Archive of Our Own ^beta

Returning from.. Wherever he'd gone between the "end" and this realm, Sixer wasn't.. right. She knew it. Paws and claws and fur weren't a part of their normal appearance back then, and even now it is weird. His new voice, the one she'd adored and thought.. They would too.. has been taken from her, oh so rudely. They can only growl and roar and it feels horrible. They already couldn't really communicate at one point in time, and now they've lost all ways to entirely. It's not as if anyone in this realm would know sign, Robloxians already didn't care much for the language, and now his claws have removed it as an option entirely. (Well.. Not really, but her claws are large and fumbly and annoying..)

She stretches her arms, and looks out at the woods. Slasher's claimed them as their territory, the.. child has taken to staying at the campfire, while the other "adults" linger around to random places. They never quite liked interacting with them, finding all of them far too... Different than they'd like. (He doesn't mean it in a bad way! Certainly not! But.. After being so used to one person, meeting so many different types of people is.. Weird. [And one of the others seems to have a sort of.. Vendetta against her anyhow..?])

So they stick to themselves most of the time, to the area by the water. (It's familiar and they do.. enjoy watching the unsteady ripples of the water itself.) She sits down closer to the water's edge, frowning when it laps at her fur. It's uncomfortable, but nothing she can't deal with. Nothing he can't get used to, either. The ongoing round will end soon, and given that she hasn't heard much of the sounds they associate with the end of the round, 1x1x1x1's anger is soon to fill the area.

... Annoying, but it's fine. His ears may be.. a bit more sensitive now, but that's fine. It's part of.. whatever they've become as a consequence of their actions. (Actions they took because it was necessary. How else could they hold their own? How else could they succeed, be as.. Good as them? Be at the top? And sure, they'd needed it in the end. They'd taken it too far and then it became a part of who they were, but who could blame them? They needed it.)

Her tail swipes at the sand, getting it caught in her wet fur. ... They don't like the fur. It gets annoying far too often to be nice, and they can't really brush it here, either. (The others are... lucky. They have dexerity, they can use their hands. They can detangle their hair and whatnot. ... He can't even take care of his fur with these.. fumbly claws.)

The water laps against them more, getting rougher, something they've come to associate with a killer's loss. As though the environment itself is punishing them for losing against the weak survivors. The wind ruffles their fur, making it even worse than it was moments ago, and it does nothing more than bother them even more. None of this is.. Fair to them. Why were they turned into this creature? What did she do to deserve this? (It couldn't have been the script, could it? It was assisting them! She needed it! He.. All he did wrong was hurt Noob.. Could this be the consequences..?)

...

They miss Noob. No. They miss the past, that's what they miss. (Because if they missed Noob, why are they hurting them now, even still? Why aren't they giving them grace, letting them live?) Something inside them stings, but they attempt to brush off the feeling. (It doesn't work, he knows it won't, but she can try all they want, no?) 1x1x1x1 finally returns to their little area from between rounds, obviously pissed off, his ranting filling the area. Sixer attempts to ignore them, her words mean little to them after all, but their increased hearing makes it difficult.

The water laps higher on the shore, but they don't move. The last day they were on the beach, it'd stormed. The water had acted much the same way. (Before they disappeared from before here. Before they spent time "banned", but Guests can't be banned truly, and so they were just... gone.) It's familiar and hurtful and they don't do much more until the water hits their face, and they shift backwards, tail hitting the sand in irritation, flicking it up in wet clumps that sit into their fur.

..

Later, they'll drag their claws roughly through the coarse hairs to just get the sand out as much as possible. But for now, they ignore it. It's not important, just.. annoying. And they've learned over the years that what annoys them isn't important. Changing it and fixing it or whatever solution there is.. It just never truly succeeds in the end. So there's no use to trying and doing so now. Besides dry sand will... probably be easier to get out of their fur. Eventually, they lift themself up and turn to leave the water be.

They've just had enough of getting sand in their fur, and the next round will be beginning soon, the final one for the "day", as they've found. It's a toss up between themself or Noli being the next one sent in, and they hope it's the 'God''s turn. Her mood has already soured, and using these.. changes negatively, once more, is just going to hammer in the fact that.. They've changed.

He'll likely never be the same again. Be who they used to be, be their past self again. The one who was Noob's. ... They truly do miss them. Do they even deserve to miss them? Because they're the one who ruined things. Who fucked it all up, and it's just.. They don't deserve these feelings, and yet they exist and there is no ripping them out of her by the root, because the root is.. important. Important memories that he'd never get rid of, not ever.

In a blink, moments that fall too quickly, like dominoes in a line, they find themself in Yorick's. .. She's never liked the map, the poisonous water always seeps into her fur and leaves them hurting even after the round ends. They don't bring themself to move for a long moment, only roaring to figure out where the majority of the survivors are, on the opposite side of the map, the back corner with those gravestones.

.. Perhaps they can get away with doing naught this round. The other killers have before, after all, and this would be their first time doing it. Besides, they don't even want to use these claws or these stupid abilities that they got when she came back from being nothing at all.

Their body's changed, and it wasn't by any fault of their own.. Right? (Not even using the script would've done this... Right..?) She settles onto the steps of the mansion. They're not.. entirely comfortable, but they fit there, and that's works.

He can hear footsteps, but does that even matter? Let them stun them, hurt them, whatever. This isn't their body anymore, so the pain doesn't necessarily matter much, if at all. It can't be their's, can it? They don't have a body anymore, having just been.. shoved into this.. thing.

...

"Sixer?"

...

".. You.. You can't sign right now.. Can.. you?"

Slowly, she shakes their head. That's all the response they'll give Noob, any sign that they're listening. (They can't not listen, anyhow. It's just.. How it is.)

"You.. You've got all.. this.. sand in your hai-fur."

They move to stare at Noob, as they pull a clump of the sand free. They'd never thought they'd get help with the sand.. especially given the.. Creature that he's become. She'd never thought that Noob would still care. Care enough to get the sand out of their fur, like they had back when he'd get sand in his hair down at their beach. Their hands are.. gentle... Gentler than Sixer thinks they deserve, but Noob perserveres and slowly clears away all of the wet sand.

"... Do.. Do you want me to.. go..?"

Sixer shakes their head. They.. really don't want them to leave. It'd feel like back then, and they don't.. want to relive those memories. And.. even though, the sand is long gone, picked free from their fur, Noob returns to letting their hands run through their fur, as if combing it and making it look nice. He rests her head on her paws once more, and just.. allow it to happen. It feels nice after all, and soon enough, they find themself ignoring as time slips away, only to be brought back to reality when the clock starts to tick and they're quickly brought back to the lobby.

...

They went silent for a long moment. ... Maybe, once they figure out how these stupid paws can sign, they'll talk things through with Noob.. As it'd gone well earlier, even if there wasn't much of a conversation. ... They ignore the other killers and go to sit on the beach, just.. A bit farther from the edge than usual. They'd rather not put Noob's work in vain, after all.