castaside | [Heart Game] From the ashes we can build

Red Son doesn't find a switch. But the wall suddenly shimmies, and opens. It knocks the portrait onto the floor.

Red Son watches MK stumble away, reaching out to grab onto him again, pull him close. "Noodle Boy...?"

But then he was on the ground and started drawing like a mad man and talking. He's just watching for a minute as he feels along the wall because. Because well. MK may needed to get that out a bit.

Then the wall is gone. Red Son kneels down to pick up the portrait, to set it aside. "Are you all right, MK?"

MK didn't hear the nickname. He was busy drawing, rambling, and just focusing on fixing this. The wall moved and the portrait fell. MK threw up his arms in triumph! His smile was forced and his eyes focused on the way forward. He moved his drawings and gently set them on the portrait, trying to piece meal it together again with his drawings.

"It doesn't feel right to leave it like this. There. Now it's complete again. Huh?" He blinked and looked up at Red Son.

"Oh! I'm fine. Yeah. I'm good. I'm used to this," He said as he pushed himself to his feet finally. He linked arms again with his mate. "Let's keep going! Gotta keep moving. Gotta keep going." Mk walked forward, pulling Red Son along if he had to.

You leave the (now revised) portrait where it is, and proceed through the passage. You only turn one corner before you come to a fork, at long last. You can turn right, or go straight.

You feel rushed. Like you should hurry. You want to be out of here. You have to keep shaking your head to avoid it fogging over with uncertainty and doubt.

"...you should eat more of the candy," Red Son said, linking arms again and going forward. He is concerned, but they have to keep going.

Especially as it feels urgent.

He takes a breath and leads them right.

You head to the right, into the offshoot. You turn a corner and... there is a void.

You feel this corridor closing in. You can almost see it on the periphery of your vision, but when you look all is normal. This place is not safe. You need to leave. It is pressing on the throat of you who are, cutting off your air.

But there is the void. Do you fill it with what you have, or leave and intend to come back later?

The panic was rising. The void was RIGHT THERE and everything felt like it could close in on them at any moment?! Do they throw in the feather? Was the feather even right? DID IT MATTER?! MK's breathing was sliding into hyperventilating. He was losing it. He popped more candies into his mouth and touched the sun plush. Everything could go horribly if they didn't do something soon!

"F-Feather or do we come back?" MK made sure to circle in black where in his map they were. They could come back. They could find more memories. All the rooms had more than one. He was so scared. What if they messed up? If this place crushed them, then what?!

The candies help ground you a little. The sun also helps a little. This space still feels wrong to you, but it's far more tolerable this way.

The candies feel like Macaque holding you and telling you it's okay. The sun plush makes you feel warm and safe and loved.

Oh MK was losing it.

Red Son feels the pressure to. He does. That running out of time feeling that leads to long nights and skipped meals.

But it's hard to panic when his beloved is.

Priorities. He is more of a priority than his anxiety and that provides clarity.

He turns to MK, pulls him close in a hug, and reaches into the bag for his stress ball and squeezes.

Red Son's stress ball ticks down to ~~I THINK~~ "4", and a shadowy Macaque peels away from one of the deeper shadows in the hallway and moves toward them. As soon as he's in sight, you feel much relieved.

This one can't speak, but he wraps his arms around both of you. You feel calm and grounded. You feel like yourself. You feel loved and cherished. You feel like this place can't beat you. The feeling will linger for a while.

Breathe. Breathe. It's alright. They're safe. Loved. This place was terrifying but nothing they couldn't handle. Just focus. Re-focus. Get in the right headspace. Don't drag Red Son down. This had to be hard on him too. Don't let it pull him down. Not again. He can't fail again. The feeling of his love was enough to get himself back on track.

"...I'm okay. I'm okay now. The feather is a terrible choice. We gotta keep looking. Don't...we're not putting that good feeling in with all this. No way."

"We'll see. I'm not sure what this room's theme is yet," Red Son said against MK's shoulder. Leaning into his and Macaque's arms, for as long as they have him.

Letting the crawling anxiety settle. There is work to do. But less the time to skip self care. "We'll also need to see if there's more voids. Feel better now?"

Macaque's shadow will hang onto them for a good minute, nearly two, before he gives them both a nuzzle with his nose and fades back into the normal shadows.

You feel bolstered. You can handle this place. It's just an annoying hallway with an attitude.

"I feel a lot better. Heh. Sorry. I came in here to ground you and I feel like we're grounding each other about the same. I couldn't do this without you. I'm so glad I have you here, Red Son."

