.. I swear to god I hear them texting me sometimes. It drives me crazy, I stare at my phone and unlock it repeatedly- I turn it off and on, I swipe up trying to find their notifications, I do whatever and they’re just not there. It drives me crazy. But it is what it is, and I know they’re gone, but it still hurts. And I guess it helps saying that, and I guess it helps doing any of this even though I feel like I’m an INSANE person.]

[I don’t know. As long as it helps. God.. Godddddddd.. GODDD!! I’m ssssoo stupid. I’m laying here thinking- or saying this- or doing WHATEVER out loud in my head or in my bed or whatever and I feel like I’m the most stereotypical edgy asshole ever. I’ve got the red clothing, bag, the stupid tired glare, the guitar I don’t know how to play yet still decided to keep so I’d have SOMETHING to fill up my room, my photos, and.. Uggnn..]

[I hope I can meet someone soon. I really gotta stop laying here, saying all of this, while listening to guitar music I could be playing myself if I knew how to do anything right. I hate being this stupid self pitying asshole. I’ve got to pick myself up and just trudge through the sidewalks again, I’ve gotta go on a walk, I’ve gotta SOMETHING or else I won’t meet anyone else and I’ll just be a sad little person who’s only purpose is to remember better times and that SUCKS!]