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RK gasped awake, sitting up quickly as his eyes shot open. His usually familiar surroundings now unfamiliar... wrong. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was Six.. he faltered a little, looking around carefully. The last thing he remembered was Six biting him and not the sausage he had offered. He shakily felt his neck, surprised to not feel any open wound or scarring. A look to his hands surprised him more. He had been a nome.. and now he wasn’t. Strange.
Carefully, he got up from the cold ground he was on, getting a better look of the room he was in. It seemed to be the front of a diner, tables behind him, and a cashier register area looking over him. He felt his chest grow tight at his new surroundings, taking in a deep breath as he started to walk towards a large open window on the far wall. Once he crawled out and started to walk down a barren street, he avoided the large puddles of water and looked up to the sky. It had rained recently, no doubt it would rain again very soon.
A look into a cluttered alleyway proved uplifting when he saw a familiar short, white creature. A nome, finally, something he knew. Carefully, he approached it and hugged it tight, before carrying it along with him. He talked to the nome softly as he walked, telling it of his confusion of the situation, his fear. A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance and he walked faster.
He needed to find shelter again soon.
•-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-•
Mono sat in an apartment, sorting through their new trinkets as the Thin Man fixed one of the many cans of food he had conjured up while creating this place. They examined a gear they had found, before sighing and pushing themself up, brushing themself off. They wandered over to one of the windows and climbed onto the stepladder placed in front of it, staring out. The Pale City grew boring overtime and, although they longed for something different, it was best to stay here with the Thin Man.
Some movement caught their eye and they stared in awe at the figure they saw walking down the street. Another kid, just like them! Maybe— they faltered, frowning. No, best not to think of making friends with another kid.. not after what happened with.. with xem. But they couldn’t just let the kid wander around, could they? It was far too dangerous without anyone else! They smiled softly.
"p̶̸̨̺͊̍̒̓̀ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊r̶̷̲͍̭͐̾̀͟s̩͙͖̋͛͟ȍ̸̢̢̮͚̐̚n̷̶̯͉̊̽̐ͦ͘. h̶̯̰̝̻̿̓͢ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊ḻ̸͈ͧ͑̓̓̀͡p̶̸̨̺͊̍̒̓̀? k̶̸͙̭̹͆͟i̵͓͙̱͚̎͟d̸̡̩͍̔ͥ͜."
The Thin Man stopped, taking the pan off of the stove.
“S̵̶̮̬͖̄͑͟U̸̫̠̰͈̕Ŗ̴̪̈̄͞E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜?"
"y̯̤͑́́̓́ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊s̩͙͖̋͛͟."
"T̷̫͉̰͕̒́H̶̪͍̒ͥ͑̓E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜N̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢ W̸͈ͯ̾̒̿E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜ H̶̪͍̒ͥ͑̓E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜L̳͈͉̅̊P̘͎̀͊."
Mono smiled, grabbing Thin’s extended pointer finger and pulling him out the door.
—————————
When they got outside, Mono let go, cupping their hands around their mouth.
“Oi!” They called.
RK stopped dead in his tracks, turning around and staring at the kid in the distance win disbelief. And then he saw the Man. Looming, terrifying. He backed up a little, the Nome squirming in his arms.
Mono waved their hands, giving RK a look, before it clicked. They pointed to Thin.
“He’s okay! He won’t hurt you! He’s a friend! A parent!”
RK swallowed hard, taking in a deep breath as he set down the nome, it skittering behind him.
“If I—“ he stopped, coughing softly into the back of his hand. “This better not be a trap!”
“It’s not, I promise!”
RK hesitated, before looking behind him, beckoning the nome to follow him. He took cautious steps forward until he was right in front of Mono. He peered up to the Thin Man, giving him a nod of acknowledgment.
“I’m Mono, this is the Thin Man! Come on, you must be cold.”
They hesitated, before extending their hand. RK flinched back a little, confusion taking over his features.
“It’s uh.. you’re supposed to take it.” Mono explained.
“Oh.” RK took their hand cautiously, following the both of them inside. He made sure the nome was following, before he spoke again. “I don’t really have a name, but an old... acquaintance used to call me RK or Seven so.. whichever one you like the best is the one you can use.”
“RK sounds cool!” Mono exclaimed, smiling to him. “It’s different!”
————————
Once inside the apartment, Thin Man allowed Mono to take RK and the nome back to their room to pick out some better clothes.
“What color clothes do you want?” Mono asked as they rummaged through their drawers.
