Inbox for forestcovered

[macaboney]

[All parts of the message are at an unfortunately high volume, due to the fact that Tempus has no indoor voice.]

Hello various humans and non-humans! You have reached Tempus! ...Or, you have. Not reached him. Because I am not actually present right now to listen to your call.

Regardless!

Please leave your messages here, and I will get back to them as soon as I possibly can! And then I will actually be present to listen to you. Yes.

Nyeh-heh-heh!

Comments

Note under the door, 11/14

[dialo]

Tempus,

How do you feel about baking lessons?

-Teufel

[Straightforward and to the point.]

[macaboney]

BAKING LESSONS?

HOW EXCITING!

THIS IS A SIGN OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP!

I DIDN'T KNOW I WOULD BE SO AWESOME AT MAKING FRIENDS!

[dialo]

[She doesn't know about true friendship, rather that she'd like him to be a bit better in the kitchen.]

When would be a good time for you?

[macaboney]

ANY TIME IN THE EARLY EVENING ON WEEKDAYS AND ANY TIME ON THE WEEKENDS IS APPROPRIATE.

OTHERWISE I WILL BE WORKING AT THE CAFE, REGRETTABLY.

[dialo]

Evening, Tuesdays? How does that sound?

[macaboney]

IT SOUNDS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! I WILL MEET YOU NEXT TUESDAY?

[dialo]

I'll be in the employee's kitchens.

action; whenever tempus gets his emotions back, whatever day that is

[punnybone]

[It's been a hell of a week. Well. More like there was one hell of a day and not all the pieces had been picked up yet. He figured the aftermath of that curse would hurt, but not quite like this.

Serif didn't sleep until people started coming back.

...Well, maybe sleep isn't the right word. Pass out is a little more accurate.

Even now that they were back, he hasn't exactly been resting all that well. He's sure the same goes for a lot of other people. Serif has actually been getting up early - not 'cause he wants to, but he's awake anyway, so whatever. Not that he's actually doing anything productive. Instead, he waits outside his brother's room every day.

First he was waiting for him to come back.

Now he's waiting for him to be back to normal again.

He's there now, a little later in the day. He figures Tempus will be getting back from work soon enough, so... he'll just sit by the door, for whenever he comes by. If there's one thing he's good at, it's doing nothing, so he doesn't mind waiting.]

I do believe it should be the 27th

[macaboney]

[If it's been a week, Tempus hasn't exactly noticed it yet. The moment he woke up... woke up from dying, from crumbling into pieces in front of his brother and his best human friend, from taking a knife to the chest that would have only taken his brother down if he hadn't intervened...

...the moment he woke up, he checked the clock, got dressed, and went to work. He was stopped by his brother in the hallway, but... oddly enough, Serif didn't seem to protest when Tempus told him he would be late. He just let him leave.

Since then, he's simply going through the motions, taking orders, delivering food, running errands. He doesn't seem to be upset when most of his friends want to avoid him. He doesn't seem to be much of anything.

He's returning back to his room for the afternoon. His shift at the cafe was an early one, and he's done now. When he gets near his room, he spots Serif sitting on the floor, and for a second, he wonders why...

Before it all floods back. He drops the bag in his hand, eyesockets going wide, his whole body shaking like it might crumble apart again. And honestly, his body hurts so badly he worries that might actually happen.

He can't walk, he can't breathe, he can only reach out to his brother, voice hoarse and so devoid of his usual confidence.]

Serif...

[punnybone]

[The sound of someone walking doesn't register. He's heard that plenty of time throughout the day - the past few days, really. After a while, he stopped looking up when he heard it. Then he stopped really hearing it at all, letting people pass by him without a thought.

So it's not until he hears the sound of something dropping to the ground that he actually reacts, looking up in surprise. And when he does, he's almost frozen at the sight of Tempus, looking like...

Like...

Oh.

Oh.

