One-shots [Reqs: 5]

Moss Park

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"No way. That's not possible." Exasperated, Reaper shut his locker and turned to glare at his friend. "Well, why don't you go and see for yourself then?" Life clicked her tongue, shaking her head and taking on a high pitched voice. "I am not going anywhere near that park. That would be terrible for my fur." She puffed up her invisible hair, a mock frown on her snout, "I just got it done!" Reaper snickered as she broke into laughter, weaving through the mass of students to keep up with her. "So? Are you gonna go?" She shrugged, dodging a pair of running boys. Reaper stared at her, waiting. "Ugh, fine." She held up a finger before Reaper could celebrate, "But! You have to record the lights as proof. I won't go unless you do." Reaper huffed but nodded. He could do that. "Alright then." Satisfied, the duo split up to go to their classes.

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The dock looked the same, which surprised Reaper for some reason. He didn't know what he'd expected, but it wasn't for the dock to be the exact same. This time, when he crept towards the rotted steps, he kept his phone in his hand, watching for the flashing lights. Carefully making his way towards his previous spot, Reaper stood silently, eyes scanning his surroundings. Nothing happened. He knelt to dip his fingers in the water again, hoping it would trigger something but stopped when he spotted a familiar glow. Fumbling for his phone, Reaper quickly opened the camera app and hit record, pointing it at the flashing water- The lights cut off, and he ended up filming a pitch-black nothing. Groaning loudly, he kicked at a piece of wood, cursing loudly. "C'mon man! I almost had it!" He kicked the wood again, harder, and sent the now broken timber flying into the water with a splash. He angrily shoved his phone into his pocket, spinning on his heel to leave. "Almost had what?" Reaper froze, slowly facing the water again, where the voice had come from. There, right at the side of the gazebo, was a skeleton's head. Their right socket was packed full of what looked like seaweed, the vine-like plants wrapped around the entire right side of their skull. Their left socket was untouched, a red-blue-yellow light glowing with curiosity.

Reaper blinked a few times, confused. What? "Why are you in the water?" The other stared up at him owlishly, head tilting more and more as the seconds ticked by. A tiny smile replaced the calm frown, the eyelight flashing briefly with green. Reaper's own eyelight flashed back instinctively, and their smile grew. Reaper was beyond confused. What was going on? The skeleton opened their mouth to speak, but something seemed to distract them. Their tricolored orb began blinking rapidly, cycling through yellow, purple, and red. The flashing light flicked up to meet his, almost apologetically, and the skeleton was gone. They dove into the water without so much as a ripple, disappearing into the murky lake. Reaper waited, and waited, and waited. They didn't come back up. Panicking, he stripped off his jacket and tossed it aside, leaping into the water. The liquid rushed into his skull through his sockets when he opened them, the unpleasant sensation drowned out in his worry. Where were they?! He swam as deep as he could, flailing about in search of the missing monster. Pressure started building in his faux lungs, threatening to burst the longer he searched until he was forced surface for air. Reaper swam in circles, trying his best to find the other, but as time went on, he realized it was pointless to continue searching. His limbs were exhausted from swimming and his skull was waterlogged. Reaper crawled out of the water, collecting his items and teleporting out, his soul feeling heavy. He'd failed to save them.

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Life was worried about her friend when he showed up, burnt magic under his sockets, and a deep frown on his face. Once he'd gotten back home, he'd found that his phone had still been recording. He rewatched the video and was shocked to hear himself talking to nothing. Either his phone hadn't picked up the other skeleton's voice, or he was crazy. He'd deleted the video and spent the entire night pacing in his room. "Reaper? Are you alright?" He jolted, looking up at Life. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?" He was going to visit the lake again.