The days following a bad dream and the final trials certainly left Thackery with a lot to think about. Worried that he was still trapped in some sort of alternate dream reality, he spent a lot of time refusing to leave his room, sending texts to Ash that were even more impossible to understand. Some of it just dissolved into <3s and smiley faces, meant to reassure Ash...and encouraging Thackery along in the meantime.

He fed his minipets and did his homework and hardly ate, hoping for some sign that he could trust everything that was going on around him. After two restless nights with no sign of any white walls or loud drills or disappearing schools, he resolved to venture out into the world once more. There was no point in keeping himself all locked up - wasn't that what he was trying to avoid in the long run, anyway? And how would he ever build an army of friends? Or cuddle in Ash's room? His agenda was far too crowded to live life as a hermit dog.

It was on the way to the reaper dorms that he found it. A tiny, glistening thing, just begging for him to pick it up. And why wouldn't he? It was a jewel fit for a king, and that's what he was meant to be. It was just perfect! Too perfect, really, which didn't occur to him in time to make any sort of sensible decision.

As he cradled the gem in his hands, grin widening, he felt the most fantastic of sensations. His head cleared of all doubt, and his skin almost felt as if it were tingling with sheer awesome. His eyes shimmered with an excess of enthusiasm, tail wagging rapidly as he broke into a run. He knew exactly what he had to do.

With his hellhound entourage summoned, he fell into his natural form, the gems and baubles on his frilly puppy uniform jingling with each long stride. Ash was out there somewhere, full of love and magic, and he needed to be next to him. He had to support him! What kind of boilfriend would he be if he didn't?

A terrible one that he was absolutely incapable of imagining, that was what.