~{🌔𝕲𝖑𝖔𝖜 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕸𝖔𝖔𝖓, 𝕲𝖑𝖔𝖜 𝖔𝖋 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝕳𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖘🌖}~

🌕~Chapter 4 ~{}~ New Face, Old Friend~🌕

I looked back to the string, and it seemed closer. It swayed slightly in the wind, which was odd because there was none. I raised an eyebrow. How was it moving by itself? The string moved closer again, and the end of it lifted up, pointing at me. "Uhh... what..?" I mumbled. My mind was blanking on what to do. Was this thing dangerous? It doesn't seem like it... but Snatcher is literally a 10-foot-tall noodle, and he stole my goddamn soul, so I'm pretty sure anything in this damn forest could be dangerous. The tip of the string tilted to the side, seemingly in question. "Uh. Are you alive?" I asked quietly, not expecting any kind of answer, but as most things in this forest have done, the string averted my expectations, the tip of it moving up and down in a nodding motion. Okay, so I retract my previous statement, this thing is definitely alive and sentient.

"Uh... okay." Silence for a moment. "Do you, like, want something from me?" The string shook back and forth. That's a no, I guess. "Aight, so like... why are you here?" It didn't do anything. No response. Well, that makes sense, it's a string. It can't talk. Then, it slowly moved down to the cracked ice. "Huh? What?" I asked it, looking down on it curiously. The tip of the string tilted up towards me. "What? Do you want to help me with the ice?" It nodded. "Oh. Well, thanks, I guess."

I swear the glow of the string grew brighter for a moment before it dug below the ice through one of the many holes I had created, threading itself through the other holes and connecting the dots. I watched with confusion, and after it connected all the holes, it pulled itself upwards, breaking the ice apart. My eyes widened a bit. "I— woah. Thanks, that was super cool," I said, picking up one of the chunks and throwing it down into the pit. Again, the string's glow seemed brighter, and it nodded in acknowledgement of my thanks, small shining glitters dislodging from the string. I smiled.

I continued stabbing holes through the sheet of ice, and the string assisted in breaking it apart. After around 15 or so minutes if work, almost all of the ice was gone; the very little that was left could be melted as time passed, so I felt no need to get rid of it. I stood with my hand placed proudly on my hip, admiring our job well done. I looked towards the glowing, seemingly magical string and smiled. "Thanks a lot, really," I said. "This probably would've taken a lot longer if you hadn't helped me out." The string nodded excitedly, the shimmering glitter again falling from it. "Well, I've gotta get back to my temporary boss now. I'll see you around, maybe," I said with a wave, and the string waved back before pulling up into the sky and out of sight.

I picked up my backpack and put the straps on my shoulders, holding on to one with the hand holding the ice pick with the other pointed in front of me, shining the light from my flashlight onto the path as I walked back up the small hill to Snatcher's makeshift house. The string encounter was pretty weird to say the least, but hey, at least the odd little thing was helpful and kind. With a grin on my face, I approached the giant glowshroom tree, more than ready to get my soul back. Hopefully. I'm probably not gonna get out of here any time soon, but hey, a bitch can hope.

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Meanwhile, somewhere high up in the sky, where no mere mortal can reach...
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{🌔} Narrator's POV {🌖}
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The being sighed as his string slowly receded back into his realm, disappearing into the ether once it was brought close enough. He watched silently as the newcomer walked up the path, flashlight and ice pick in hand. He had just helped them rid the Queen's ice, as Snatcher had requested of the new contractor. "Goodness me, could he not just do it himself?" the poltergeist asked. "He was blessed with fire magic, and yet, he chooses not to use it. And what does he do instead? He forces unwilling young humans into contracts and makes them do his dirty work for them!"

He rolled onto his back, letting the clouds beneath him close up, obscuring the view of the world below. He stared up into the starry, moonless sky, and spoke to himself. "That's not very prince-like, is it?"

The most he ever does is lay there in his sky prison, either staring down into the world he wishes he could roam, or into the void of the sky, talking to nobody, trying to keep himself occupied so he doesn't go insane. 193 years of this, pure nothingness, endless skies, cloudy plains, dreaming of escape... it's completely unbearable, but he has to bear it. He has no other choice.

Sometimes, he'll let his strings flow in the wind, hoping somebody grabs it and pulls him down, breaks him out of this purgatory, but no one ever does.

Though, he did manage to catch the new contractor's attention, and they seemed kind. Perhaps he could request their help?

He didn't want to be annoying, though.

...

"Oh, goodness me..."

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CHAPTER 4—FINISH
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𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖞 𝖔𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖑𝖚𝖊 𝖒𝖔𝖔𝖓 𝖉𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖒𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖘𝖚𝖓.
The boy on the blue moon dreams of sun.
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(1) I'll refer to Moxxia and Axxiori as Hat Kid and Bow Kid in POV switches, so people do not get confused.
(2) Since Tim is a literal demigod (kind of), I'm pretty sure that they've ascended past the need for gender, so I'll be using they/them/theirs pronouns for them.
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{🌔} Words: 4,089 {🌖}
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