#Essentially just a snippet of Adeleine addressing her inner conflicts skfjejjxjwjs

[firaknight]

“How’re you so... unbothered by all this?! You haven’t shown a single bit of concern for anyone’s well being, but especially mine! I’ve been risking my life and you’ve been unbothered with the fact that I could just up and die in my sleep and none of you would know?!?! Could you show a single bit of fucking genuine care for once?!?!”

Gooey was silent, letting Adeleines words echo around them both. He stared up at the stars, a vacant look on his face. He could see Adeleines face out of his peripherals. She was crying, tears streaking down her pale cheeks, the streaks emphasizing the dark circles under her eyes. Her expression was a twisted mix of pure anger and deep sorrow. He could faintly see her aura, a deep purple-red; clear pain and upset radiating from her. He glanced to the grass below him, lost in thought.

“I have shown genuine care, I just show it differently than others. I’ve been worried about you this whole time, believe it or not.”

“Stop lying.”

“I’m not lying. I don’t feel the same sense of urgency everyone else feels when you’re in danger. I feel...” He took a moment, trying to think of the right way to describe the feeling.

“...Fear, but relief. I’m worried for you, but I know you’ll come out ok. There’s no point in worrying about something I can’t help with nor help control, right?”

Adeleine didn’t answer. Gooey glanced over at her, noticing how she was trembling, tears dripping off her face, leaving little stains in her smock. It was clear that she was trying to bottle everything up and shove it down again.

“Addie, if you’re upset, you can cry.”

She didn’t answer again, simply opting for a rotten glare. The red in her aura seemed to overlap the purple in that moment. Gooey looked away, turning his attention back to the stars.

Just give her a moment. She’s upset and she doesn’t think the same way you do. She just needs a second.

Silence hung between them, neither seeming to want to break it. Gooey was content waiting for Adeleine to calm herself down. He wasn’t a fan of her bottling things up, but she did need a moment to calm down. She was heated, too many emotions overlapping one another. Her head was too clouded to think clearly, and that can spell disaster. He knew she’d be easier to talk to when she’d calmed down a little.

“I’m scared...” Her voice cracked, sadness creeping through her tone. She struggled a hiccup, trying to hide how upset she was. Gooey slowly looked over at her, his tongue pointed up at the stars. Her aura was a mix of purple and blue now, the red having completely faded.

Sadness... mixed with... guilt... and... a sense of pain? Those first two make sense, but why the last one? Did she get an injury we didn’t know about?

“Scared of what?”

“Scared of losing everything...” Adeleine gripped her smock in an attempt to stop herself from shaking. Her breath hitched, her bottom lip quivering as tears started flowing again. Gooey watched as a near black tint overcame her aura. He flinched, his mouth eye coming into view. It was a natural response to panic like that, considering he hadn’t seen black in an aura since the Void Termina incident, but he quickly realized that the black tint in her aura wasn’t corruption; she was panicking. Fear had overtaken her thoughts, filling whatever was there with worst case scenarios that stuck like superglue. His mouth eye disappeared, his tongue pulling back. He shuffled over to her and pushed his body against her. The contact seemed to help.

“It’s ok, Addie. Whatever you’re thinking of won’t happen. You’re scaring yourself over things that will never happen.” He heard her breathing hitch, a cough escaping her. He opened one eye, watching the black tint slowly leave her aura. He had to stop himself from letting out a sigh of relief.

“I’m scared that if I mess up... even once... *hic* t-that... everyone I-I care about... t-they’ll...”

“Everyone’s going to be fine. We’ll get them back, I promise.” Gooey wrapped his tongue around her hand, letting her grip it in response. It didn’t hurt, even though Gooey was convinced that it probably should’ve. A new aura entered his peripherals, a soft green glow outlining a small figure in the darkness.

“I’m sorry, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Adeleine recognized the voice on the spot, barely turning her head to try and see the figure.

“Go away, Dreambert...” Her voice was incredibly quiet, almost hoarse.

“Adeleine-“

“I said go away...” She was just a tad louder that time, but still nowhere near her normal volume.

“I’m not going anywhere. You’re upset. I refuse to let a friend like you be hurt like this.” He floated towards her, the bottom nubs on his head flicking intently. In an instant, his expression softened, seemingly having picked up on her aura. He floated around to face her, his arms outstretched.

