{2/9} - Two of Nine: A Nine Lives Forum adventure

[Lilium Mortem]

oh, what if you're the first baby born with no soul! that must be it. scud the soulless.

I shook my head, I had a stupid thought that I had no soul. I picked up my pace. I’ll be fine. I just need to clear my head. Think on stuff. I’m normal. I’m me. I’m Scud.

Go to the seaside to watch the waves. Maybe find some cool shells, or a message in a bottle if we're lucky. Though... maybe that's wishful thinking.

I can’t go to the beach, it’s raining, waves are going to be big. It’s a good idea, if the weather was better I’d go down there. Come on Scud, Think! I need to go somewhere, I can’t just walk around in circles with my own thoughts, It’s scaring me.

Go to the playground and spend some time on the swing. It's early enough we might have it to ourself.

Maybe I could go to the pl- There’s no playground in Blackwater. That’s a weird thought. I need to think through this, not just entertain every thought that comes into my head. This walk is a categorical failure in making me feel better, so what else can I do? Stratus would know. Mom and Dad would be dismissive. I need a friend right now.

I walked down to the barber shop on main street, shops weren’t open, it was nearly [7AM] but they didn’t open until [8AM]. I walked around to the back and found a pebble to chuck at the second story window. This went on for about a minute before I saw Wuther looking out the window still groggy. He held out a paw with all digits extended, saying he’d be down in five. Or at least that’s how I saw it.

About that time later he snuck out the back door with an umbrella. He looked really worried. I had just woken him up, so that wasn’t surprising. Still, he was too good to me. Wouldn’t even be mad that I got him up early.

“Scud, What’s wrong?” He asked, inching closer.

“I’m sorry, Wuther.” I said, looking away. “I’m feeling weird this morning. I’ve been having these weird dreams. All I remember from them is that I’ve forgotten something important. I called Stratus, and he brought up the idea I might be a Reincarnate. Well he thought I thought that.

“Thing is, that makes a weird kind of sense. I’ve always been weird. What if I’m just some weirdo? What if I’m not really a kid?”

“Scud...” Wuther walked closer but had to back off as our umbrellas bumped into each other. “You’re you. We’re friends with Reincarnates right? They’re kids too, even if they Awaken. Remember Pyrite? Before he moved away he made homemade fireworks for us. He didn’t suddenly think he was better than us, but when he remembered he used those memories to make rad explosions for his friends.

“No matter what, you’re who you are. I’ll always be your friend.”

“Thanks.”

-{ {} }-

I spend the morning at Wuther’s house, playing the new Fantasy Forever with him. It was the first one in 3D! The attacks looked so cool and we had a blast. I called home to let my mom know where I’d ended up. After hanging out with Wuther for a while I felt better.

I didn’t really believe I was Reincarnated. That would be crazy. But the Dreams I’d been having still weighed on me. I realized I needed to talk to someone about this. Wuther wasn’t enough, and I couldn’t wait until Stratus got off of work.

That left me with three options off the top of my head. One would be going to the temple and talking to Medium Em-Burn, But that risked a religious lecture. Second option was Ser Ka-Silversong, an eighth life and our resident knight. Going to her risked a lecture about respecting the law, and ‘not building toy swords out of scrap metal yes even if they’re ‘sculptures’’. The last option was The Witch. They moved in a few years ago and Run the pharmacy with their partner, but have their own shop on the second floor. I’ve heard they know a lot about the supernatural, and tell fortunes. I’d be risking my parents finding out for this one, they told me to stay away from The Witch.