Buddy: *tearfully Smiles At This Validation*

Caine: *nods in understanding and calmly flies to Buddy*

Welcome to-

*Buddy was lost, they had run away from Caine while he was distracted*

Oh...

(🎉).

(They run off too, frantically trying to find them.)

???: *nods trying to be brave*

ok.... but if she's the teacher then who are you...

um, i’m........the..........janitor. you can call me zooble.

(Not their best improv but whatever. They offer them a hand, wishing they were made of something a bit more comforting than cold, hard plastic.)

Gangle: I don't think so unless abstraction c-

*stops mid-sentence and begins to quietly sob thinking about Kaufmo, his loss still raw in her mind*

........i miss him.

Caine:

*opens a portal to Zooble's happy place, having genuniely listened as best he could*

...huh.

(It’s a secluded spot in the woods. People have obviously been there before, namely them and the people they’d most likely never see again. There’s a heart carved into a nearby tree, reading “M +” . . . something. The second initial is scribbled out.)

Inflation is so fucking bad we're fantasizing about stalkers leaving groceries

i think they’re someone hanging over there

.......please tell me you mean like. hanging out.

Caine: An unfinished graveyard map

uh-huh. why is that...um...

(They’ve never seen him as a human, but they can somehow tell that’s Kaufmo’s face. And since so many other people abstracted, then that means the rest of the faces are . . .)

(They really don’t want to say it out loud. They just hope Gangle hasn’t realized yet, especially since she knew more of these people than they did.)

Buddy: *stares in awe*

...But, my parents didn't wanna share this with me?

well, that means that they’re probably looking for a way to get you back home as we speak.

M!A: *collapses from exhaustion*

Buddy: EEK!

lol. serves you right

*random npcs from various adventures glitch in and out trying to strike

conversations with Zooble*

(Some of them seem to merge together in horrific amalgamations. For some, flat yet realistic placeholder textures are used, making them look almost like they’re made from paper cutouts.)