“Oh, you poor thing, come here.” His tone was soft, gentle in nature. Adeleine barely scooted forwards, meeting his embrace. Gooey quickly unwrapped his tongue and joined them, nestling himself in her arms. Her breath hitched, louder than before, a whimper leaving her lips. She tightened her hold, and the dam broke. She let out a sobbing wail, no longer able to control herself.

“Shh, it’ll be alright.” Gooey could hear her sobs echo through the woods around them. It was a miracle Ribbon hadn’t woken up at this point. A sudden sharp pain got his attention; Adeleine had dug her nails into the back of him. She probably didn’t mean to, she was still crying pretty heavily, so he brushed it aside. Her comfort was more important than his own at that moment.

“It’s ok, Adeleine. Try to let yourself relax, ok? We’re here for you, kid.” Dreamberts voice reached her ears. She struggled to slow her sobs, only succeeding in starting up a small coughing fit. She could feel Gooey gently patting her back with his tongue, a clear gesture of comfort. She sniffled, pulling the two closer, burying her face between them. She shut her eyes and blocked out all the senses she could, taking slow, deep breaths. The only sense she didn’t try to block out is her sense of smell. With each deep breath, she focused on the smells of her friends. Such a thing had become a comfort for her. Whenever she was upset like this, Ribbon would hug her and ask her to pick out things she could sense. The velvety feeling of her dress, the smell of cinnamon rolls that always seemed to stick to her, the gentle fluttering of her wings; anything she could sense like that was something she should focus on.

“Deep breaths, Addie.” Her breath hitched again, a hiccup or two following. She took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. At first, the scent of metal hit her senses. It wasn’t blood, thankfully, but it was prominent. Following the scent of metal came that strangely unique Dark Matter smell. It was hard to describe, but it almost smelled sweet. Following that was a bitter scent, akin to orange peels.

That’s Gooey...

She took another deep breath, letting her mind wrap around the scents she picked up on already. A wave of chamomile and lavender hit her senses, heavy, but oddly light at the same time. Notes of charcoal slipped in, faint and airy in nature. She could just barely make out that fresh laundry smell, tucked beneath the other scents.

...And thats Dreambert...

She let out a shaky sigh, slowly sitting upright and loosening her grip on the two. Dreambert gently floated out of her arms, offering a hand for her to take.

“Come, let’s get you in bed. You must be exhausted.” His voice wrapped around her mind, quelling any stray thoughts that might cause trouble. She’d stopped crying, and he was right; she was exhausted. She weakly took his hand, letting herself be led back towards the little base camp they’d all set up. She barely registered him humming something. It sounded like a lullaby, and she recognized it, but from where? She was too tired to really think about it. Something about that song he was humming was too difficult to resist. With each step, she grew more and more tired, sleep starting to take hold. Gooey seemed to notice her lapse in consciousness, using his tongue to keep her arms propped around him.

Guess I forgot that Dreambert can, uh, do that.

He looked up at Adeleine, who was falling asleep mid-walk. She wasn’t even fighting to stay awake anymore, or at least, he was pretty sure she wasn’t. It was hard to tell sometimes.

That lullaby.... that’s the same one Ado used to sing to her, right? I recognize that melody, I think.

Gooey took a second to listen to the lullaby Dreambert was singing. He’d learned that the Pi’illo’s magic didn’t affect him, which was nice for situations like this. He felt a sudden drop, his grip tightening briefly. Adeleine had stumbled, clearly dozing off. Dreambert simply looked back and chuckled, guiding her over to the makeshift bed she’d made. Carefully, he eased her down, making sure she didn’t simply fall to the ground. Once she was sitting down, he flipped into his pillow form, landing on the ground behind her. She let out a soft grunt before simply falling to her side, her head landing on Dreamberts pillow form. In seconds she was out cold, sleep having finally taken hold. Gooey carefully shifted in her arms, getting himself comfortable. He glanced over at Ribbon, who was still sound asleep. A smile crossed his face. He nestled against Adeleine and closed his eyes.

“See you in the morning, Addie.” Silence surrounded them as the world faded into the darkness of night, illuminated only by the shimmering stars above them.

#fira knight screeches #fira makes braincells #fountain of dreamstone au #I WROTE STUFF HELLO #Essentially just a snippet of Adeleine addressing her inner conflicts skfjejjxjwjs #Gooey is a very good listener and he cares about his friends :) #also Dreambert has a LOT of abilities and he will not hesitate to use any of them to help #long post #fira writes and bites