blurrie writes things

prompted from how Orchid would react if Scorch asked if he loved him, and denied the inevitable "yes."

"Dammit, Orchid- you tell me you're right. You try so, so fucking hard to explain yourself. But you just can't can you? You don't know why you were gone so long, and whether or not you actually do know, you're too fuckin' scared to just tell me! I've been waiting. For months. Hoping you didn't die again. Hoping- hoping I hadn't died. For fuck's sake, you've missed 2 FUCKING ANNIVERSARIES! I've waited-" His brow furrowed, and a pained sneer grew on his face as he spoke. Though, his gaze, instead of rage, only held more desperate longing. It was... It was a pathetic sight, really. "-and waited-" His eyes began to water, just slightly. "-and waited. I don't- Orchid, I don't know if I can keep waiting like this. It. Fucking. Hurts. And I need you to understand that."

His tail, just moments ago fluffed out and lashing in his outward rage, seemed to be held closer now. Trying to show he was mad, but... really, he was scared. Trying to seem smaller, in case his anger had come off too strong. Even if he still scowled and glared, it was taking effort to still look the skeleton in the eyes. To stay upright. To even just be, with how the pain coiled around his mind like barbed wire nearly every waking moment.

The tree. The tree Scorch could more often than not be found at, waiting. Waiting in what he saw as vain. Day, after day, after day, in the dwindling hopes that Orchid would come back.

Under this tree, one usually saw the tall, skinny cat-bug curled up at the base, doing some sort of craft or just resting with nothing to do. One usually found him there at his most anxious, at his most hopeful, at his lowest depressions. He was, more often than not, just there.

But this time, he was not. Where the lesser god usually waited, instead sat a note, laid in the grass next to a self-portrait plushie he had sewn weeks, if not months, ago. Instead of waiting, the plush and the note took his place. The note, hastily scrawled in semi-legible writing, read as follows:

[Hello.

If you are seeing this, I am either dead (very unlikely) or damn close.

Because I have forgotten how to live without you.

All I have done for so, so long is sleep and wait. The sleep is ignorable and I have even struggled to eat. It's hard to eat if I can't be sure that you can eat, too, I suppose.

I will be back soon, it's not like I can truly die, but in case I have not returned, I have left a gift in my place for now.

I love you. I need you to know that I love you. And I hope you've been doing well, wherever you've gone.

Take care of yourself out there, my love.

Until we meet again,

Scorch.]

Below the message is a quick doodle of a cat, paired with a very tiny bug-like creature - a possible attempt to keep the mood just a little above the worst.

The tree. The tree where Scorch could usually be found, waiting in a quiet agony. The grass and moss at the base, where his fur was usually left behind, only occupied now by a paper and a fabric caricature.

They waited for him instead. They held his pain, his fear, his fading hopes. They waited, and waited, and waited.

started aug 22 2024

picked back up nov 25 2024

It was the middle of the night, with a waning half-moon and a slight chill to the air. Scorch, a lanky, 7-foot-tall felisect, and Orchid, a powerful 9’5” skeleton with black steel wings, were cuddling, the skeleton fast asleep.

As comfortable as his lover’s embrace was, however, Scorch was struggling to keep his eyes shut. The two had been apart for nearly 2 years and had only recently reunited, and Scorch was just barely starting to recover from the absolute mess that he had become -- scruffy, anxious, struggling to properly care for himself while he waited. It was… not ideal, to say the least, though it could’ve been worse. With this dip in wellness had come a feeling of hurt, of guilt and betrayal, which still remained and gnawed at Scorch’s mind despite the fact that Orchid was back, and had repeatedly reassured the bug that it was not his fault.

Something honestly felt off about the night, though it was hard to tell what, and paired with the nagging feelings from before, it was impossible for Scorch to get much more than meager naps here and there. Deciding that a bit of movement and fresh air could help to clear his mind, he slowly slipped out of Orchid’s arms, staying as quiet as possible to avoid waking him. He needed the sleep, after all. Scorch then changed into his regular flowy cloak, leaving his hoodie on the blankets in his place, and slipped out the window with a nervous and apologetic glance back at his partner.

Just a few minutes later, the felisect was perched at the base of a rather bare branch in a mostly-leafy tree, leaning against the trunk and staring absentmindedly forward with half-lidded eyes and a solemn expression. As hard as he was trying, the pain just wouldn’t shut up.

