Lost At A Sleepover

[knockingatthedoor]

WHO: EVERYONE - Meeting time!
WHAT: Kel, Frieda and Nagito organized a party/sleepover!
WHERE: The largest house they could find in the area
WHEN: Between one crossing and another
WARNINGS Nooooot really much?

There are few things Kel treasures deeply in a place like that. The siblings, sure, his new basketball with the creepy face on it, but also the opportunity to build bonds with others. From what he understands, the memories they build in there will stay, so... why not making great ones? thigns that will remind them they're 'alive' in their own way, that even if theirr identity is lost at every Crossing just a bit more... they're still themselves? He has been in an awful mood since he and Sunny had... a fight? Something? He doesn't even know how to call their poor attempt at a tlak but he knows his best friend is now avoiding him like the plague and it hurts. That being said? He's smiling rto whoerever approaches the building and waving at them. Invitations were sent out, preparations had been done and even at this 'pit stop' there's a community event, so to speak, ready to go.

The whole building may be baely lit, but the precious jars Frieda brought in with glow worms (Some with sitiks and leaves in, too) gave the whole place a cozy and comfortable look. The woman also brought in basins and such, decorated now with water lilies and other few flowers. Ribbons, strings, anything they could find has been gathered as well to make the place 'prettier'. There's no point in being stuck with an ugly room, right? Nagito took clear of all the cleaning, leaving the place spotless, and Kel carried inside all the mattresses he could gather. After a long time processing how to place things? He opted for leaving bed frames alone and just sitting a whole corner of the area with mattresses and blankets for everyone to share.

The few games they can make with sticks and mud are there as well. He may have no apples, but one basin has been filled with water and lily buds to play the 'bite into it and drag out as many as you can' game, whatever it's called. There are sticks and differently colored rocks to prepare some Tic Tac Toe games (sort of. Grey and green rocks VS Xs and Os), there is a space with all the paper (damp, humid) he could find and some pencils and pieces of charcoal too.

The true stars of the sleepover, though? A bonfire set right outside, as safely as possible (with rocks and mud all around the charchoal and chairs put at a safe distance from it) and FOOD. Nagito was an angel and got not only a picnic set for them all, btu also real food. There's wonderful, greasy pizza (one little square has already been stolen, it seems) covered in cheese, A plate full of chimichangas (and here Kel is guilty of taking one), watermelon already cut in large slices, steak that may be warmed up by the fire, chocolate chip cookies, bags of popcorns and both ice and lemonade for whoever wants them.

"Welcome to the party! Nagito and Frieda did such a good job here! You should come inside, we have everything ready. And, hey, why don't you considering moving in here, too? At least until we have to move? You know... company is very important, after all!" He isn't in the mood to look happy but that's irrelevant.

Comments

[urtitan]

[She quickly ducks under the table to sit with him and watch him draw. Despite her own drawing having been very simplified, his looks far more fanciful!]

That's a nice castle! Is it from one of your dreams? Or from the waking world back home?

[solitarynote]

[Yay! No chance of being spotted! As the tablecloth falls back into place and Frieda is comfortable settled beside him, Sunny alternates between drawing and answering.

He has to flip between two pages to do so, but he’s capable of that at least.]

Dream. [And, because she will remember-] Sweetheart’s castle

[urtitan]

Oh! She lives in a castle... is she the queen?

[Does she have something in common with an anthopomorphised doughnut?]

Is everything else who lives there a doughnut too?

[solitarynote]

Is queen

[A little drawing of Sweetheart, laughing haughtily, is added to the front of the castle. He isn’t really sure otherwise, but she is queen.]

Doughnuts live in Orange Oasis. She went by herself. Sprout moles too.

[And a few more of those are added, just to show Frieda what they look like. Some in dainty armor hats, others look to be wearing Sweetheart merch.

It’s completely normal castle, right?]

[urtitan]

Huh... do you know why she left the Orange Oasis all on her own? Doesn't she miss her fellow doughnuts?

[The sprout moles mystify her a but, but at least she knows what a mole is! She can extrapolate from there.]

[solitarynote]

[Sunny has to think that through. He hadn’t been there for what might have been the start of Sweetheart’s own journey (even if his mind had been the one to conjure up these fantasies, he had received a lot of the lore secondhand.

He thought back to that room he had found beneath the castle…]

She traveled to speak with the Keeper [A small drawing of something squiggly] He made the castle for her

[As to if she missed anyone…] She seemed fine last I saw.

[OK, maybe not, she got eaten by Humphrey, but really, she’s persistent enough that SUnny wouldn’t have been shocked by another cameo after that.]

[urtitan]

So she left because she wanted to be queen and have a castle? How come she couldn't be queen of the Orange Oasis?

[She's really asking him some tough questions... and she doesn't even realise it!]

[solitarynote]

[They really are tough questions! Sunny has to sit quietly for a moment and hope the answers ring around in his head.

