TAMAR KIR-BATAAR and NADIA ZHABIN SHADOW AND BONE SEASON 2

+ BONUS (off to enjoy those "snacks")

Now deal us in brother. Who's ready to test their mettle?

Humdrum studied his friend as the other searched his mind for an answer to what the strange phrase was. Humdrum fell silent, not entirely hard for him to do. Just stared off into space, deep in his own thoughts. After a while though, Sooner began to speak again and Humdrum stood up straight.

“ Eh? … Marbles? “

“Yes! Marbles! Look for marbles!” Sooner seemed estrangely more awake, already pacing quickly around the dorm room they were currently in, checking under the beds and almost diving into the opening drawers.

“ ... Marbles... “ Humdrum repeated. But as soon as it struck him out truly important this was, he rushed over and dove under a bed in search of the toys. Were marbles toys? Not the time. A few moments later, the little curly hair of Humdrum popped out again.

“ How do you use marbles for memories? That makes no sense. “ Not that Humdrum ever made sense himself. A few seconds later, he dove under another bed.

"I don't know! He just did," said Sooner, throwing a sock over his shoulder as he searched deeper into an chest with old clothes - hospital pajamas, mostly, it was what the kids used to wear before their final appointments and being "promoted" as helpers.

"Tootles wasn't the best at remembering things, so he just used some kind of... magic? To store them inside, I can't remember. Oh, gee, please, please, I must find them. They must be here somewhere."

“ Well… it wasn’t the bad juice, “ Humdrum scrunched up his face at that, “ Not the one that makes me all tired. “ How he could claim to know beforehand which would make him tired and which wouldn’t wasn’t abundantly clear. Humdrum was about to continue his speech about how he could hide forever, when his friend suddenly stiffened. And glowed.

“ … Sooner… What’s going on? “ He whispered, gingerly grabbing each hand, “ Who was that? Whose thoughts did you hear? “ It didn’t sound quite right. Maybe it was a memory. Humdrum knew that sometimes memories could take a hold of you - and Humdrum had so few memories as ti was.

“ Is it a new kid? “

Sooner breathed quickly, trying to settle with the realization of what he had just done. He had never learned how to do that trick with his voice. Only Later did.

But the thoughts he had heard were from a person long gone from the nursery.

“… I think me and Later connected,” he whispers, astonished. “Somehow.” They had connected before, of course, since they could read each other’s thoughts, but it was always necessary to be somewhat short-distance. And it had never, ever hurted to do so.

Something wasn’t right.

Humdrum studied his friend as the other searched his mind for an answer to what the strange phrase was. Humdrum fell silent, not entirely hard for him to do. Just stared off into space, deep in his own thoughts. After a while though, Sooner began to speak again and Humdrum stood up straight.

“ Eh? ... Marbles? “

"Yes! Marbles! Look for marbles!" Sooner seemed estrangely more awake, already pacing quickly around the dorm room they were currently in, checking under the beds and almost diving into the opening drawers.

When he reopens them, their eyes had both became bright blue. His face had a dead expression, almost in trance, and the voice that followed wasn’t his.

“I can’t find them. I think I’ve lost my marbles, M-0-T-H-3-R.”

“ Well... it wasn’t the bad juice, “ Humdrum scrunched up his face at that, “ Not the one that makes me all tired. “ How he could claim to know beforehand which would make him tired and which wouldn’t wasn’t abundantly clear. Humdrum was about to continue his speech about how he could hide forever, when his friend suddenly stiffened. And glowed.

“ ... Sooner... What’s going on? “ He whispered, gingerly grabbing each hand, “ Who was that? Whose thoughts did you hear? “ It didn’t sound quite right. Maybe it was a memory. Humdrum knew that sometimes memories could take a hold of you - and Humdrum had so few memories as ti was.

“ Is it a new kid? “

Sooner breathed quickly, trying to settle with the realization of what he had just done. He had never learned how to do that trick with his voice. Only Later did.

But the thoughts he had heard were from a person long gone from the nursery.

"... I think me and Later connected," he whispers, astonished. "Somehow." They had connected before, of course, since they could read each other's thoughts, but it was always necessary to be somewhat short-distance. And it had never, ever hurted to do so.

Something wasn't right.

“ Please… I don’t want to forget you. ” He whispered, holding himself close, “ It’s important. ” Already Humdrum felt uneasy and fuzzy with certain memories. He didn’t want to lose his friend too.

“ I’m going to hide… forever. So they can’t get me for my next appointment. ” A sudden idea. And it seemed so brilliant.

“Forever is a long time,” Sooner said, lowering his eyes for a second and then coming back to Hundrum. “I’m not sure anyone can hide forever in this place. Or even… lie forever. Believe me, I try. It gets really tiring, sometimes.”

When he reopens them, their eyes had both became bright blue. His face had a dead expression, almost in trance, and the voice that followed wasn't his.

"I can't find them. I think I've lost my marbles, M-0-T-H-3-R."

| Memes :: this one | Night in the Woods Starters -

A half cough, half chuckle split Eden's lips into a grin as they walked, his hand resting lightly on her arm for balance. Keepcave was a weird place, full of old forgotten history and new, false things. Maybe the secret was to clear all of the new nonsense away so they could make sense of what was really going on. They weren't entirely welcome here, though they seemed to like Menkar well enough; still, they had to be careful about what they said where.

"Mhm, cults are scary like that," he answered, listening closely for other people around them, "Let me know if they all gather and stare at us in unison, then we can start running." Running wasn't his best skill, but it was better than getting caught.

"Oh, gee, don't give them ideas. That would be creepy as fuck," Menkar replied, with a bit of a nervous giggle. Even though the people of Keepcave liked (and trusted) her well enough, to the point of smiling politely and waving as they passed, she still kept an eye open for any cult members acting suspiciously. This town was unsettling, and apart from their party members and Lasar, the dragonborn, there weren't many citizens she felt particularly safe around. "But don't worry, I'll do. If any of them starts doing weird shit, I'll take my sword and we'll do a cult of the goat speedrun out of here."

" Please... I don't want to forget you. " He whispered, holding himself close, " It's important. " Already Humdrum felt uneasy and fuzzy with certain memories. He didn't want to lose his friend too.

" I'm going to hide... forever. So they can't get me for my next appointment. " A sudden idea. And it seemed so brilliant.

"Forever is a long time," Sooner said, lowering his eyes for a second and then coming back to Hundrum. "I'm not sure anyone can hide forever in this place. Or even... lie forever. Believe me, I try. It gets really tiring, sometimes."