Why did he have to be so damn clingy?

Why did Orchid just leave like that? 

…What did he do wrong?…

Scorch shook his head with a frustrated growl, pulling his knees up to his chest and burying his face in his arms. These thoughts were too much, they were irrational and caused more stress than necessary. But they just wouldn’t shut up. No matter the reassurance, the comfort, the attempts to feel safe and grounded. Nothing was working like it should.

The crack of a stick on the ground behind him snapped Scorch out of his spiral.

“Hey, bitch boy!” came a rudely familiar chirp. 

A sudden pain shot through the side of his head.

And then he was out.

♡

When Scorch woke up a while later -- whether it had been minutes or hours he wasn’t sure -- he was stuck in a chair with his hands tied behind the back, while his torso and wings were directly bound to it. His fluffy tail flicked nervously as he looked around at the inside of whatever building he was in. Rakes, shovels, and the like lined the walls, and not a window in sight; must be a shed of sorts. He grumbled and strained against the ropes, though his efforts were rudely interrupted by the same annoying voice from before. “Now, now, no need to be running off so soon, little stray~!”

He stopped for just a moment to look up, and the face that greeted him was unfortunately one he recognized. It was another skeleton, with thick black lines going from his eyes down his cheeks, and an eyepatch over his right eye, wearing a fluffy jacket over a turtleneck and shorts. Just a little shorter than Orchid, though donning the same black steel wings. “Sonnet,” Scorch growled, his tail starting to puff up a bit. “I’m not a stray. Let me go.”

“But why would I do that? It’d only ruin the fun,” Sonnet responded playfully, starting to slowly walk in circles around Scorch.

“Wh. What the hell do you mean, ‘fun’? You kidnapped me and tied me to a chair in a shed!”

“Yes, exactly~! Delightful, isn’t it?” He laughed. “Managing to trap you, keep you contained just long enough for your stupid little boyfriend to figure out what happened… Peak entertainment, I must say.”

“OH, YOU BITCH!-” Scorch snarled, attempting to lunge at Sonnet but just ending up in a heap on the floor. Great, the chair's fuckin' chained down, of course it is. Sonnet only snickered as the bug continued talking. "He's not- he's not stupid. You, of all monsters, should know."

"Oh, but isn't he? Orchid left you alone for years, do you not worry he forgot about you?"

"I-" Scorch begins, though he's cut off by a dismissive flick of Sonnet's wing.

"You nothing, little stray. You know deep down that, even if he says he was worried and guilty, it's only to sate your desperate pleads for his company~! He's a fool, he cares little for you-" Sonnet quickly lifted the chair back to its previous position, just to keep his hand on the back of the top rail and lean menacingly down into Scorch's face. "-or for himself. You know this, don't you? He's a fucking idiot, little stray," the skeleton murmured confidently as be backed away and returned to his pacing. "And so are you, for trusting him this much."

This is what finally caused Scorch to go silent, just looking down and coiling his tail by the chair legs. Trying to shrink, to escape Sonnet's victorious gaze and just go back to the room he'd left maybe an hour prior. Trying to ignore that his kidnapper may actually be right.

"Oh, what's wrong, little stray, cat got your tongue~?" Sonnet cooed, receiving only an eye roll in response. "How easy it is to silence you when you know I only speak the truth."

"Mm. Fuck off..." the bug mumbled defeatedly, feeling himself droop as much as the ropes would allow him to. It was not worth it to argue any longer, he decided. All he could do was wait, the same way he had been mere weeks ago at most, and hope desperately that Orchid would wake up soon. All he could do was wait and hope, and wait, and hope, and wait...

♡

Back at their home, Orchid jolted awake, feeling that something was off. The warmth usually by his side, in his arms, was gone, leaving only empty space and a window left ajar that sent a draft through the room. It was not uncommon for Scorch to have nights where he just sat outside in silence, though he was normally back much sooner than this, and seemed to prefer the brighter and warmer nights where the crickets and lacewings were out. He also covered his tracks much better than this. Might as well go check on the bug-cat, make sure he's okay.

The bulky skeleton slid out from under the sheets and changed from a Stitch onesie - a gift from Scorch for some previous holiday - to his usual turtleneck, scarf, and overalls, then carefully pushed his hulking mass through the window. He actually closed it properly, too, so no one would return to a fridge for a room.