He doesn’t mind though.

When his writing starts again, there are little pauses while he figures it out.]

No castle there. [Though he guesses, maybe, she could have been the overseer of Dino Dig? She wanted grander things though.] Plus Sprout Moles are easy to persuade, so they all loved her.

[Ask him about the reality TV marriage show sometime. So many seasons and all the attempted suitors were sprout moles.]

[urtitan]

That makes sense, you know! Normally, building a castle is hard work and takes a long time, so if the Orange Oasis didn't have one yet, it's no wonder the doughnuts didn't want to build one - and it's no wonder they didn't want a queen either if they were doing fine without one!

[Clearly, emigrating and subjugating easily influenced foreigners is the way to go for those with royal aspirations!]

[solitarynote]

[Sunny nods along in agreement.]

Was a pyramid. But it’s not a castle.

[Once again, Sweetheart’s eccentric tastes had won out (at least in his mind). Though since she had been consumed by Humphrey… maybe he would think up some sort of sequel. A younger donut with a kind demeanor helping out those in Orange Oasis. That sounded nice (and less likely for random detours).

A few little sketches of this were drawn out… but Sunny kept glancing towards the tablecloth. Some part of him was afraid of someone else discovering him here; another part felt somewhat bad for keeping Frieda from the party…]

[urtitan]

[Noticing his mind wandering, she strokes his back.]

How come you're here under the table? Did you get overwhelmed?

[She can imagine the main reason, seeing how she doubts that he and Kel are on speaking terms again just yet. Even so, she's sure that Kel wants Sunny to enjoy himself rather than hide away from the rest of the group!]

[solitarynote]

[Sunny nods, though the motion is… half-hearted. Simply because it’s half the truth.

Large gatherings, even though he likes the people here, were always more overwhelming for him.

But…]

I still don’t know how to talk to him.

[Kel, he means. Frieda would pick up on that easily enough from their last conversation. Sunny has at least been thinking about how to resolve the fight but… that first step was always scary.]

[urtitan]

[From speaking with Kel herself, she knows that he's found himself a similar position - wanting to talk to Sunny, but hesitant to approach him after what happened. She sighs softly and wraps an arm around Sunny's shoulders.]

See, I may not have all the answers, but what I can tell you with certainty is that he'd be happy if you talked to him again - about anything, even just about which of the party foods tastes best or which of the party games is most fun -, and that you're definitely still friends. There's no way it could be otherwise.

[She won't outright admit that she actually sought Kel out if she can help it, but if that'll reassure Sunny, so be it.]

[solitarynote]

[Frieda’s touch is a strange comfort, and Sunny leans into it gladly. It’s like… another curtain against the world. A safe space blocking him from the scary feelings outside.]

Happy

friends

[The two words were written down, floating across the page of his notebook, as important thoughts.

Kel still wanted to be friends…? But talking… talking and bringing that up was scary. Surely if Frieda knew how terrible Sunny was, she wouldn’t want to hold him like this.

But… even if her words were a lie (he had no way of verifying that they were true; he wouldn’t ask Kel if Frieda had approached him, Sunny just wasn’t apt to do that)… they were still a comfort.

Two small, hoarse words left his throat.]

…will… try…

[He couldn’t promise, but it was all he could do.]

[urtitan]

[Those words on the page are touching, and Frieda gives Sunny a gentle, encouraging squeeze. For what it's worth, she knows more now than she did before speaking to Kel, having a new understanding of what caused Sunny to be so guilt-ridden and to withdraw from the world... but it doesn't make her look at him any differently. After all, it was an accident. Kel left no doubt about that.

When he whispers that tiny promise, she smiles at him again.]

That's good. I'm proud of you for wanting to try. And if you can't go through with it right away, don't give up, but try again when you feel ready. Alright?

[She knows that rushing him would only make him shut down, but she latently worries. Too many people have gotten lost on this journey, and even though some of them returned, if it were to happen to either Sunny or Kel before a reconciliation she can only imagine how heavily that would weigh on the other.]

[solitarynote]

[It was a fear that Sunny had too - stark amidst his own panic over what had happened. What if Kel suddenly disappeared and Sunny couldn’t talk to him? He was so scared of that… of losing more people.

Even if it is what he deserves

Frieda grounds him, as usual, and as Sunny nods against her shoulder, he finds that he wants things to be better.

It’s just… always the execution of things. The getting out of bed and trying… that was hard.]

Stay a while?

[Of course, he didn’t want to keep her from the entire party - that would be far too selfish - but Sunny also wasn’t quite ready to face the world outside of the table.]

🎀

[urtitan]

Of course.

[Frieda doesn't mind. Certainly, the party is nice - Kel and Nagito made such an effort to ensure it would be -, but Sunny is far more important. If he needs her right now, that takes precedence over virtually anything else. So she'll stay under the table until he's ready to face the world outside again. She'll even hum him a song from her country behind its high, high walls.]