The sound of his brother saying his name snaps him out of those thoughts. Serif is up on his feet before he even realizes it, closing the distance between him and Tempus in an instant. He puts his arms around his brother right away. Serif isn't always great at initiating hugs, but this time there's no hesitation at all.]

Hey bro.

[macaboney]

[He sees Serif approaching, but he doesn't really see. The world is spinning and blurry with his tears, and he doesn't really know what in the world is happening to him. He feels like he might float away or something, and it takes Serif's arms around him to cause him to feel even slightly grounded.

He clings back tightly to his brother, hands shaking, and for a long while, he just cries, because he feels so bad for what happened and so confused about what really happened and so upset Serif had to go through all of that...]

I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I just... I didn't... She... I couldn't feel anything and I...

[punnybone]

[He'd almost started to become numb to everything, but that's undone in a second when his brother starts crying. Even after everything that happened, nothing hurts quite like seeing his brother in pain.]

Hey, c'mon. It's okay. Not your fault, bro.

[Serif keeps holding him tightly, pushing his own hurt away to keep his voice steady. It's hard giving good hugs when you're half the size of the other person, but he's putting all his love in it anyway.]

[macaboney]

No... no, I should have listened to you. I thought there was another way besides fighting and I should have listened to you... if I had just listened, they wouldn't have...

[They wouldn't have taken advantage of Serif's lack of concentration, and Tempus wouldn't have taken that hit. He clings to his brother in an attempt to keep himself grounded, and slowly, his breathing starts to settle back into a somewhat normal rhythm.]

[punnybone]

Nah, bro. Don't be sorry for trying to end things peacefully. You couldn't have known.

[No one outside a handful of people could've known.]

I should've been faster. Hell, I... I saw them way before that, but I let them get away, I just let them--

...Anyway. It... was that thing's fault.

[Just that thing. Not Tempus' fault. Not the kid's fault either. Definitely partially his own fault, since he should've known better. But it's that curse that takes most of the blame.]

They were, uh... really... determined. Took me... Took me a while to get rid of 'em.

[macaboney]

Then you didn't know either... You let them get away because you were scared. Anyone would be... I mean, Grit is just a child.

[...Just a child. He keeps getting the inkling that he's wrong when he thinks that, but he doesn't know if he wants to find out what the truth really is.

He hugs Serif a bit tighter, knowing that no matter what Serif says, he feels like it was his fault.]

...But you took care of them, right? You didn't get hurt?

[punnybone]

...

[Serif knows they're not just a child, of course. They should be. But they aren't. And he knows that very well. So he should've known better.]

Still shouldn't have let them. Almost broke my promise to the kid...

[As soon as he ran into the shadow, he should've ended things. That's what he's been thinking for the past several days now.]

Nah, I got through it okay. They gave me quite a workout, but... I made sure they didn't hurt anyone anymore.

[macaboney]

They mentioned that, didn't they? You promised to kill them? What... were they saying exactly?

[There must have been a reason why his sibling would agree to do something so horrible. He would never do that if there was any other way to solve the problem.

He's looking over Serif as he answers, but the response only confirms what Tempus sees: his brother doesn't have a scratch on him.]

Thank goodness... I don't know why they wanted to hurt everyone but... it's good you stopped it.

[punnybone]

Yeah... Apparently I'm good at stopping them.

[He's the one that got them to quit in that other timeline, after all. That's what they told him, anyway. Not like he really remembers it. Not clearly, anyway.

As for the other part... Well.

Yeah. There's that, isn't there?

Not so long ago he would've denied even knowing anything about that. But now... Hey. He said he'd start being more honest, right?]

A few weeks ago, the kid, uh... They were upset about, I dunno, something. And they asked... [He sighs.] The kid asked me to promise them that if they killed anyone... I'd kill them.

...

I said I would.

Backdated to when Tempus got his emotions back. (IF THIS IS NOT OKAY LET ME KNOW)

[justiceskewer]

[Seigi was looking for him. Searching everywhere. They all had to be back, right? Trip was back, so was Grit. All of them. She had to make this right and find all of her friends.

