When I went to sleep that night, I had a strange dream. It was just this man I had never seen before standing in front of me, just staring. He looked strange, almost ethereal, like he didn't belong to this world. He wore a long, flowing Aquamarine coloured cloak that reached down to his knees, obscuring any other clothing - but I can see an unbuttoned collar. His hair was spiky and green, and his eyes had pentagon-like pupils. His headphones, were the one thing that drew my attention. Everyone's headphones were a neutral grey, no matter who they were, except for the Corrupted who had black headphones - His man's headphones were pure white. And likewise, the design on them was a Green Pentagon.
He just stared at me for a few minutes, unblinking, unmoving.
Until I finally decided to break the awkward silence by asking him who he was. Of course I had a vague idea who he was, his headphone design was far too similar to that of Quin, was he a Guardian? A previous generation perhaps? Why were his headphones white? But still, I wanted him to answer my question.
Which he responded by disappearing into thin air.
So that was a nice dream.
But despite that, the Man's white headphones sparked a curiosity - a curiosity that sparked another curiosity and ditto ditto ditto.
Eventually, that train of thought lead me to a question, what did Fresh's headphones look like?
Of course, in History Class while we were studying the ancient civilisations and such, drawings depicted them wearing headphone-like things, which I guess was what inspired our modern day versions of such (I'm pretty sure someone picked one up and thought "Hey! Let's make this thing be able to play music!") Still with the designs. Did Fresh still have his?
When I asked him that question later that morning, He just snorted and said "Ah. Nothin' special."
'It's your headphones, Fresh, it's a large part of our society. You break or lose yours, you're as good as dead, what do you mean "Nothin' Special", of course it's special.'
"It's really not that great-"
'Pleeeeeaaaaaaaase?" I OwO'ed.
And of course, just as I expected, Fresh didn't even try to resist the puppy eyes. We had already finished our breakfast anyways, and I just followed him through the halls to his room.
We entered, room still as messy as ever, and he just pulled something out of a drawer.
I blinked.
His headphone, and I say headphone instead of headphones, Was broken.
Like the other Corrupted, the headphones were Pure black, with a pink design across the ear. The design that Fresh had was this weird Circle-like thing with spikes, along with three smaller circles across the top - kinda like a claw. It was snapped in half, there being only one, solitary ear-coverer, (whatever they're called).
"Why's it broken?"
'Shit happened.' He said. I don't think he wanted to talk about it, was it related to his trauma? His Corruption?
"Can it play music?"
'Surprisingly, yes. But obviously since it's just one left earphone, I can't hear shit.'
I laughed.
Afterward, Fresh said he had something to do. However, half an hour later, he turned up to my room and presented me with another pink rose to add to my collection.
"Seriously?" I laughed as I took the rose and hugged him. He hugged back, and I could hear his heartbeat quicken.
'By the way, Beautiful, I'm gonna leave for some actual business now, okay?'
"Okay."
I waited patiently for Fresh's return, browsing Tumblr to pass the time. At some point, Dumpling found herself in my room, and just nuzzled against me, purring herself to sleep for a bit. Sh was the only company I had, and I wasn't complaining. Though, half an hour after he arrival, the little striped ball of fluff stood up, vigilant as her small, bushy tail rose into the air, swaying side the side. She stared at the window. So did I.
I read somewhere that Animals have a higher level of intuition and can sense when something's going to happen, so the moment I saw Dumpling act on edge, I knew that it was a sign that I should do the same. Nothing. Just as I was about to resume what I was doing, I-
THUMP
It was like someone had dropped a sandbag onto my window, a mini shockwave shook the walls with the force of a cannonball, and a black and pink blur appeared outside my window.
A black and pink blur with a shit-eating grin and a pair of mismatched eyes I knew well.
"FRESH???" I blurted out, immediately shooting up from my bed and opening the window. There was this yet another feeling unfamiliar in my chest, like a cross between hysterical laughter and a WTF feeling. "WHAT THE HELL?" I wheezed as he clambered in through the window.
