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Otto could use some cheering up. However, he didn't feel completely receptive to it. He'd reunited with Reine, and that helped. However, he still found himself feeling down, lethargic, drained of all energy. He knew mourning and it's many processes. He'd seen it countless times. But he'd rarely had to experience it for himself.

The teen slowly dragged his feet onto the training grounds, more for the fresh air than for training. The thought of throwing Tenya felt heavy on it's own. Acting sounded too hard. Doing something sounded too difficult.

Someone was there, but that was usual. Their sword was stuck in a dummy. That was hilarious, although Otto couldn't seem to find the heart to laugh. What made him stop was how familiar he was. Otto walked slowly around to catch a view of his face.

His skin went pale(er).

No ******** way...

Otto flinched as Ripley yelped, watching him with a mix of irritation but mostly still a lot of depression. It was hard to shake that off. It all still felt too raw. He'd gone soft, he realized. Let people in too close.

But now he was sure. It was him. The guy that had shared his room for a few months when he was fourteen years old or so. Ripley.

"You saw what?" Otto grumbled with a weak attempt at a scowl. "What the ******** are you even doin' here, man?"

Otto stayed quiet for some time, completely forgetting that by all intents and purposes, he was in fact supposed to be "dead" in the normal world. "M'pretty sure it was an empty casket... I'm surprised they even bothered havin' a funeral for me." He muttered darkly, kicking at some dirt.

"And they invited you." Talking about this was weird. Surreal. Maybe this was a dream. At least it wasn't nightmarish like usual. Not yet. Yeah, no way Ripley was here.

"Adopted? Name callin' already? That's awful juvenile to say, don't ya think?" Otto sneered. Sure, he looked nothing like his parents, but that sometimes happened, right? Adopted.. if he was adopted, his Dad would have told him right off the bat, right? Why would they hide that?

He watched the man fuss and sweat with an apathetic expression, slowly blinking every now and then to rest his weary blue eyes. He cocked a brow at his attempts at conversation. "No. Not a zombie. But uh, they do exist. And they bite. Hard."

******** he wasn't kidding.

That... actually filled in so many holes in his life's story. Too many.

The blonde rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger as Ripley rambled on, his mind still stuck on 'you're adopted'.

"Uh.... yeah, well Deal With It." Otto barked back at him, icy gaze glaring upward. "They're ********' real, and you'll see 'em soon enough. ********, I'll push you into one so you can real up close n' personal." He'd always hated how dedicated this guy was. His dad... or "dad" he supposed now, had always compared Otto to him ever since he'd stayed there. Why can't you be more like him? He's dedicated. He's smart. "He's not a screw up like you.

"To be fair, they're aren't really any zombies in "our" world, aight? So pull yer ********' panties outta yer a** for a sec'."

"Never not.. sunshine n' ********' fairy dust." Otto's brow relaxed, only slightly. He hadn't really been trying to convince Ripley of anything other than monsters are real. Really, was it that hard? He'd become so used to it, it didn't seem farfetched in the least.

Wait, the box had a body? Creepy.. Otto was about to freak out, thinking maybe this body he had wasn't real. But maybe the one they put away was a golem? Or... or was he himself the golem?

Stop thinking, Shut down. Abort. Abort!

He cringed at the boop on the nose, lightly swatting Ripley away. "I didn't do it for kicks, yanno. Did you?" He snapped back with a glare. "Didn't they ask you the same s**t they asked me?"

"It was a ********' dare. I had no choice.... It won't wash out.." Otto growled through fritted teeth. Emo boy.. he hadn't missed that nickname at all. His hair had been quite long most of his life, often covering one eye. You know, to shield his eyes from the lowly world around him.

Otto waited after the expected head ruffling, something he'd learned to become accustomed to over the years. Everyone seemed to gravitate their hands to his mop of blonde hair, hat or none.
Ripley seemed in deep thought, a look of regret even. Otto rarely regretted his decision. Rarely, but once in a while, he dreamed of something simple. But he had nothing to return home to, fake death or not.

"Yeah, you're pretty well stuck here. They don't tell you that much beforehand." But anyone who follows a stranger with promises of magical powers deserves to be lost. The attention was once again thrust upon him, much to his dismay. However, that curiosity that probably was the reason he was in his division was piqued.

"He..." His dad actually spent good money on him? Was it to keep up the face of his company? Or did he deep down.. maybe very deep down gave a s**t about him? Even if he did, being dead was way too late for such s**t. Otto scowled, kicking his foot into the dirt again. "Um... how'd they seem..? Like.. Mom n' Dad..." Horrible, terrible curiosity... His mother surely must have grieved. Despite how busy she always was, and how quiet she'd stay when he got reprimanded by his father... she was usually there for him. Sometimes. To the best of her ability. His father he couldn't imagine displaying any semblance of compassion or grief. All he could remember of him was anger.