Orange, from the moment he laid eyes on Sabre, wondered exactly what he was. Of course, that didn't stop him from becoming best friends with Sabre. It's just that mild curiosity always hung in the back of his head whenever something odd would happen.
The first time it happened was the very first day Sabre and him met and moved into the Rainbow Hub. Sabre, exploring the Hub, was singing as Orange spent time with his pigs and Gerald.
After living alone for so long and dealing with the dangers that came with that, Orange was quite used to constantly paying attention to even the slightest of sounds. So, while Sabre quietly sang his song, Orange hummed along to the melancholy tune.
Which meant Orange heard the change in Sabre before seeing it. The slight pitch in tone that Orange first brushed off as a part of the song, got lower and lower and never rose. He glanced up from where he sat, more curious to where Sabre was at now than anything, only to gasp in shock. His hand stilled the petting treatment, much to the pig's annoyance.
Sabre's hair, which was brown originally, had streaks of colors. Oranges and reds and violets mixing together.
"Sabre!" Orange called out, catching his new friend's attention. Orange brushed off the dirt of his pants when he stood up.
"...yeah?" Sabre called out. He was currently crouched down by some tulips Orange planted.
Orange hopped the fence with ease, bouncing over to Sabre. "I didn't know you could change colors!"
Sabre stood up, turning to face him. Orange couldn't exactly tell his expression, since not seeing his eyes really made it hard. "What?" Sabre spoke after a few beats of silence. Now that he was closer, Orange could really tell Sabre's voice was slightly lower than before. All the singing must have worn out his voice.
Orange couldn't help but giggle. How could Sabre not know? "Your hair, silly!" Orange gestured towards the multicolored hair. "And is your throat feeling okay? Your voice sounds different."
"I feel fine?" Sabre shrugged. "And what's wrong with my hair?"
Orange blinked. Oh, he wasn't joking about not knowing. "It's colorful." Orange informed him.
Sabre raked a few fingers through his bangs, tugging them down in front of his eyes. His mouth formed an 'O'. "Huh. Wonder if that's normal." He brushed his bangs back into place as he stretched.
That was when Orange found out he might never get the answer to his curiosity, while making Orange admire Sabre even more. It was one thing to easily accept a dangerous task of collecting all the crystals, it was another thing to accept it while not remembering who you even are. What you are.
The next time his curiosity peaked was the same night and the night after. The sun had finished setting and the two of them quietly headed back to the house. Orange kept staring at Sabre's hair, mystified at the new appearance.
It reminded him of the night sky. The brown was gone, replaced with black, and white dots were all over. Then he caught the sight of a crescent, the same phase the moon was in, and realized Sabre's hair didn't just look like the night sky. It was reflecting it.
They walked into the house, each heading to the kitchen. With all the excitement that was the day, they realized they hadn't eaten.
Orange opened a cupboard, peering inside to see what he tossed in. "Hey Sabre?"
Orange could hear Sabre shuffling papers off the table, before the sound stopped suddenly. Orange peaked at Sabre, confused at the lack of an answer.
"Sabre?" Orange tried again.
Sabre looked at him, mouthing something. Sabre rubbed his throat, mouthing something to the air.
Orange abandoned the cupboard as he quickly walked up to his friend. "Are you okay?"
Sabre glanced around, before flipping over one of the papers and grabbing a pen that laid nearby.
'I can't speak'
Orange jolted. "What?! Why?"
Sabre shrugged, staring down at the table. Orange could see him mouthing more words, yet nothing would come from him. Sabre hung his head in defeat.
"Let's stop trying for now and give your voice a break?" Orange offered. "You were singing a long time."
Sabre tipped his head. 'Singing?'
Orange blinked down at the loopy scrawl of a word, before he flicked his gaze back to Sabre. "Did you not realize?"
Sabre shook his head.
Orange hummed. "Muscle memory? Maybe you sang that song a lot, you didn't need to think about it."
'Maybe.'
Orange could only nod in response. He patted Sabre's shoulder with a hand. "Sit down. I'll make some tea and we'll see in the morning."
The morning would bring Sabre's voice to rapidly changed tones, much to his annoyance and Orange's amusement. Knowing Sabre's appearance changed with the sky, Orange figured it messed with his voice also.
Sabre, who was quite surprised at the fact it wasn't just his hair changing, nodded once he got over the fact his appearance wasn't stable.
Of course, the next night showed Sabre's lack of voice wasn't a one time thing. It seemed that once the sun set, Sabre, no matter how hard he tried, could not speak.
Orange thought that he would be used to Sabre's oddities, yet he quickly was proven wrong when the first thunderstorm rolled in.
Orange woke up to thunder rumbling the house as rain slammed into his window. Getting up got him a dirty look from Gerald, who continued laying in bed.
Orange laughed, patted his hair, and went about his day, only to be stopped shortly after by Sabre.
At first glance, Orange's heart dropped. His hair seemed darker along with his skin tone, and occasionally he would be able to see while lines zip around. Sabre was pacing the living room, looking ready to tear someone's head off.
Probably Nightmare, since Sabre did not take kindly to how he treated the other Steves.
"Good morning?" Orange offered.
Sabre's head snapped to Orange, and Orange froze. Sabre look murderous.
"LeaVe mE aLonE." He hissed out, his voice rapidly changing pitches and cracking.
Orange, unsure of what got into his friend, nodded and quickly slipped into the kitchen. They knew Sabre wasn't able to be infected by the Darkness, which left Orange wondering what was going on with Sabre.
Orange recalled the different look and voice pitch as he gazed out the window. Maybe the weather had something to do with it? Who said it was just Sabre's appearance changing with the sky?
Orange from then on took note of Sabre's moods with the weather.
Orange cared for his friend, and if the weather affected him this badly, then Orange should know exactly how it affects him.
It was an hour later after the thunderstorm moved on, leaving just rain, when Sabre came shuffling by his bedroom door. He gave the doorframe a knock, gazing down at the ground. Orange looking at him could just tell Sabre's appearance was lightening up some. "Yeah?" Orange shut his sketchbook.
Sabre shifted his weight. "Sorry..." Orange blinked at the deeper tone, but brushed past it.
"...for what?" Orange sat down his sketchbook next to him.
Sabre didn't raise his head, still gazing at the flooring. "This morning." He explained. "It was weird and might not make sense but I was just so angry and you been hiding in your room this entire-"
"Sabre." Orange stood up, quickly crossing his room to stand by his friend. "It's fine." Sabre looked up at him. "I mean," He shrugged. "I am now at max eighty percent sure the weather affects your mood along with appearance and voice sooo...." Orange droned off.
Sabre stared at him, before looking back down at the floor. Orange let him sort out his thoughts. If he was right, who knows how rain affects him.
"I guess that makes sense." Sabre admitted.
Orange lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Yeah. You're funky for whatever you are."
Sabre gave a strangled sound. "I am not!"
"You change to match the sky. Yes you are."
"I am not!" Sabre's voice rose, almost matching his normal octave. Orange smiled. Resulting in even more denials from Sabre.
He was glad he was friends with Sabre.
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