*ahem* shrill British accent: tOp, pLEaSe!

Mini-Part: Ink

It’d been a long wait. Layla was asleep, and Sonder and Echo where inside the treehouse, where Echo was asking Sonder a bajillion questions: what happened in his dream? What did the creature look like? What did it say? 

That left the other three outside, waiting for Echo to come out of the treehouse and tell them what exactly had just happened to Sonder. 

At last, she did, looking much more tired and worried than she generally looked (which was saying something).

Good news is, I know what attacked Sonder. Bad news is, it’s going to be a problem. 

Why? Metanoia asked.

Echo sighed. I probably should’ve told you about this earlier.

Aesthete pursed their lips, which they always did when they felt like screaming. Echo, there’s a lot of things you should’ve done earlier.

Echo gave another sigh. I know. I need to work on this. But anyway, Sonder just had his first—but likely not his last—encounter with Inkognito. 

Inkognito? They all repeated. 

Inkognito is a monster they’d tell us stories about back on Maraer, Echo explained. Usually they’d just call it Ink, because “Inkognito” is a bit of a mouthful. It’s a lot different from other monsters because other monsters just, like, eat people. Ink drives you insane over guilt or fears. It was just a story on Maraer, but in my—our—mind, it’s real.

They were all quiet for a long time until Syne suddenly asked, Sonder has fears? That offered some comic relief to the situation. They’d all been living together for so long, they knew each other better than they knew themselves. And Sonder was not the kind to be afraid. He’d jumped out of his treehouse once and broke his leg. He did it three more times, just to see if anything different would happen. That was just one example, too. Every day, it seemed, was a new adventure for Sonder. 

I wonder what he’s afraid of, said Metanoia. But Aesthete was pretty sure they knew. They looked up at Echo. Can we go talk to him? 

Yeah, I don’t think he’ll mind, Echo decided.

So they all climbed up the ladder to visit Sonder. They found him, wide awake with no visible injuries, sitting on a beanbag, looking half irritated, half terrified. He gave a weak smile upon seeing them all. Hey, he said.

Aesthete usually had better manners than to just ask someone a question without saying hello, but they’d been waiting all night and were growing impatient. Do you have a crush on Atom?

Sonder’s eyes got big and his cheeks turned red. N-no! Why would you think that? His voice cracked and wobbled as he said it, making it obvious he was lying. 

I knew it, Aesthete said. That’s what Ink’s using to drive you insane. You don’t think you’re good enough for him.

Sonder bit his lip and looked at his hands. How do you always know exactly what I’m thinking? 

Aesthete shrugged. It’s a blessing and a curse. 

So what’re we going to do about it? Metanoia asked. 

They all looked at Echo, because she knew the most about Ink. But Echo just shrugged. The best I can tell you is, practice self-confidence. If you can convince yourself you’re not worthy of Atom, surely you can do the opposite. 

The look on Sonder’s face did not suggest he found this very helpful, but he nodded. 

With nothing much left to say and a tension in the air that was making them all uneasy, everyone suddenly wanted to leave. Aesthete told Sonder to get some rest, and Sonder nodded again, but he didn’t think he was ever going to sleep again. Not with the possibility of having to deal with Ink again.

He laughed. It made perfect sense that the thing threatening his sanity wasn’t even technically real. 

It wasn’t like he was real, either.

~~~

Eugene sat at his desk in his bedroom. From his apartment above Canary Pastries, he had a good view of the city. It was a rainy evening, and he’d always loved looking out his window and seeing all the lights shining against a gray background. Tonight, however, he was unhappy, trying to write a letter. 

Dear Rose,

Hi. It’s been a while since you left. I know you left because of Paola. But the thing is, we’re all still here. Every day is a lot like the days before you left, except they’re a little sadder without you. 

I was wondering if you’ll ever come back? Or at least send us letters? I really miss you, Rose. You were my best friend. 

Please come home soon.

Eugene

He frowned. It wasn’t his worst try, but it wasn’t his best. He wanted to rewrite the letter again. He turned to grab another piece of paper and found that he was out. He suddenly felt a burst of frustration, not because of the paper, but because of the fact that he couldn’t even send any of these letters. Because of the fact that he hadn’t seen his best friend in years. Because of the fact that he was there too! Deep down he knew. Rose was always pretending everything was just fine. And when she couldn’t ignore it anymore, she abandoned them. They were her family. 

He sighed, tired of trying, and looked out at the rainy city. Tonight there seemed to be more gray than light.

~~~

I usually say something at the end of these parts, but I have nothing to say right now so um hope you enjoyed this part :I