She went on a massive hunt for Tempus, her best skeleton friend. Who trained with her, and laughed with her. They hung out around so much they were practically family. Her best bro. The worst had happened. He really did get ripped into smiling shreds.

So she had to find him. Where would she find him?]

TOTALLY FINE!

[macaboney]

[It's not hard to find Tempus usually. He is a serious worker, and usually can be found at the cafe around those times. When he's off, he still has some common haunts he can be found at.

But where to find Tempus when he doesn't want to be found?

He needs some space, after talking with Serif. He doesn't really know where to go, though. Not when work is already done...

That's when he realizes. The cafe is closed, but he has the keys, so he goes in there, wiping down tables and stacking chairs.

Seigi will be able to find him easily. He accidentally forgot to lock the door, so it's simple to get inside, and find him mopping the floors.]

[justiceskewer]

[There were light on in the cafe, wasn't it after hours? Why was this one open? Her first instinct may have not been about Tempus, even if he did work there. She got rather suspicious instead, approaching the cafe with a fair amount of urgency. Robbery? Someone camping out? Maybe it was an employee staying late.

Seigi won't know until she saw.

So she did, and she would stand by the door frame.

She didn't know if she was really surprised in an expected or unexpected way. But he was here, Tempus. Working hard when no one was around, like she knew he could. Even if it was weird, considering what happened.

There was a large pause of silence as the fish looked inside, but she was looking at her best skeleton friend.]

[macaboney]

[Tempus doesn't notice anyone's presence for a while. He finishes up the mopping quickly, just one less thing to distract him from all the negativity inside of him. This is frustrating. What else can he even clean now?

He sits at a table... no, actually slumps. He looks exhausted and miserable. This has all taken a toll on him, and that's frustrating. He just wants to keep smiling like always...

He glances out the window, hoping the view outside will distract him, and that's when he notices Seigi. He lets out a gasp, almost falling out of his chair, before he rushes to the door, letting her inside.]

Seigi! What in the world are you doing here? It's late! You should be in bed!

[justiceskewer]

You...

[Seigi stood there saying very little, only that one word being breathed out as Tempus let her inside. She had a rather odd look on her face. Was it shock? Sadness? Surprise? It could be a variety or a combination of many emotions. She had no idea what to go with.

She just went with her gut reaction. That gut reaction made her eye pupils shrink. A couple words would escape her fish lips.]

You...idiot...!!

[Seigi would embrace the skeleton by then. She couldn't help him. She couldn't be there for him. Her best friend was then gone. He had the GALL to then lecture her about sleeping? No, she wasn't having it.]

[macaboney]

...Seigi?

[He barely has time to get that one word out before she's clinging to him. He braces himself for a suplex... but it doesn't come. Despite her calling him an idiot, she doesn't actually seem all that mad. More... hurt, and deeply upset.

Ah.

He returns the hug gently, his smile weak and shaky.]

...I guess you heard what happened, then.

Forward dated but don't read it till you feel better okay? It's a sad.

[save_theworld]

[The note itself is actually clean; despite the fact that there appear to be crinkles and tears all over it. Copied? Magically duplicated? It doesn’t matter. By morning, a spirit delivers the letter, and Grit is nowhere to be found.]

Hi.

A friend of mine is going to copy this for me when Im finished writing it so I dont know who this one is going to yet. Im sorry Im not writing everyone a really nice letter but its realy important that everyone knows this fast.

Du Serif forgot about me. I dont know how but thats not important. I have to ask you for something and its really hard.

Please dont tell dun Serif about me.

When I was in the underground people didnt remember me all the time. And that was okay. When people didnt remember me I got to make friends with them again. Making friends again means that I cant think of people like memories. They have to be people first. I want to be friends with Serif again so I have to make friends with him again.

Dunkle Serif

Hes my da

I really want him b

I dont want to be friends with Serif again just because we were friends before. So I have to be friends with him now.

I know you might think its bad but I do need to do this by myself. Trust me please.

I want to be alone for a while. Ill be back later.

Grit.