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Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2021 1:37 pm
It was well known that the Rift was a dangerous place. Youma called it home, and the strange purple hellscape always seemed to be shifting and changing. It was easy to get lost. Easy to never find a way back. Jet had been preparing for this trip off and on for years now, reading up on youma from books in the library, talking to those who had personal youma and what they went through to obtain theirs.
He and Aquamarine had prepared for this as best they could. They let General King Axinite know of their plans, and agreed to check in with him no more than a week later, otherwise he would go in and search for them. Jet hoped that it wouldn’t come down to that, but it was better safe than to be stuck in the abyss that was the Rift.
But Jet had no idea what he was looking for. He knew he wanted to find a youma to bond with, but where was he supposed to start? They were just supposed to wander until they found one that resonated with him? He tried to convince Aquamarine to keep an eye out for one for himself, but the eye roll he got meant it was not going to happen.
“We should make camp soon,” Jet said, checking his watch. The purple haze hadn’t really changed much to indicate day or night, but they’d already been walking in the Rift for hours, searching, but not finding anything of substance. Sure, there were youma all over the place, but there was nothing special about them, and none that Jet wanted to bond with.
While he knew Aquamarine would refuse to let him on this journey by himself, he felt guilty for having him put up with it in the first place. But they were partners, and they’d agreed to do this. The sooner Jet could find a youma that would work for him, the better.
“Here, there are instructions, but I think it’s just pulling it up and setting the poles,” Jet said as he pulled a brand new camping tent from his subspace pocket. He’d also packed anything he could think to carry. Food and water for well over a week and a good number of medical supplies.
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Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 3:25 pm
“This place gives me the creeps,” Aquamarine muttered absently to himself, staring out over their surroundings.
It did more than give him the creeps, he simply had no better explanation for it. They could have been wandering around for days already, as far as he was aware, but it’d only been less than one. And they were supposed to be in here for a week at most (hopefully less).
At least Axinite would come after them if they didn’t return. Considering all the trouble they went through recently to find Feldspar, Aquamarine was fairly certain the General King would keep his word. This was only slightly reassuring. Even if they went missing, there was no guarantee they’d be found alive. Anything up to and including death could happen to them in this purple hell, yet they’d both come in here willingly.
“You think,” Aquamarine said once Ilian’s words registered through the distraction, turning to help with the tent. “It figures the first time I go camping would be in a hellhole like this. Not a nice cabin in the woods. Not some quirky Airbnb. Nope, it has to be the Rift. Because nothing makes camping better than the possibility of being mauled by a youma that looks like a zombie bear-bug hybrid monster thing instead of getting mauled by an actual bear.”
Complaining didn’t make him feel better, but it did give him something to do other than constantly checking their surroundings for any sign of danger.
Aquamarine was stressed out and convinced this trip was a bad idea, but allowing Jet to come in here on his own was not an option he was willing to entertain.
“You sure you didn’t want that big, ugly rat youma we saw a while ago?” he asked.
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Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:16 pm
“The one that hissed at us?” Jet asked with an expression of slightly annoyed disgust. Not at Aquamarine, but at that weird youma with the fur peeling off and it clearly didn’t want anything to do with them, and Jet didn’t want anything to do with it.
“Look, when we get home, we can go camping if you want. Or just go to a hotel, or something. Unless you really want to go camping then I guess we can do that, but I already don’t think I like camping. It’s too much of a hassle,” Jet frowned as he worked to take the tent out of the bag it came in and unfold it onto the barren wasteland of the Rift.
He had no idea how long this would take, but he didn’t want Aquamarine to be there any longer than he had to. It was good enough motivation to have Jet really try looking for a youma that he could connect with. But so far it was a waste. He didn’t expect it to be easy, but he’d hoped.
And then something made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
Jet turned around to try and catch whatever was watching them, but all he could see was the purple haze and lightning in the distance. There was the sound of youma fighting somewhere far off as well, but nothing in the immediate vicinity that should have made him jumpy.
“Yeah, this place gives me the creeps, too,” he finally agreed, pulling the tent up in the center and setting the first of the poles.
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Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:40 am
“This is why glamping is a thing,” Aquamarine said.
