Palette moved out to a little cabin in the woods to hone his skills as an artist. Three years into his seclusion, he stumbles across a red-scarved skeleton that changes his world.
Main story complete. May have bonus chapters written sporadically.
He could sense two souls nearby, though one seemed to be in the throes of death. He hadn't collected a soul in years... but he supposed he could make an exception since it was so close by.
He could give them the mercy of death that eluded him... if anything, it at least gave him something to do to break up the monotony of his existence.
Rolling out of bed and teleporting to the area he sensed the pair of souls at, he was met with the sight of... two skeletons? Skeletons weren't that common, so meeting two together was a rarity.
One was a boy wearing light blue suspenders over a white shirt; the sleeves rolled up and a dried marrow stain spread across the back, white gloves, khaki pants, and light brown shoes. He was cradling the dying one in his arms. Their back was facing him, so he couldn't see the small one clearly, but they were wearing an oversized white winter coat with burn marks on the back, light brown pants, and a red... torn... scarf...
No... after so many years, there's no way... impossible...
The kneeling skeleton seemed to be looking at something. They looking up when the old skeleton's steps landed on a twig, their star-shaped eye lights falling on him. The stars narrowed as the boy put away whatever he'd been looking at.
"W... who's there?" they called out hesitantly.
"Just a local hunter," the older monster casually replied, stepping forward, "Don't do much of that anymore, though. Came out here 'cause I sensed a dying soul, thought it'd like to be put out of its misery-"
The younger bristled, pulling the small body closer, "No! Don't you dare touch Goth!"
The ex-hunter was shocked and enraged at the exclamation.
Seriously?! Of all the-
"If this is your idea of a joke, I'm not laughing," he bit out with a steely glare. The boy shrank under his words, but he couldn't find any signs of falsehood in their expression.
He's not joking? Dammit, what a miserable coincidence...
The cloaked skeleton raised his hand to his skull, rubbing at his nasal ridge as he contemplated his next move. "I'm probably going to regret this... but come on," he groaned, turning to walk away.
"What?" the young monster questioned owlishly.
He gave the boy a withering look, clicking his tongue, "You want to help the kid there, right? Then come on."
A moment of silence was followed by shuffling as the boy picked up his companion along with a light brown Stetson hat. He put it on the kid's skull before following after the older skeleton, his face set with resolve.
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The older monster heaved a sigh.
I was kind of hoping they wouldn't follow... I'm definitely going to regret this...
---
"I don't think I caught your name," the boy asked.
"Never threw it," his aged guide quipped as they continued walking.
"Oh...," he paused, unsure of how to proceed when faced with such a clipped response, "well, my name's Palette and this is Goth."
"Good for you," he drawled in return, rolling his eye light.
As the trio approached the cabin, he tromped up the creaky steps and through the broken doorway, throwing out a 'pardon the mess' as more of a reflex than anything.
Palette balked momentarily at the rotten meat and bones adorning the entryway, but sidestepped the mess and continued inside nonetheless, looking around cautiously.
The older monster directed him to the ravaged bed in the corner.
The boy gently placed his friend on the bed with the burns on his back facing up, reaching to remove a damaged piece of metal from their neck. Once it was snapped off and discarded, he set down his bag, perched himself on a corner of the bed, and removed the kid's hat, rubbing his hand gently along their skull.
His expression settled on a worried yet soft smile. The sight would have been sweet if the older skeleton didn't feel so irritable.
I want answers.
"So, where did you two come from?" he asked. Palette's hand still, a frown forming on his face.
"We... we're running from some really bad people. They... they hurt Goth, and I wasn't able to stop them. Goth got us out of there, but now he's unconscious because he was trying to protect me when we fell and I don't know how to help him. I don't have enough magic to give him without hurting myself, he'd be upset if I did that but he's not healing on his own and he probably used up his magic moving us, and he... and... I...," his explanation grew more and more frantic, eventually devolving into incomprehensible crying and hiccups.
The monster sighed. It was hardly enough to disprove the nagging sensation in his soul.
'Not healing on his own'? Maybe...
Sauntering up to the bed, he reached a hand over to the prone skeleton. Magic wafted from his fingertips as it fed into their soul.
The heart-shaped vessel eagerly absorbed the magic with an aching familiarity. To his surprise, the kid's injuries began to fade amidst wisps of light purple magic.
He pulled away once their injuries had healed, disconcerted by the feeling.
So the kid wasn't actually dying, after all. He was just really low on magic...
He was jarred from his thoughts when a groan announced the kid's awakening. "Goth?" Palette whispered excitedly.
Heavy eye sockets opened to reveal a single hazy white eye light, "Pa... lette...?" The kid smiled weakly as he focused on his companion.
Then his gaze fell on the old skeleton, and all hell broke loose.
***
By my estimations, this book should be completed by next Sunday, crazy!
