#they WOULD be surprised and would wonder if he intends to replace it but they'd never press him to do so. especially not right then.

[riddlerosehearts]

figured out how to edit the game files and combine some mods so i could try out different things with gale's earring because i have a lot of thoughts... also gale's earring should really be positioned lower but i'm having an issue with one of the mods, oh well

[parttimepuff]

(Gently nudged Pixies shoulder)

Hey champ how’s it goin…

The little thing flinched at the contact, only settling down slightly when they realized it wasn't malicious. "It is… going." Pixie hesitantly responded. "Small progress is still progress." Suzie pointed out. "Suppose so." They conceded. "Is it going any better than when you broke into my lab?" She asked, making the little thing wilt.

"Ah… Pixie, doesn't intend to repeat that. So, yes by those metrics." Pixie expressed, trying to make their sincerity known. "Intentions don’t mean much without actions~" Suzie teased, to which they nodded quietly, fidgeting with their wings. Her expression softened. "I’m glad you’re doing better, I really am. Even if only a little." She assured them.

Their fidgeting stopped. "Thank you… You've been more than generous." They thought. After all the hassle they'd caused her with very little by way of answers. "If you think so." The scientist replied, motioning to her office door. "I take it you’d like to go home then?" Suzie assumed. "It would probably be best if they did. Pixie must have disrupted your work day quite a bit." The little thing guessed.

"Hm…" Suzie hummed, opening the door with her free hand, beginning to carry them back to the lab where their chase had started. "And what makes you think that?" She questioned. "Well, you weren't expecting them and they took up a lot of your time." Pixie explained, once again made more nervous by the employees dotting the hallway. "Yes, but I also got to meet you and got to know you better." The scientist added.

"O-oh…" The little thing muttered, falling silent. Her kindness continued to surprise them. Or perhaps it was just the fact that anyone could get to know them at all. "It's been nice to meet you, too, Suzie." Pixie eventually admitted. "Officially, right?" Suzie corrected with a wink, taking them aback once more. She must mean that simply because they had heard so much about her, that was it. "Y-yes, officially." They stammered.

The scientist carried on without noting their surprise. "In any case, it was time well spent, and if that’s the case it wasn’t wasted at all." Suzie told them as they entered the main hall, nearly to their destination. "If you think so, then it's probably true." Pixie stated, unable to fully voice it themself. "Perhaps." She replied.

Entering the lab, it was clear no one had been inside since they'd left it, still slightly disheveled from the chase. They knew, of course, that this meant their time here was nearly over. Pixie wondered if it would just be Goblin on the other side when they went back. Would he start scream at them again? And what did the others think of them running off? Their normal curiosity at the possibilities was replaced with apprehension.

But they couldn't continue to stay here, either. The one place they wanted to be was lost to them. After a moment, they turned to look at Suzie. "…if, Pixie can do anything for you in future, they will." They promised. "Hm, favors grow heavy with time." The scientist noted, making them squirm. "Nn, Pixie still promises." The little thing insisted. Whatever they may be subjected to, they would withstand. They had to repay her somehow.

"Though you’ve already done something incredible for me." Suzie continued as though reading their mind. "Would you like to see?" She asked. Pixie blinked. "They did..? If you'd be willing to share, yes." They confirmed, unable to think of anything useful they'd done for her. "More than willing." The scientist replied, pulling up Pixie and Goblin's conversation on a spare monitor, recorded before she had entered the picture.

"Goblin has never photographed well, a trait you seem to share with him." Suzie began, gesturing to a smaller screen of Pixie zipping through the lab. "But the most incredible thing happened when you’re both together on camera." She continued, playing the footage slowly, the little thing approaching the bottle frame by frame. The silhouette of the pair slowly became more solid until eventually Goblin's hands are visible as they pressed against the glass towards them.

While initially they had been nervous by the comparison between themself and the Dream Demon alone, it only worsened the closer they got to each other. It was obvious to the audience now, it had to be, despite all their effort to hide it from them. The next thing out of her mouth was the final nail in the coffin. "You negate one another, don’t you?" Suzie questioned, knowing full well the answer.

"Th-that's…" Pixie struggled. There's just no point in dancing around it anymore. Slowly, they nodded, still hesitant to state so aloud. "…Pixie didn't know… that could be seen on film…" They practically whispered. "Up until today you were nothing but a blur of light. Goblin would have just been a trick of shadows." Suzie reminded them, tapping the screen. "For the first time in history, we have a clear image of a fear demon, and you did that, Pixie."