The tent was not as easy to set up as Jet made it seem. They didn’t even get one of the spacious ones that looked complicated to set up. Maybe they should have, because this small, simple thing was complicated enough. Aquamarine looked at the directions, but neither the pictures nor the words offered much help. It was a lot of trial and error, and ensured he would never agree to sleep in a tent ever again.
He glanced up when Jet turned around, following the direction of his gaze, but Aquamarine saw nothing that should concern either one of them.
Not that seeing nothing was reassuring. There could be all manner of things lurking around, hiding in the shadows or behind jutting crystals.
“This is the most useless ******** thing,” Aquamarine complained again, fighting with the tent poles.
Eventually, they managed to get it set up. It was a little lopsided and sagged on one side, but it would be good enough to sleep in, even if it offered zero protection against whatever might creep up on them.
“Should we take it in turns?” he asked. “One of us keeps watch while the other sleeps? I don’t trust anything down here. Most of these ******** things are supposed to listen to us, but that didn’t mean a ******** thing last time.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:39 pm
There was still something that was bothering Jet. Something just out of sight. In the shadows or the rocks maybe. But he couldn’t see anything that could be a potential threat.
It was just a feeling.
Jet didn’t hear Aquamarine at first, and called his weapon to his hand just in case. He did nothing with it, just held it in his hand for a few moments, and then dismissed it again, deciding he was being paranoid.
The storms crackled in the distance, but again there was nothing.
“Yeah, we should take turns. Let’s eat something first,” he said, even though he didn’t look at Aquamarine when he said it. He couldn’t even tell if he felt threatened by whatever it was, just that it was unsettling.
“I’ll take the first shift,” he offered, because he knew he would never fall asleep with something lurking around corners that didn’t exist. At least they'd managed to get the tent set up, but felt as though Aquamarine did most of the work. He'd been too distracted by phantoms to really figure out the directions.
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Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:51 pm
Aquamarine didn’t miss the summoning of Jet’s weapon. Even when his focus was on the tent, it was a hard thing to overlook. He was already on edge, anxiously waiting for something, anything to happen, expecting it at any moment.
That Jet banished his weapon just as quickly wasn’t any more reassuring than the rest of it.
“You going to explain what that was just now?” Aquamarine asked.
He summoned food from his own subspace pocket, ripping open a bag of jerky before holding it out for Jet to take a piece.
Cautiously, he looked around them and saw nothing — nothing more than the usual landscape, anyway. Aquamarine was fairly certain being in here for an extended period of time would be enough to drive someone to insanity. Hopefully, neither of them would have the opportunity to discover if that was true. Worse than dying in here would be wandering around like a mad man, making friends with youma.
“You being so jumpy isn’t going to make me any less jumpy, you know,” Aquamarine warned him.
And when he was jumpy, he tended to be in a bad mood.
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Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2021 7:10 pm
Yeah, he wasn’t really in the mood for Aquamarine to be in a bad mood. Jet was already antsy enough as it was without Aquamarine giving him a hard time.
“What?” he responded stupidly, realizing it only after he’d said it that it probably didn’t help his cause. “Nothing, I just… there was something out there. I think. I don’t know,” he amended and shook his head. “It’s been a long day and I think I’m imagining things. Like something’s watching us, but I don’t see anything.”
Which meant it put him even more on edge, and would put Aquamarine on edge.
“Sorry, I’ll try to not be so jumpy,” he promised and moved to take a piece of the jerky and sat down on a stone near the tent.
The sooner they got out, the better.
“You’d think Axinite would let us borrow his youma for a while, huh?” he half joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “Sure would have been helpful.” No, he didn’t expect anyone to lend their youma to them. They were there on their own, and Jet was already grateful that Aquamarine was with him.
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:49 pm
Calling it “a long day” was a bit of an understatement, in Aquamarine’s opinion. Time dragged on and on and on. It was almost worse than the prospect of danger, only Aquamarine had some not-so-nice, very recent memories to remind him that the danger in here was substantial, even for two Generals who should be able to command most of the youma they came across.
All of it together made him even more anxious to get this done as quickly as possible.
But it seemed these sorts of things couldn’t be rushed.
