Firmament

Having calmed down a bit, find yourself in front of Viridian's Cafe. You drift near the openings leading inside, still full of uncertainty.

tell viridian the whole sadness, in broken english while sobbing like the infant you are. this is basically of mice & men

Part of you wants to go in, and tell them everything that happened. That you bit a Soul who was your friend apart, and made them turn into dust. That you feel sick and bad about that, and never want to do it again...

>friend???

>Subconsciously keep an emotional distance from Viridian. You can't stop thinking about how quickly friendship can go away if you screw up again.

>But you won't screw up again.

>...but what if you do?

...but you also want to have a friend. If Viridian knew what you did to your last friend, would they still want to be nice to you? Or would they just be afraid of you... or even try to hurt you back?

>Peek in through the window.

Still feeling uneasy, you take a tentative peek in through the window.

On the far wall, you see a picture, and symbols by it. The lines look rough and scratchy, like they were drawn hastily. The symbols feel like they are saying something, but you can't hear what they're saying.

It is a strange feeling.

You do, however, hear a distant clattering sound. It's coming from somewhere you can't see from this angle. You also hear a familiar voice.

---

Viridian: ...I don't know what they been through, but they're awful sensitive. So, if you and your friends want to keep coming here after your LARPs, or whatever the proper pluralization of that happens to be, I fully expect you two to be on your best behavior.

Am I quite understood?

---

???: Yeah, no. We won't cause any trouble. Oh, and Wisteria's nodding too. In case you can't see.

---

Viridian: Glad to hear it. And no asking impolite questions about their looks either. I'll handle the talk. I want them to feel comfortable here in Limbo. Stars know if I set you loose, newcomer's liable to feel like they're being interrogated!

---

???: That's fine. We don't need to get involved in your pet projects any...

Huh? What is it, Wist?

---

The voices pause. Soon, you hear a squeaking, scraping sound. You remember it. It's the sound made when a "stool" scoots across the floor. You don't know what a "stool" is, but you know this. It feels familiar somehow.

Another strange feeling.

Curious to see what's going on, you shift your position to get a better view of the room. As you do, you see two unfamiliar Souls, looking directly at you. They are silent. The clattering sound continues from the opening behind them.

---

???: Uh, hey, Viridian? Would this soul happen to be... sorta pearly? Kinda basic Snake Aspect going on?

---

Viridian: That's the one, yes. And Carmine dear? Once they come in? I'd kindly ask you to keep any questions about their odd color or Sigil to yourself.

---

Carmine: Well... might be too late for that. They're kinda eavesdropping at the window, like a total creeper.

---

Viridian: What did you say?!?

---

At Viridian's angry shout, you recoil from the window. You hear raised voices inside, but can't make out the words anymore. Are they mad at you? Did you do another bad thing? Your non-existent heart drops into your non-existent stomach.

>Perhaps... Perhaps it is time to of think.
>Much to be considerating, of what we have of done.
>And how to be of the going abouts new resolve.

You don't know what's happening, and think back for a moment. Didn't you resolve to do better? To never hurt another Soul again? You don't want to hurt anyone, or make them angry. But you didn't want to hurt Cerulean either. And you did anyway. It didn't feel like you could harm them. Or... maybe some parts of you did feel that? But those parts didn't think anything bad would happen. They were just curious... or were they angry? Did parts of you secretly want to hurt your friend?

You feel scared. It's so hard to sort your thoughts. So hard to know things, when you don't really remember how to... how to Be. It's like your head is full of voices. So many of them. Each of them tells you to do different things. Opposite things, sometimes. It's hard to know which ones are good, and which are bad. And how can you be better, if you don't even know what good is? What if another bad thought gets Too Loud again, and you make a mistake?

Can you even trust yourself?

>Fly away, you can't risk hurting the friendly tavernkeeper or their establishment.

No... you can't. You can't risk hurting someone again, or doing something wrong without knowing. Not yet, at least. Not until you know how to be better. Not until you know how to Be.

You hurry away from the Cafe, flying off into the Void as swiftly as you can. But... where will you go?