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White. Everything was white.
It surrounded the tiny camp like a blanket, but where a blanket would be warm all the fog brought was a chill that seeped into bones and sent shivers up spines. A lung invading parasite, almost suffocating in the way it held everything- everyone in the bramble seed hostage.
Inescapable; inevitable.
The blinding light and that void forbidden fog was all Feldspar had known for eight lonely years. Years filled with nothing but centipedes and a long dead enemy for company. It was a 'vacation' turned into a pitiful, lonely existence.
That was until Gossan showed up.
Gossan, their best friend, their partner in crime- the only one who could set their head straight, who could see through their facade -had finally come to save them.
They descended from above, hand outstretched- wordlessly asking to reunite -though something about the reunion felt… off somehow.
No matter how many times Feldspar blinked Gossan's face remained blurry; hazy and distorted and unrecognizable. It held no emotion even as they dragged Feldspar up off the bone floor and brought them into a tight hug.
This… this already happened before, hadn't it? The reunion of soulmates, Gossan and Feldspar, it had already happened.
Feldspar tried desperately to wrack their brain, tried to remember the details and piece the staticky memory back together but so much of it was still a blur.
This was how it had gone… right?
Gossan saving Feldspar? Dragging them not to a ship but… into the foggy white void?
No… No. That wasn't right- There had been a ship! There had been tears and then screaming and scolding before even more tears. Gossan had been wearing their helmet, only showing their aged, scarred face once they were safely on their way home!
Gossan knew how dangerous being in a new environment without the safety of their helmet would be…
Their Gossan would never-
A familiar, rumbling growl from behind the floating pair echoed through the bramble and turned Feldspar's blood to ice.
Just behind the still distorted figment of Gossan- floating at them at imaginable speeds -was a hungry maw. It's gnarled teeth on full display, ready to devour them just as it had tried to do so many years ago.
They don't even get a chance to move, to think before-
Feldspar shoots up out of bed, gasping for air and clawing at their chest as they try to stave the terror threatening its hold. Their eyes flit across the darkness, trying to find anything to let them know they were safe and not swallowed by the beasts of the bramble.
As their eyes finally adjust to the dim moonlight that shines from a window across what thankfully appears to just be their cabin bedroom, they spot the sleeping form of Gossan.
They're alone in their small bed, curled in on them self with their back turned- peacefully unaware of Feldspar's panicked gaze.
Feldspar watches their back rise and fall for a moment, following suit until the panic they'd felt was left only in the shaking of their hands.
Once able to get back their breath they flop back against their mattress, digging their fingers into its softness in a meager attempt to ground them self and stop the tremors that remained.
Their eyes sting and they blink back a few tears with a sniffle, not wanting to cry over something they should be used to already.
Feldspar wasn't new to nightmares- a few nasty crashes and brushes with death in their past had saw to that -but ever since coming home from the bramble their night terrors were becoming more and more frequent.
And yet despite their frequency, Feldspar fell back asleep most nights with a tear stained pillow and aching lungs.
To find their cheeks growing wet over something like this was frustrating to say the least. They were supposed to be the 'best there ever was'- the great fearless hero of the campfire stories told to hatchlings -and heroes didn't cry over a simple bad dream.
Feldspar's lip starts to quiver before they bite down on it, pinning it roughly in place until they taste iron.
They look back over to Gossan and for a brief moment considers waking their friend up, maybe even clambering under the covers and cuddling up to them like they had when they were hatchlings.
But they weren't hatchlings anymore. It had been almost three whole decades since the last time they had sought their friend out like that.
Gossan had future pilots to coach, they didn't need a shivering Feldspar robbing them of what little sleep they got between drills and the recovery regimen they insisted on helping Feldspar with already.
So with a sigh Feldspar slips out of their bed and quietly tiptoes their way through the cabin and into their tiny kitchen where they get to work rooting through the fridge for a comforting snack.
They half expected to just grab whatever the first junk food they found, but a soft smile finds home on their lips when they see a plate of sliced fruits and berries with a small hand written note on top.
Feldspar,
I know you're up looking for snacks. At least eat something healthy?
Love,
Gossan
Feldspar runs their thumb over the indentation of Gossan's name and tucks the note away in their sleep pants' pocket- they'll put it in their bedside drawer later with the rest of the snack notes that Gossan has left for them over the weeks of recovering -before they remove the glass covering on the plate.