"This would be the first time…" They realized. Something good had come of this, much as they'd hoped against it. "…glad to help you make history." Pixie offered a small smile. "And I’m glad to have met you." Suzie smiled back. "You made history, I just recorded it~" She added. It wasn't really something they could deny. "Pixie did…" The Dream Fae mumbled.

[f4rgd]

It feels good, just them like this, even when there are eyes on them - he never pays it much mind and he's able to ground himself again as he stands there with him. His home in the city had never felt much like one, it'd been a long time since it felt like he belonged anywhere, but here... with him even when everything had turned to shit it felt like home. Paerin was felt safe, despite it all. He belonged somewhere, with someone and not for a second had he missed the same four walls he'd been hiding away in for years.

Aksel had had his fair share of drink, he was a little tipsy at best, nothing more - he could handle his drink well enough, after a few years spending evenings in taverns with a man he'd nearly replaced his own father with he knew how to pace himself. Most of the time, at least more than most humans.

As they pressed closer together, a hand raised to the back of Paerin's neck, fingertips soft as they stroked the hair at the nape of his neck. " We do make a good team. " A fact he hadn't doubted for a second, perhaps he'd doubted it when it came to their other companions but the two of them? not for a second. Though his ability to step up and take charge on occasion had surprised him, but having control, making decisions for himself instead of them being made for him, that felt ...- " Me too. It feels like I'm finally getting to do what I was supposed to be doing all along - even if it's not how I planned it. " He definitely hadn't intended to have a tadpole squirming around in each of their heads.

It's tempting to sneak off, but he knows they should stay there a little longer - even if he wonders how many would notice when the drinks are flowing so generously. He's still swaying a little when he tips his head down to rest his forehead against the others shoulder, words mumbled under his breath, private - quiet enough for only them to hear. " - but I am tired of sharing you, do you think they'd notice if we snuck off? " His head raises and fingers on his Paern's shirt give it a soft tug.

He  can  feel  a  few  eyes  briefly  on  them  — not  in  negative  ways,  not  in  lingering  ways,  but  eyes,  absolutely.  He  has  hidden  nothing  of  his  affections  — every  single  person  in  this  camp  well  knows  what  they  are  to  each  other.  But  his  attention  remains  entirely  for  Aksel,  completely  and  utterly,  and  he  truly  could  forget  everything  else  exists  around  them  in  this  moment.  

He  hasn’t  been  much  better,  truly  — when  out  there,  he’s  not  precisely  a  leader,  not  really,  not  the  way  Aksel  is.  But  he’s  smart,  and  he’s  capable,  and  he’s  recklessly  vicious  in  a  fight  — but  rarely  to  the  point  of  actual  risk,  because  he  has  everything  to  lose  and  he  plays  it  careful.  However,  it’s  difficult  to  have  your  heart  out  there  wielding  a  sword  right  alongside  you,  and  maybe  that  makes  them  both  flawed  and  over-cautious  but  at  least  they  fill  in  the  gaps  of  each  other’s  paranoia  about  the  other  with  their  own.  

The  question  makes  his  brows  draw  in,  and  he  gives  it  probably  far  too  much  consideration  for  the  nature  of  the  question.  "  A  little  drunk,  "  he  concedes,  but  that’s  obvious  enough,  and  it  really  is  only  a  little  since  he’s  still  with  it  enough  to  answer  sensibly  about  it;  he  sort-of  shrugs,  which  is  really  more  of  an  indistinct  and  ill-defined  motion  with  them  so  close,  but  it  serves  to  show  his  indecision  either  way.  "  'm  fine.  I  just  ——  "    

And  he  takes  in  a  deep  breath,  tipping  his  chin  up  to  claim  another  kiss,  and  another.  It’s  tempting  for  a  moment  to  lose  himself  in  that,  completely,  but  he  leans  back  just  enough  a  heartbeat  later,  bright  blues  meeting  his  readily  with  a  smile  haunting.  "  ——  hells,  I  don’t  know.  Maybe  I  just  —— feel  good  about  shit  for  th’first  time  in  awhile.  Like  we’re  not  fucked,  like  we’re  just  —— "  And  he  presses  them  close,  so  close  it’s  almost  suggestive,  but  he  mostly  behaves  in  public,  really.  "  ——  us.  An’  shit,  look,  "  a  tip  of  the  chin  back,  back,  o’er  the  camp  — where  the  party  still  thrums  behind  them.  "  We  saved  people.  You  saved  people.  An’  I  feel  —— shit,  I  feel  good.  "