Aquamarine snorted and took a piece of jerky for himself, choosing not to issue any more complaints for the time being. Other than being a little nervous and impatient, his mood was stable enough for now.
“You can’t expect a man to just give you his snake, Jet,” he said, faking a lecture. “How uncouth of you. Ask him politely next time. Please, sir, can I see your snake again?”
He said the last bit in a mocking tone, trying to emulate Jet’s voice and failing miserably.
But the topic had him snickering. It would be a while before he could look Axinite in the face without holding back a round of laughter.
“Just for that, karma’s going to stick you with something awkward,” he continued, “or the most hideous ******** thing in this shithole. Or something so useless you might as well’ve not bothered at all.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:55 pm
Jet tried very hard to stifle his own snickering, and he was able to hold back for the most part. He felt bad that Aquamarine was having so much fun on Axinite’s behalf, but at least it was better than Aquamarine being in a horrible mood. It was better for everyone.
“What? Why me?” Jet barked out a laugh, not sure why he was going to face karma’s wrath when it was Aquamarine doing all the suggestive talk. “I hope I don’t get stuck with something useless,” he shook his head, trying to remind himself that they were in the Rift and should be careful about not paying attention to their surroundings at all times.
“I’m not sure what I’m looking for yet. Some people say they get a feeling when they come across a youma that’s right for them. I’m just… waiting for that I guess. While we’re here, you might as well look for one yourself, you know,” he suggested with a shrug and then took a bite of his jerky.
“I wouldn’t mind knowing that there was something keeping an eye on you too, when I’m not around.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 3:16 pm
Aquamarine rolled his eyes.
“A feeling isn’t the most descriptive explanation. Or helpful,” he said, then grumbled to himself, “But it’s not like we’ve ever gotten much guidance on anything when it comes to this bullshit.”
He made a gesture with his hand, a careless flick, to encompass the entirety of their time in the Negaverse, not just this most recent venture of theirs. At this point, they were used to doing things on their own, relying on one another more than anyone else.
Or at least Aquamarine was. Jet had recruits to rely on if he wanted to. Aquamarine only had Jet.
“We never even had a ******** General to report to,” he muttered. "Not one that stuck around."
Which wasn’t entirely true. They could have reported to anyone, or gone directly to the higher ups. The point was, there hadn’t been a particular General to take them under their wing. They’d learned their way in bits and pieces, figuring things out as they went. Nearly seven years of that could take its toll on someone’s temper. Aquamarine certainly didn’t have much patience to give at this point, if he’d had much to begin with.
“Anyway, when are you not around?” he asked, summoning a box of Cheez-its to break into along with the jerky. “You’re always around now that you’re not working. Rolling out of bed at all hours of the night to compose, or whatever you’re doing when you’re awake at three in the morning. Not sneaking out, at least. Good thing, too. I was getting tired of harassing you about that s**t.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 5:41 pm
Jet didn’t blame Aquamarine for his discontent of everything they’d gone through, and how more often than not they’d been on their own. He’d tried hard to become a General as quickly as he could, if only to try and provide a tiny bit of stability to Aquamarine and Seraphinite, but he’d been sixteen and with very little other guidance, he wasn’t sure he inspired much confidence.
Even years later, Jet still wasn’t sure how to really be a General, other than to follow the orders he’d been following all along. He recruited others, fought senshi and the occasional knight, but he wasn’t sure where the trust Aquamarine had in him came from.
He was grateful for it, and he didn’t want to let Aquamarine or anyone else down. Which was why he needed to form a bond with a youma that could help him.
“Not sneaking out,” he confirmed, and Aquamarine was right. He wasn’t usually far when Aquamarine wasn’t working. He’d been working legally since he’d been sixteen, so actually having time to himself to just write music and play the piano was so needed. “You could quit too, you know. I know, I know… you’d get bored. That’s fine.” He wasn’t trying to make Aquamarine do something he didn’t want to, but if he wanted to do something other than work, well, it was an option.
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 6:00 pm
Aquamarine trusted Jet because he’d insinuated himself into Jet’s life; he’d made himself the most important person to someone who’d lost everyone else. He knew Jet would go through hell for him, would fight like hell for him, would probably even kill for him if it came down to it.