They pick up a small chunk of a pink melon and their smile only grows when they taste the sweetness that meets their tongue, chuckling softly with a shake of their head.
It's just what they need, something light and sweet to chase away the darkness and fog following them, and they take their prize to the couch where they curl up smaller than usual and pick away at the snack Gossan had left for them.
A small pang twists at their heart for a moment as they swallow down a few tiny berries.
They appreciated Gossan they truly did, but sometimes even the smallest, sweetest gesture left something inside Feldspar to ache.
Ever since being rescued from the bramble Gossan has hardly left their side. They insist on cooking for them, helping them with exercises to replace the fat and muscle the bramble took from them.
Gossan didn't need to do all of that, didn't need to take care of them like that, but they did and-
Feldspar licks the remnants of berry juice off their fingers, places the plate on the table beside them, and shuts their eyes with a sigh
-they just didn't understand why.
Gneiss and Rutile had been taking care of them just fine when they had needed it, when they were to weak too care for them self, but Feldspar could walk on their own, make food on their own; They could take care of them self now.
Yet anytime they thought of losing this- the small midnight snack plates adorned with little notes, walks around the village with their best friend to get their legs back up to strength, even the exasperated snark thrown at them when they refused medicine or to follow the strict recovery regimen made for them -it all felt so…?
Why did the thought of that loss hurt more than the idea of being some kind of stubborn burden on-
"How long have you been up?"
The sudden sound of Gossan's voice makes Feldspar jump in their scales and they twist around in their seat to find the flight coach standing in the doorway with their arms crossed against their chest, a hint of a smirk tugging at their lips.
Feldspar lets out their startled breath into a wheezy chuckle and they relax back against the corner of the couch.
"Stars Goss' you really gotta stop sneakin' up on me like that. Hearts' not what it used to be."
From behind them, Feldspar hears a quiet laugh and footsteps before a hand lands on their shoulder.
"Wouldn't have to sneak up on you if you were in bed. 'Nother nightmare?"
Feldspar scoffs and waves Gossan's concern off. "Me? Nightmares? Pshhh. Just got hungry is all. Thanks for the snack by the way."
They crane their neck back to look up at Gossan's tired frown, hating the sight of it.
"I'm fine, Goss'! Really. If you don't stop worrying your face will get stuck like that." They say, reaching up to Gossan's face and dragging their fingers up by their mouth-hoping to get a glimpse of a smile but the corners refuse to budge. If anything they crease farther down against their touch.
"I know you're still having nightmares. I have ears y'know?" Gossan states plainly, ignoring Feldspar's attempts at humor and cutting right to the chase.
Feldspar sighs deep and shrugs Gossan's hand off their shoulder so they can tuck their knees up to their chest.
"Okay fine. I'm still having nightmares. Happy now?" They grumble before uttering under their breath, "Never could lie to you anyway."
Gossan pinches the bridge of their nose between their bottom eyes with a frustrated breath and sits next to Feldspar, resting a hand on their knee and tapping it gently with a finger to get their attention.
"Not in the slightest, 'Felds. I just- I just wish you'd talk to me is all." They guide Feldspar's face up so their eyes can meet, "You know I don't mind if you wake me up…"
Feldspar's lip finds it's way back between their teeth, reopening the split in the middle that never seems to heal.
"I know, I know. You've told me I just-"
"You just don't want to bother me."
"…Yeah."
Gossan rolls their eyes and tugs Feldspar's lip away with their thumb before they ruin it even more.
"As stubborn as ever."
Feldspar leans into the touch for a split second of indulgence before shrinking away from Gossan's hand.
"You should go back to bed Goss'," They murmur, "Mica needs their coach well-rested if they ever wanna fly a real ship someday."
"Mica will understand if I come in late, 'sides-" Gossan offers Feldspar the small smile they were looking for earlier, "my best friend needs me right now. And you know what they need?"
Feldspar huffs a laugh and accepts the hand now outstretched to them, letting them self be dragged off the couch and lead into the kitchen.
They hop up to sit on a counter as Gossan putters around, brewing a light-smelling herbal tea and pouring it into a thermos before tossing a small bag at Feldspar's face.
It smacks them square on the nose and they fumble to properly catch it when it falls into their lap which earns them a laugh from Gossan as Feldspar rub the soreness away.
