ph_logs | how long, baby, have I been away? [open]

Who: Nimona, you, and... Ballister Boldheart?!
What: Nimona finally opens the gift Efrain gave her back in March.
When: May
Where: All around!
Warning(s): None yet, will edit if anything crops up

A couple months ago, Nimona got a present.

She felt kinda silly about the whole thing afterward, once she was clear of the fog Efrain cast over the worst karaoke night ever. Sure, she missed Ballister. Of course. But she had other friends to keep her company until she got home, right? They wouldn't be stuck here forever. The barrier'd come down eventually.

Maybe she would've kept on thinking that if the Polaroids hadn't washed ashore.

But one day, she looked around her room at the Oak & Iron, where she'd thumbtacked up all those memories of the best night of her life with the first person who ever really saw her, and it wasn't enough anymore. All the friendship she had here, the weirdos who didn't bat an eye at her, the people -- even humans! -- who saw her passing by and didn't think monster; what was the point? She still woke up most mornings and had to stifle herself from yawning morning, boss. Whenever something cool happened, Ballister was still the first person she wanted to tell.

So Nimona dug out the Black Heart Locket, looped it around her neck, and opened it.

-----

There's a new resident of Pumpkin Hollow. Sort of.

Tall, thin, and angular, he'd cut a more striking figure if he wasn't translucent, a shimmering specter who's never seen without Nimona close by. His prosthetic right arm looks way more modern than anything else anybody's wearing: not the steampunk transformation one would expect, but outright, intact robotics. He's got the kind of expressive dark eyes that can't hide anything.

But oh, you can tell he's trying. He smiles gamely at Nimona's chattering, tries to joke with her, listens to her stories without his attention wandering too much. It's evident to anyone, though -- except, perhaps, Nimona herself -- that he's absolutely miserable.

(Then again, maybe it's evident to Nimona, too. Maybe she's also trying as hard as she can.)

They're all over town; primarily the Oak & Iron, but other spots around downtown Hollow, too. Once or twice she shows him the forest or the beach. Catch them anywhere. Nimona would love to introduce you to her boss.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Who is this?" Elsie springs out from the shadows at the base of a tree and puts herself directly in their path. There's a puzzled, concerned look on her face. She's staring hard at Ballister and not in an entirely friendly way.

Ballister doesn't do anything so un-knight-like as yelp, but he can't stifle a twitch backward, one hand instinctively falling toward his hip like he's about to grab a sword. Nimona's gut twists hard as she looks between them.

"Hey, hey, it's cool," she says, holding up both hands to placate. "Boss, this is my friend Elsie. She lives out here. Elsie, this is Ballister!"

Despite Ballister being so twitchy -- seriously, what is up with that? -- Nimona can't help but grin as she introduces him.

Elsie smiles at being called friend but it's not as bright as usual. She's still warily regarding Ballister.

"Where did Ballister come from?"

"From home!" she laughs.

"Just -- temporarily," interjects Ballister. He forces a smile when Nimona glances over, but the downtrodden look in his eyes, like he's been dragged to a party he never wanted to attend in the first place, gets worse. "Nimona called me here for a visit, so I could see what she's been up to since, er..."

He winces, waving a hand in lieu of finishing the sentence.

"Since we overthrew the Institute and got your name cleared?" says Nimona, slyly, and makes like she's about to elbow Ballister in the ribs before remembering he's just an apparition.

"Well, yes, but..."

Elsie's look of discomfort grows when Ballister interjects. No one gets called here to visit. No one but those demons. It doesn't fit. It isn't right. He knows it; she can see it in his eyes. But Nimona...

"How long will you stay?"

"I don't know," says Ballister, and looks away.

Nimona's smile slips. "Boss?" she asks, quiet and a little worried.

Ballister doesn't answer. Nimona keeps watching him. It's like the sorrow engulfing Ballister has become a physical fog, stretching out to wrap her in its cold, too. In that instant, she can't brush it off as easily as usual.

"Nimona?" For once, the smile is gone from the wild woman's face. "How did he get here?"

Don't tell her, a thought whispers in the back of her mind, coiling like smoke. She'll take him away if she knows.

"What's it matter?" she says, faintly truculent. "There's all kinds of magic stuff around here, I found something that lets him come visit sometimes, big deal. Elsie, c'mon, we haven't seen each other in months."

"It's hurting you," Elsie says with a sad shake of her head. "Sometimes magic is the wrong thing."

"It's not hurting me -- "

Her voice rises, caught between indignation and a scoff. "Look, I'm not stupid, I know all the 'magic comes with a price' and blah blah blah stuff, it's not doing anything like that -- "

And if it was, she almost says, it'd be worth it. Whatever pangs she might feel when she can't cheer up Ballister, it's nothing compared to the loneliness of never seeing him again.

"The price is being stuck," Elsie insists. "You're stuck hurting."

But even someone with as little social awareness as Elsie can see she isn't getting her point across the way she wants to. Maybe she should start over. Try something different.

"My mother is dead. I miss her. But life keeps going."

"He's not dead -- "

"Nimona," says Ballister, too quietly to be heard.

" -- he's right here!" Nimona's eyes ignite, throwing twin spots of pink light onto the front of Elsie's clothes. "Why can't you be cool about this?! You know how much Ballister and I have wanted to see each other? Just because you can't see your mom anymore doesn't mean you have to ruin it for me!"

Elsie jolts in place and quickly lets her gaze sink to the ground, her shoulders slumping forward with the motion.

"Not trying to ruin it... Trying to help."

"Whatever," she snarls, scornful. The glow winks out. "Then maybe don't suck so much at helping next time."

She turns on her heel and storms off.

Ballister hesitates. He looks after Nimona, then back to Elsie. Something flickers in his spectral face: not the helplessness of someone who just watched their friend behave abominably, nor the awkwardness of a bystander caught in the middle of a fight. Something darker.

And if it looks for a second like he's about to apologize --

He doesn't, and just follows after Nimona.

Elsie gasps, and her mouth hangs open even after the sound escapes. Nothing else comes out. She reaches with one hand, eyes fixed on Ballister and that terrible expression he wears, but still she cannot seem to find her voice.

Finally, with one last wretched look of anguish, she dissolves into the shadow beneath her feet, as if sinking into the ground. She won't be seen for days after, even if she's called by name.

how long, baby, have I been away? [open]

Forest

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[cw: parental death]

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