MK stayed close and looked at the void.

"Feels like...emptiness. Like not knowing who you are. But you're right. We need to see if there are more voids. And more memories. Let's keep going."

"Worrying about you is actually helpful. It's...harder for anxiety to get to me when I have to worry about my loved ones," he said, offering one last nuzzle to Macaque as he melts away.

He looks to MK and gently caresses his cheek. "Your presence helps. We just need to keep cool heads. Mark your map and let's go," he said, and moved forward, hand on the right wall.

Feeling much better now, you head back out to the main corridor. It doesn't seem so daunting now. You can breathe. You still feel weirded out, but it's easily dealt with given that your mate is with you.

You head up a long hallway that turns around in a U shape. Down to the bottom again. On your way wiggling back up again, suddenly two walls close in ahead of you and behind you, trapping you in one spot. There is no immediate way to free yourself. There is another half-portrait on the wall, what looks to be the same one as before but a different piece of it.

Panic starts to very slowly creep in again.

What if you're lost in here? What will you do? Who will miss you?

They had each other. They could get through this as long as they did. MK was much more level now. Then the trap happened. The walls slid closed and trapped them. No going forward. No going back. They could probably smash through the walls easily enough but who knows what that would do to Macaque. He looked at the portrait. Okay. So there's another...oh. Oops.

Uh. Guess we grab it and put it with the other one? Let's see," MK reached out to touch the portrait.

For a few brief moments, Red Son's hold on MK gets-

Very tight.

A slight shake to his arms.

He.

Breathes. Slow. Even. Forcing himself too. Its fine. Its fine, they're not TRAPPED trapped, Macaque has a way out for them. There is a way out for them. Its Fine.

They're fine.

"Right. That's a good first step," he said, reaching out to touch the painting too.

The portrait makes you feel at ease, but that sort of ease that you know is brief. A quick fix between bouts of lowkey anxiety. A respite too quick to even really appreciate it before you're in need of another. Like the person you love coming home only to announce they're leaving again, and for you to wonder why you're not worth staying for.

You just want to be enough.

MK shook as he felt the feelings. Oh. Oh it was both so nice and yet not enough. So familiar. He kept his hand on the painting.

"Macaque, you are enough. Monkey King knows he lost sight of why he was getting immortalities and power. He knows he forgot it was for the two of you. For you and the monkeys. You are enough. He made a mistake. I know you're enough for me," He looked to Red Son to continue.

Red Son breathes in sharply. Swallowing hard.

"It can be so hard to feel like enough," he said softly. "Even when you're happy. So happy. To have them back. To see them and know they're okay and they've returned and for a while, things can be nice. But its still so hard to feel settled because you never know what they need so you can feel like you're enough."

Something he's always wondered about himself.

"But you will find people who do think you're enough." His voice is soft and earnest. "And hopefully one day you'll be able to see what they do. You don't need to be anything else for me, Mac. You are so much. Something I needed. Someone I could show the ugly parts without fear of hurting them or myself. Someone who understood what it's like to try and be something kinder, gentler than I was because of those bright lights that draw us in. And so much more, I could go on, but I might set MK on fire. And I want to say it to your face."

There is a distinct pause, and the torn portrait of Macaque shakes, and then repairs itself. In short order, it is whole. He even has both eyes.

And the walls open. You are met with a wave of fresh air, like a cool and refreshing breeze, and you feel rejuvenated. Any encroaching panic is gone for now.

In short order, you find yourself back at the main hallway at the entrance to corridor F. You can see your string far down to your left. To the left there are two corridors, A and B, and to you right, there are three: C, D, and G.

"Oh that feels much better," MK said and let his head fall back with the wave of air. He sighed and snuggled against Red Son. He nuzzled his mate's shoulder.

"You better make sure you got candles ready for when you get to talk to him. If fire is gonna be a problem," MK said. He looked at where they ended up.

"So we keep going right...right?"

Red Son let's out his own shuddering breath. That is DEFINITELY a lot better.

Red Son turns to MK, nuzzling the top of his mate's head.

Only to blush at that. "That-embarassment...swooshing! Is different!" He protested.

He looks back down the hall and nods. "We keep going right," he said, turning to head down the next hall on the right.

You head down the hall to corridor G. The hallways try to work their spell on you, making you feel lost and unbalanced and uncertain, but it works a little less for now.

The corridor hooks around and continues without branching. After a while, you feel another breeze. This one is uncomfortably warm (unless you're Red Son and then it's just "this is less cool than usual"). Do you investigate?

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door

Re: Level U - East Door