"Ass." Feldspar grumbles through a mouthful of the honey oat cakes found inside, spraying crumbs in their wake.
Gossan simply rolls their eyes in amusement, throws a couple pillows under their arm pits, and leads Feldspar outside and to the ladder that leads up onto the roof- the one Gossan leaves out on purpose ever since the time Feldspar climbed up onto the roof of the hatchling cabin with a broken arm to stargaze when they were youngsters.
It was safer this way, less risk of falling and breaking more than a wrist or two than it would be if they shimmied up the supports like they used to.
The pair climb up and lay out the pillows to keep comfortable against the incline before taking a mug of tea and oatcake each.
With eyes trained on the sky they eat their snack and let the scent of the herbs calm them with each sip until there was nothing but crumbs and an errant drop of tea that Feldspar licks away from the corner of their mouth with a pleased sigh.
It's a quiet night aside from the sounds of nature; crickets and cicadas playing the melody of summer, a sound Feldspar had taken for granted until being deprived of it for so long. A sound that now brings a warmth in their chest as they let it envelope them.
For a while the pair lay and just watch the stars, the silence only ever broken by the sound of weight being shifted or old joints cracking as they're stretched.
Stars. They really were getting old. Long ago they used to fall asleep like this, a cabin roof as their mattress and the summer air as a blanket.
Now though?
Feldspar groans softly as they sit up, spine crackling and popping back into place which earns them a snicker of "Old fish!" from the body beside them. However the snicker turns quickly into a hiss of breath and its Feldspar's turn to laugh as Gossan's bones protest having been laying on such a hard surface.
Feldspar knocks their shoulder into Gossan's playfully.
"Look who's getting old now."
Gossan huffs fondly and returns the playful bump, "Yeah well…" Their head finds its way onto Feldspar's shoulder, scarred ear just long enough to tickle their neck with a flick. I'm just happy we get to. Grow old, I mean."
Feldspar's heart thunks against their ribs as the brief pause Gossan leaves open in the air is heard clearly.
Together. Grow old together.
The unspoken word sends something sharp into Feldspar's lungs, something almost regretful and yet somehow hopeful.
Feldspar leans their cheek on top of Gossan's head, eyes closing with a hum.
"Me too, Goss'. I…" They hesitate for a moment, words caught in their throat. "Truth be told, I didn't think I'd make it this far."
Their voice is hoarse with emotion, flashes of their nightmares- of what could have been -coming forth and making their eyes sting and throat close.
"If it wasn't crashing the geyser-barrel, or losing the ship on the Attlerock, or any of the other stunts I've pulled, I thought for sure I'd spend my last days either in the bramble or at the bottom of some creatures stomach- and yet?"
Feldspar gives a wet chuckle and slinks their arm around Gossan's shoulders to pull them into a tight side hug, "You did what you always do and saved my ass."
"Yeah well, who else was gonna do it? Slate? Hornfels?" Gossan snorts and returns the side hug, "I sure as the void wasn't going to let that hatchling go and get you themself! Still don't know how they managed to find you on their first day but, hey, I'm glad they did."
Feldspar lets those words and the warmth of Gossan's body against their side envelope them, mixing nicely with the soothing herbs from the tea and allowing them to relax fully into their friend.
It works a little too well, however, and they quickly find themself with an elbow in their side and a smirk aimed up at them.
"Let's get you back to bed, yeah? Tired old fish." Gossan says, clear affection oozing through every syllable.
Feldspar grumbles, feigning irritation but doesn't protest when Gossan heaves them up and helps steady their sleepily swaying frame on the ladder. They don't even bother cleaning up, leaving behind the pillows and only taking in the thermos and mugs which are tossed in the sink on their way back to bed for later, non exhausted cleaning.
Feldspar expects to go their separate ways, to head back to their own bed and probably be woken by another nightmare but to their surprise Gossan steers them towards their bed.
They fold the quilt back to let Feldspar in first before quickly sliding in after, boxing the pilot in between the wall and their own body.
Its cramped, the small bed is hardly built for two- nothing like the way it used to engulf the pair in their youth -but in that moment, with the familiar weight of Gossan's arm over their side and the safety of a wall at their back, it's exactly what Feldspar needs to fall into an easy, dreamless sleep.
One filled with floating through the stars, not a drop of fog to be found.