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Foolish was back, after his resurrection he took a break, went off into the realm and explored new areas and simply relaxed and enjoyed the world where nobody had yet touched, he thought the realm and his kingdom would be fine. But Now that he is back and ready to get back into the swing of things, the look on Zam’s face when he looked at the princess told him otherwise.
Foolish glances around the castle, the yellow colour was starting to come back, it seemed more lively than it was the week before, Princess Zam’s hair braided back with flowers, Ros and Aimsy off to the side talking about something he couldn’t quite hear.
He looked back at Zam with a smile, trying to push down that uneasy feeling that something was wrong, “well then Princess, what did I miss? Hope you all didn’t have too much fun without me”
Zam stayed silent for a moment, glancing over at Aimsy and Ros who were now quiet and listening, all three of them showing a sense of unease.
“Well uh….Ros has died 5 times, the corruption on Pangi is getting worse, WaterMunch hit nirvana but she also now hates everyone now for some reason, Water killed Lukey once, And Bad…..well he…um…isn’t doing the best…”
Foolish listens as Zam’s words trail off, one week away and everything is in shambles, he stares at Zam, that smile now a smile of shock as he processes everything. He glanced at the others, noticing the unease and worry plastered all over them. He takes a deep breath and regains himself.
“Is that all? Looks like you all got up to some fun” he says with a slight laugh, but it trails off as he notices the others haven’t moved. And what was going on with Bad? Zam hated him and wanted him dead before, Bad and Aimsy bickered a lot, and Ros isn’t fond of Bad. What changed?
“Tell bad it was a prank…”
Foolish snapped out of thought as Zam spoke. What prank— oh right, the whole forgetting him thing, a small laughter escaping his throat. “What why? It was funny, don’t tell me he’s mopping around”
“He- well- listen he’s just not doing good okay Foolish?”
“He’s been through a lot and he’s struggling…like a lot, a lot a lot.”
Foolish looks over at Ros then Aimsy as they spoke. Okay now something was definitely wrong. If bad was fine he was going to punch him, but that concern and worry for Bad from earlier slowly crept back in, the feeling of his heart dropping to his stomach (but he payed it no mind). He just kept telling himself in his mind over and over that Bad was fine and this was Just some payback prank.
Foolish shrugged and equipped his elytra, the elytra Bad gifted him. Waving to the others as he stepped out the castle and took off to the skies, flying up and now alone with his thoughts. But he wasn’t too worried…at least that’s what he kept telling himself.
he checked the Cathedral, noticing how it was now almost done.
He checked all over green base.
He checked the tavern.
He checked the farms.
He checked Pangi’s house.
He checked everywhere he thought Bad might be.
With each place he checked without finding Bad, the worry just grew more and more, unable to ignore the pit in his stomach and heart in his throat, the overwhelming sense of dread. They may be enemies, may make each others lives miserable, but they cared about each other, deep down they cared and had a connection nobody else could even come close to.
The embodiment of life, and the embodiment of death, two immortals who find each other in every life they live, always together, always the same connection. Many millennia together, thousands of pranks and deals, millions of conversations.
No matter where they end up, they end up there together. Foolish doesn’t remember what its like for Bad to not be there, and honestly he missed him this past week he was away, like a piece of him was missing.
They would look for each other in every lifetime, would choose each other in every lifetime, in any and every reality. But they have no needs for ‘would’ ‘if’ or ‘what’, because they were already together in every lifetime without even having to look, they already chose each other without a second thought, and since they met there had not been a single place they were not together.
Hw was so caught up in his own thoughts that he almost missed it, the bottles scattered on the ground in the middle of the forrest. Landing on the trees and carefully making his ways down as the sun started to set. He could already smell it, the strong smell of that Mikes Strong Lemonade that Bad would drink whenever they went to the tavern.
he looked at the bottles by his feet, looking up just a little to see more of them. The worry and concern only grew stronger, like it wasn’t bad enough already. He slowly follows the bottles, finding more and more scattered about the area, he started to get lost, bottles everywhere.
he was looking for a while before he heard it, a small and quiet hic. Quietly walking towards it, pushing back the branches to see a small clearing in the treas, the sunset shining perfectly into the centre of the clearing with a beautiful orange glow. He would have marvelled at the sight if it wasn’t for what he saw.
Bad laying on the ground a mess, hair all out of place and his hood down, a horn chipped and his clothes messy with dirt. The smell of Mikes Strong Lemonade filling the air it almost made Foolish want to gag, but he lost that thought as he saw the bottles all over the place, Bad was practically laying in a pile of empty bottles, a few bottles only half empty, and a near empty bottle loose in Bad’s hand.
Foolish quickly rushed over and knelt by him. Calling his name as he gently tries to shake him, but the smell hit him first, that smell of alcohol becoming so much more intense, and the smell of alcohol filled vomit too. Now that made foolish worry more than he ever has in his entire existence.
He gently and slowly pushed the bottles away from Bad, gently lifting him and cradling in his arms. It would have been a beautiful sight of them both, with the light from the sunset sparking against them both, if it wasn’t for the situation at hand.
He didn’t care about his clothes as he used his sleeve to wipe vomit away from the side of Bad’ mouth. Taking note of the overly slow and uneven breathing, the way bad didn’t seem to react at all to foolish being there, the way Bads glowing white eyes were dull and seemed more grey.
“….Bad…?” The words came out quite and strained, his voice cracking as he felt his throat tighten up, the tears welling up and already starting to drop as he realises the extent of the situation.
Foolish holds Bad close to his chest, burying his face in Bad's hair, no longer caring about the stench of alcohol, unable to help but cry as he holds him. The fact Bad wasn’t responding in the slightest wasn’t good, Foolish was pretty sure he was in a catatonic state…if Bad was a mortal then he would be dead right now…
He listed his head and looked at him, placing a hand on his cheek and holding his head up, thumb gently rubbing across Bad’s cheekbone, staring into those dull eyes. “…I-I’m sorry Bad, i-it was a prank, I n-never really forgot you…” Foolish managed to choke out.
Foolish didn’t know what to do. He was in the middle of nowhere, thousands of blocks away from spawn and the others. And it would be too dangerous to try and carry him back with his elytra. He kept his head down. Taking a deep breath and speaking barely loud enough to even be heard.
“I need a keeper. Now.”
nothing happened for a few moments, but soon enough a keeper appeared in front of them, the keeper looking down at Foolish and Bad, even if you could never tell what a keeper was feeling, the realisation of emergency was clear as day.
”I-I need to get him back to the castle. A-A deal, get us back to yellow castle in the safest way possible and I’ll give you anything you want in return”
Foolish’s words were full of certainty and seriousness despite the tears that flowed from his eyes, despite never looking away from Bad in his arms. The keeper says nothing as they watch, thinking over the options. But after a few moments they are kneeling down by the two of them, a soft swirl of magic surrounding the three of them.
Foolish looks at the keeper as the Keeper nods once. No deal was needed, even if this was not how things were done, it was clear there was a sense of urgency, emotions, and mutual concern. Foolish barely chokes out a thank you as the magic wraps around them all.
backa at the castle, Zam was having her hair rebraided by Aimsy, ros sitting by them recounting the latest story of her death. But they all looks up and freeze as magic swirls in the courtroom, Foolish appearing sat on the floor holding Bad against his chest, the keeper there but quickly disappearing.
Foolish crying once more as he stands, carefully cradling Bad in his arms and quickly leaves the courtroom, rushing upstairs to his own room and lying Bad in his bed, looking into those dull eyes that he couldn’t tell if they were staring back or not, tears blurring his own vision.
”I never should have lied to you Bad…..”
