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

"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?

MK chuckled at Red Son's flustered response. He shrugged.

"I mean...is it that different?" He asked. Then he felt the feelings coming back. He had an idea.

"Hey Macaque? Honestly, you're pretty cool. Like, in a rad way. You are. Don't let anyone tell you different!"

Then came that rush of hot air.

"Whoa. That's hot. Should we check it out? Might be another void or memory."

The affirmation helps keep the feeling at bay. You feel a measure of relief. It will creep back in again soon, but you seem to have discovered a way to make it manageable. Excellent work!

"It's very different! One is... uncomfortable and the other...isn't," he said, rubbing at his face.

Red Son paused. "Is it?" He asked and hummed. Then he pulls off his jacket and holds it out to MK. "Wear that. I can try and catch flames, but at least my coat has enchantments to resist fire," he said before linking arms again and kicking up a breeze around them to try and help keep MK cool.

"But I'm sure the wonderful Mac wouldn't give us a challenge we can't overcome. He's been working hard for us."

Red Son will probably notice fairly quickly that the heat is coming from directly above them. Not fire, just heat.

Though the affirmation does help with the temperature a little bit, keeping the heat at bay.

MK kept the jacket and draped it over his shoulders. Two jackets in this heat? Oh this was gonna suck. He'd gonna be all sweaty. And not in the fun way. At least he would be protected. Mk couldn't tell where the heat was coming from. He looked around and tried to think of more compliments.

"Your shadow plays are amazing! And I need you. I was wrong. I was lying and wrong. I need you as my friend and as a mentor. I need you. And I'm gonna say all this again outside. Just wanted to tell you that."

MK sighed. "Any way. ...Why is it so hot in here?"

Red Son looks to the ceiling and puts a buffer of air between them and the ceiling.

"It could be pressure. It could also be intensity. I'm rather suspecting this room might be the panic attacks impulses when confronted with care," he said.

A pause. "You're incredibly handsome. Even without the glamours. Really, you're very attractive like that too, it's just a different kind. But I really love your ears. They're so unique and so you, and I like how you look when I stroke them," he said, trying to keep his own hair from flaring.

The shower of compliments doesn't do anything for the heat itself, but it does two things: first, you are reset to a baseline level of psychic AHHHH as you are ordinarily. This room is not getting to you at all, currently.

The second thing is that a particular tile on the ceiling starts glowing a soft red. Not overheated red, just a beacon of HEY LOOK UP HERE.

(Third effect might be that when you are done with the heart he might want to hear all that again. Or he might need to hear it again.)

"You know, I wanted to talk about how hot Macaque was but I wasn't sure if we should in here and then RED SON had to go and beat me to it. He's right, though. On all of it. Your ears are like the best ears ever. Even if they aren't ticklish," MK echoed and watched the spot start to glow.

"Okay. Hold on," Without warning he grabbed Red Son by the knees and lifted him up with ease.

"Up you go!"

"Get good next time," Red Son said with a smirk. "He deserves to hear how pretty handsome he is."

Red Son squawked as he's suddenly grabbed, flailing a bit to get his balance. "Why are-you and Dragon Girl are just like this?!" Because Mei absolutely did that for the peach.

"I can also FLY." He groused before huffing and reaching up to touch the tile.

You get a sense of amusement instead of isolation from the corridor.

When Red Son touches the tile and removes it, he will find a heating duct with a red scrap of fabric in it. It's quite hot in there but not dangerously so even for humans. Just uncomfortable.

Touching the tile gives you a memory:

You are Macaque, and you're quite comfortable.

You're resting beside a sleeping Red Son, cuddled up with his heat. Basking, really. Happy and satisfied in most ways, which is a pretty good record given that it's you. Just happy for the moment, against all odds.

You nuzzle closer and you can't be sure if it's instinctive or she's really partially awake, but she reaches up and strokes through your fur. You purr against her shoulder, soaking in the attention, whatever she can give. It's greedy and you know it, but at this moment you don't care. You'd give anything for time to stop right now, just for a bit.

You make a note to make a habit of this. You could get used to it.

"You know you love us~" MK said with a gremlin giggle. He looked up and smiled.

"Nice! Another memory!" He wasn't about to address the fact you can fly, Red Son. He knew it. This was way more fun.

"Alright. Another memory down. Look at us go!"

"Unfortunately," he said as he goes to remove the tile.

Then Red Son is absolutely blushing, hair flaring up. Why is this maze assaulting him?! "Ah...y-yes, there. May be two. The tile is one too," Red Son said and is going to reach up to grab the red fabric.

You grab the red fabric. It is fraying on the edges. It seems vaguely familiar...

You get the impression of Macaque, by himself, wrapping himself tight in his worn red scarf for warmth and comfort. It's a situation he's been in often over his many years. Sometimes of his own making, sometimes by circumstances beyond his control.

You get the sense of him wishing for something better. Wishing and hoping, but not optimistic.

"Two memories? Score! Alright. Grab 'em and I'll get you down. They good? Got a theory about the maze yet?"

MK asked as he waited for the all clear.

Oh.

Red Son breathes in sharply. He had known it had been a big deal for Macaque to give him his scarf, but that just makes it hit all the harder. Giving Red Son his comfort when he felt he had nothing else.

He rubs at his eye. "Down," he said. "Its....one is hoping for better when he was alone. And...and..." He swallows thickly. "Wanting to keep me close."

MK brought Red Son down and let him touch the solid ground again.

"Alright. So not being alone, afraid of losing himself, and wanting to keep you. Kinda getting a losing people theme here. Let's keep moving. Gotta be more. We haven't been through the whole maze yet."

MK nodded and smiled. This was getting easier to deal with and that was nice. Best to keep this momentum going.

You continue down the rest of corridor G, finding that it comes to a dead end. No amount of goodfeels will open any doors, so it's back the way you came. You find yourselves at the end of the man corridor. In front of you is corridor D, that would be the next one on the "keeping with right turns" agenda.

However, after a few feet, not even any turns, it seems to dead end. Want to try the goodfeels again, or give up and turn back?

"Losing people and wanting people and better things," Red Son said. He puts away the objects into his bag and loops his arm with MK's to keep leaving the string behind and hand along the wall.

"But we'll help this room outside, wont' we? We're going to shower Macaque with love and affection," he said as they moved further down the path. "Because he's very important to us."

But it was a dead end, and so they turned back and went to the end of D with more affection and.

Hm.

"Nothing? That feels...weird," he said, looking around. "Mac? Could you give us a hint? You're very good at that. Even if you want to challenge us, you're always good at giving some hint or clue on what we're supposed to do. You've been working hard, so there's a reason this corridor is here? We want to see all your efforts through, you're important to us and we want to help you."

A nice breeze gusts in from beneath the wall immediately to your right. Unlike before there doesn't seem to be light under this wall, but there's something back there.

Mk followed. Oh this maze was tricky. His map he kept updating but it seemed like there was always something new going on. Like this new wall and the breeze. MK got down on the floor to see just how much clearance there was between the wall and the floor.

"All these fun hidden passageways. You definitely know how to make a maze, Macaque. You smart trickster you," MK said and tried to size up if he could shrink and get under there.

"You also love making us think outside the box. Never just one obvious answer. Hold on." MK poofed and turned super small. He's gonna try and fit through the gap.

As MK turns tiny and goes to squeeze under the door, the wind kicks up and that makes it impossible to get through without being swept away. Nice try though!

Welp! There goes tiny Mk, being blown away by the wind. Until he turned big and slammed into the wall.

"Hey! That was smart! Okay. Uuuuh..." Mk looked around. Last time this happened there was a portrait here. Was there one now?

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