~Skephalo & Jefhalo - Oneshots, Drafts, and More~

~On the Run pt 9 - 🔴🔵~

Skeppy was already awake when Bad came to get him the next morning. As they went about their morning chores, Bad hummed cheerfully, a smile on his face. Skeppy would've made a remark about it, had he been paying attention, but he seemed rather distant, staring into space and zoning out while Bad gathered eggs.

"Hey, Muffin, I'm talking to you! Hello? Is anyone home?" Bad asked, waving his hand in front of Skeppy's face.

"Oh. Yeah, sorry. What were you saying?" Skeppy apologized.

"I said, we're all finished up in here, so we can go make breakfast now." Bad rolled his eyes. "That is, if you're done staring at the wall."

"Yeah, yeah, I just zoned out a little bit," Skeppy said, frowning. He followed Bad out of the barn and back into the house.

"What's on your mind? Is everything okay?" Bad asked, getting the food ready for breakfast.

"Yeah, I was just thinking... about stuff..." Skeppy gave the eggs he had gathered to Bad and took a seat at the table.

"Okay. I'm here if you want to talk about anything."

It wasn't long before breakfast was ready, and Bad handed Skeppy a plate of eggs and a glass of milk. Even as he ate, Skeppy's mind wandered.

Finally, after several minutes of the stifling silence, Bad spoke.

"Hey, can we talk?" He asked.

Skeppy looked up, curious. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering... if maybe you'd want to talk a little more about yourself and your past." Bad said. "But, I mean, you don't have to, if you're not comfortable!" He rushed to add that last part, not wanting to pressure Skeppy into an uncomfortable conversation.

"Oh. I'd... Rather not," Skeppy replied.

"Alright. That's fine." Bad attempted to hide the disappointment in his voice, but Skeppy picked up on it easily. "I just thought, since you're living with me now, it would be nice to know a little bit about the person I'm sharing my home with."

The words made Skeppy wince. It was an incredibly reasonable request. He sighed, then hesitantly relented. "W-Well... What did you want to know?"

"I don't know, just stuff about those people who came looking for you, and how you knew them, etc..." Bad said.

"Oh... I don't know..."

"Here, what if my questions have to be yes or no questions, that way it's easier for you to answer, and you don't have to reveal a ton of information," Bad suggested.

"Okay... I guess that would be better. Yeah, you can ask some questions then."

"You'll answer truthfully, won't you?" Bad asked.

"Yes," Skeppy promised. "I will, but you only get to ask five questions for now."

"What?!" Bad exclaimed. He huffed, "I guess that's fair. Okay, let me think." He thought for a moment about the best way to word his question, since it had to be yes or no. "Those people who came looking for you, are you related to them? Like, family-wise?"

"No." Skeppy answered easily. He didn't mind admitting that.

Bad smiled a bit. "So do those people... care about you?" He asked. They said there was a reward for anyone who found Skeppy, maybe it was because they cared about him.

"Not really... Well, kind of... I mean, I guess it depends on what you mean by 'care about' me." Skeppy answered, shrugging.

"Okay, maybe it'd be better if I asked: do they care about your well-being?" Bad said, clarifying.

"...no."

Ah. So they didn't care about him, they valued him, Bad noted. But why? Maybe he could use his next question to find the answer. "So those people are trying to find you... Is it because of something you did?"

"Kind of... yeah, I guess so," Skeppy answered, contemplating the question.

Bad wasn't sure he could continue down the same path of questions he had been asking, and he only had one left, so he decided to ask about something else. "Did you really find all fourteen of those diamonds in a single vein?"

Skeppy hesitated to answer.

"You have to be honest," Bad reminded him.

"...No..." Skeppy mumbled.

"What? But then how...?" Bad was utterly confused. It just didn't make sense.

Skeppy stood up, pushing away from the table. "Bad, I don't think I wanna talk about this anymore right now."

"Why? Are you okay?" Bad asked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Skeppy interrupted. "I'm fine, I just don't want to talk about it right now." He walked out of the kitchen and back to his room, leaving Bad alone at the table.

-

Skeppy sat on his bed, burying his head in his hands. He felt bad for leaving like that, but he wasn't ready to talk about the diamonds. He wasn't ready for Bad to find out the truth. He was so scared of what would happen when Bad finally connected the dots. That is, if he hadn't already. Skeppy had already spilled so many secrets, and had already been so careless with what he had said, he was surprised Bad didn't already figure it out.

Skeppy looked up from his hands, and stared at the diamonds on his desk. He stood up and walked over to them. Stupid, stupid diamonds. He frowned and grabbed one of the crystals, holding it up to the light. It shined in the sunshine from the window, casting spots of light across the walls as it reflected the sunbeams. It was so beautiful, but somehow so sinister, all at the same time.

Memories flooded back into his mind as he stared at the jewel. Memories of dark, cold caverns and cramped stone tunnels. The rhythmic, merciless dripping sound that echoed steadily through every part of the mines, wearing away at his sanity hour after weary hour. A rough, wooden handle in his sore, bleeding hands. He remembered the sunless days and the eternal nights, the hunger in his weak body that never quite seemed to go away, no matter how numb he got to the feeling. He remembered the sound of stone against stone, pounding away in his skull, drowning out any thoughts of hope and happiness.

Skeppy shook his head vigorously, snapping back to reality. That was all in the past.

But would it soon return in the future?

The idea frightened him, and he swore that he would never allow anyone to ever force him to a fate like his past. He would fight against anyone that tried to make him go back to the way things used to be.