Fresh usually had a cat-like grace to his movements, like the movement of a river over rocks, a combination unnatural when coupled with his rough, dangerous appearance, but let's not forget the guy is almost seven feet tall, and my window was tiny in comparison to him. So he entered in an awkward crab-like motion, landing on all fours with an awkward "Oof". Though he immediately clambered back up, smiling like his awkward entrance was a professional gym routine. Dumpling immediately sprang to him, nuzzling his ankles affectionately and purring. He dropped down to one knee, picked her up and kissed her forehead.
"I see you made a new friend." He smiled at me. Dumpling mewed.
'She's honestly adorable.'
"You don't say. So, Sweetheart, How're you feeling?"
'Alright, you?'
"Same."
'Where were you? And why did you decide to enter from up here?'
"You know Mount Clearwater?"
'Yeah? Who wouldn't know it?'
"Just went to go Corrupt it."
'You- wait, what?'
HE JUST CORRUPTED A WHOLE ENTIRE MOUNTAIN???????
AND MOUNT CLEARWATER
MOUNT
CLEARWATER
OF ALL MOUNTAINS
HE CHOSE ONE OF THE BIGGEST
"Why?"
MOUNT CLEARWATER GIVES US WATER CLEANER THAN MY GRANDMA'S KITCHEN (Probably). AND HE WENT AHEAD AND CORRUPTED IT?????
'Well, I've corrupted it in a way that since it's corrupted now, the water'll give my soldiers more energy and make them stronger. Plus, it'll be healthier for them. It was their idea.'
He didn't do it for himself?
It passed my mind that maybe Fresh just wanted power, for land, to make Mount Clearwater "his territory" like a greedy tyrant, but this was not what I was expecting.
"Really? You're telling the truth?"
'You know I'm a horrible liar.'
"C'mon, sit down" I gestured towards the spot beside me on the bed, and Fresh sat next to me. His warm eyes regarded me with a warm curiosity, a mild interest.
We talked and talked and talked until hours flew by like swifts and I could see the flush of joy on his cheeks.
Before we knew it, a Corrupted had come over to call us for dinner.
Laughter filled the room and travelled down the halls, merry spirits rising higher than the thunderclouds that formed high up in the sky. Fresh's warm laughter, his habit of slapping his knee, his dimples that sank deep into his cheeks when he laughed, they were all exaggerated during those moments.
He looked happy.
Though, I then realised a surprising lack of a presence.
I haven't seen Barracuda in a while, and whenever I ask someone to go get her for me, they just shake their head and carry on their way. It's been a day.
"Fresh?"
'Yeah?'
"Where's Barracuda?"
'Oh, Barracuda? She's over by Mount Clearwater. Business.'
"It's Tetra and the others, right?"
Silence.
'She can handle it. I know her power well. Her snakes are extremely versatile in battle. There's a reason why she's my Lieutenant.'
Barracuda was one of the coolest people I had ever met. She owned a lot of pet snakes, she was awesome, she was smart, and she was chill. But I've personally known Tetra, Lumina, Quin and Pi for years now, and to be honest, I'm at a complete loss as to who I wanted to win. The Awesome Barracuda or the Righteous Shapes.
A nervous ache troubled me for the rest of the night. Who would win? I don't think I'll be fully happy with either loss.
My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening, and the head of a corrupted man peeked in.
...
"Mordecai, what're you doing?" I asked as I stared at him in disbelief.
He just eyed Fresh with a deep, intense glare. Fresh returned the gaze, though his eyes weren't filled with as much resentment. It was more of an indifference swimming around in his pupils than a "I want to kill you" kind of look.
And suddenly, Mordecai just left. He shrank behind the door just as quietly as he came.
"What's up with him?" Fresh laughed, pointing at the door.
'I-I don't know, really. Guess he's just overprotective? He's like a brother to me, so I think that might be why.
"Understandable."