“Uh.. anything blue for the shirt.. maybe black for the pants.”
“Blue and black, got it!” Mono said, mostly to themself as they continued their search. After a minute, they pulled out a blue hoodie and a black pair of pants, handing them to RK with a smile. “Here ya go!”
“... Thanks, um, where’s the bathroom?” RK asked, holding the clothes close to him.
“Oh! It’s just down the hall, last door.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome!” Mono smiled as he left, before letting out a shaky sigh and slipping onto their bed. They smiled shakily when the nome came skittering over, letting it onto the bed.
The Thin Man came in, sitting down on their bed carefully, making the nome skitter into Mono’s lap with a squeal.
“O̵̷̪̰ͩ͆ͅK̦̖̙̱̮̐̌Ȧ̶̵̗̳Y̵̷̛̤͍̅́̕?"
"ẅ̷̷̢̟͇͈̒h̶̯̰̝̻̿̓͢ă̶̸̝ͦ͊̿͋͞t̴͕͖͓̀ i̵͓͙̱͚̎͟f̷̵̫̞̉͢ h̶̯̰̝̻̿̓͢ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊'s̩͙͖̋͛͟ ḻ̸͈ͧ͑̓̓̀͡i̵͓͙̱͚̎͟k̶̸͙̭̹͆͟ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊ s̩͙͖̋͛͟i̵͓͙̱͚̎͟x̷̶͚͖͓̘̔?"
"I̶̴̗̗̦͍ͨͭ̉͢͟S̵̶̮̬͖̄͑͟N̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢'T̷̫͉̰͕̒́"
"h̶̯̰̝̻̿̓͢ȍ̸̢̢̮͚̐̚ẅ̷̷̢̟͇͈̒ c̷̹͖͋́̃ă̶̸̝ͦ͊̿͋͞n̷̶̯͉̊̽̐ͦ͘ y̯̤͑́́̓́ȍ̸̢̢̮͚̐̚û̶͙̽̿͆̈ t̴͕͖͓̀ę̷̵̧̖̫̗̆̊ḻ̸͈ͧ͑̓̓̀͡ḻ̸͈ͧ͑̓̓̀͡?"
"E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜N̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜Ŗ̴̪̈̄͞G̛͔͇̞̹̈̀͘͘͟Y̵̷̛̤͍̅́̕ G̛͔͇̞̹̈̀͘͘͟O̵̷̪̰ͩ͆ͅO̵̷̪̰ͩ͆ͅḊ̤͇̮͙ͥ. S̵̶̮̬͖̄͑͟I̶̴̗̗̦͍ͨͭ̉͢͟X̸̵̨ͦ̒ͣ E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜N̰̜͉͔ͬ̽͢E̸̖̪̱͚ͨ̀͜Ŗ̴̪̈̄͞G̛͔͇̞̹̈̀͘͘͟Y̵̷̛̤͍̅́̕ B̟̈́̆̐̄̚͜Ȧ̶̵̗̳Ḋ̤͇̮͙ͥ."
Mono hugged the nome close, nodding slightly.
“g̴̶̛̮̣͙͠ȍ̸̢̢̮͚̐̚ȍ̸̢̢̮͚̐̚d̸̡̩͍̔ͥ͜."
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RK stared at himself in the mirror, frowning as he pulled on the hoodie and the pants. He couldn’t look without seeing what happened on the Maw. He rubbed his neck absentmindedly, before picking up his dirty clothes.
He walked back into Mono’s room, tensing when he saw the Thin Man.
Mono snapped their head to look at him, smiling shakily. “Hey! He’s alright, remember? He won’t hurt you!”
RK nodded slightly, fiddling with his clothes. “Um.. where do I..” The Man pointed to a hamper near the door. “Oh.. thanks.” He put them in, before sitting on the bed.
The nome skittered back into his arms, content, and he smiled, before shifting.
“What now?”
The Thin Man and Mono shared a look, before Mono started speaking. “Well.. Thin says you have two options. Stay until the rain let’s up, or just stay!”
RK nodded slowly, swinging his legs as he bit his lip.
“Which would you prefer?”
•-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-• •-•-•
Months later, RK sat in the sitting room with Mono and the Man, a few nomes on the floor below their feet, a nome in his arms. He had on a top hat Mono and he had found while exploring the other day, Mono wearing the Man’s fedora. They were all smiling and laughing. The Thin Man and RK had opened a line of communication with each other after much pushing from Mono.
For the first time in what felt like years to most, they were happy.