If Aquamarine ever tried to say he wouldn’t do the same, it would be a lie. In making Jet’s world revolve around him, he’d made his own world revolve around Jet. That he didn’t regret it was… almost frightening (and certainly sickening).
Aquamarine sighed lightly and shifted along the ground, leaning against the stone Jet sat on so he could tip his head back, resting it along Jet’s thighs. He alternated between Cheez-its and jerky, shoving one and then the other into his mouth and sharing both with Jet, not quite staring up at him, but not quite gazing up at the purple sky beyond him either.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I didn’t work,” he admitted. “I don’t want the Negaverse to be my entire life.”
He had a feeling it would be anyway, simply by being Jet’s partner.
Aquamarine was still coming to terms with that.
“Thanks for not sneaking out anymore,” he added, keeping his voice light, almost like he was joking, even if he wasn’t. “I really was sick of bitching at you about it. I bitched so much I think you thought I enjoyed the bitching. I didn’t. Don’t make me do that again. It was exhausting.”
Don’t leave me, was what he meant, but Aquamarine couldn’t say that outloud. Don’t die without me. Don’t go where I can’t follow.
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 6:30 pm
Jet glanced down at Aquamarine when he sat with his head against him. Casually, Jet placed his hand on his thigh, trying to not make it obvious as he played with Aquamarine’s hair as it spread out over his legs. He would just claim he was moving his hand if questioned about it.
“I’m sorry,” he frowned between bites of the Cheez-its and jerky. He knew Aquamarine had a rough time dealing with him, but at that point in time he wasn’t convinced that Aquamarine would ever understand that he had to go out and do things for the Negaverse. Aquamarine might not want the Negaverse to be his entire life, but Jet was already so committed that there wasn’t much he could do other than play the piano during the day and try to have some normalcy before going back out in uniform.
He might not be the best General there was, but he was trying his hardest in everything he did. And now, after years, he thought that Aquamarine might really understand him. And he hoped he wouldn’t let Aquamarine down.
“I know I already gave it to you, but you have my word I won’t do it again.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 6:50 pm
“Mmm,” Aquamarine hummed an answer, accepting Jet’s word even if he knew it wasn’t absolute.
Anything could happen to interfere with that promise. Aquamarine couldn’t guess what “anything” might be, but he was sure there was some extreme circumstance that might lead Jet back to his old ways, even if only temporarily. That thought didn’t anger him the way it might have before; he knew Jet would at least try to involve him, and make an attempt to let him know before it got to that point.
But that point still existed, and it was enough to leave Aquamarine feeling vaguely displeased.
Rather than discuss it further, he continued to sit there with his head practically in Jet’s lap, setting the food aside once his hunger was satisfied. After another moment, Aquamarine closed his eyes, not exactly tired, but allowing himself to enjoy the light fingers that occasionally touched his hair.
Jet might try to play it off, but Aquamarine knew what he was doing.
Sometimes, he thought he understood Jet better than he understood himself.
“You don’t need a youma to be a good General,” Aquamarine reminded him, since he knew Jet’s thoughts tended to lean in that direction. “But I know you want to do this, so… we’ll keep going. As long as it takes. As far as we need to. There’s got to be something in here worth all this ******** trouble.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2021 7:20 pm
He was a little surprised by Aquamarine’s reminder, and he stared down at him for a moment in silence. Aquamarine had proven very recently how much he knew him. He paid attention and actually cared. And really, Aquamarine was the most important person in Jet’s life, but he knew if he said it that Aquamarine would likely brush him off, whether he felt the same or not.
“We won’t stay longer than necessary,” he promised, fingers curling around the locks of hair on his lap that Aquamarine didn’t seem to mind or notice. “If we don’t find anything then we’ll try again some other time. Or…” he paused and sighed, knowing he didn’t want to put Aquamarine in danger if he could help it.
“Or, if we don’t find anything, then maybe you’re right. I’ll just try harder to be a good General without a youma.”
Jet didn’t want to ruin Aquamarine’s good mood by being stubborn. If Aquamarine was going to compromise with him, then he was willing to do the same.
Trying to find a youma wasn’t worth Aquamarine’s life. Or his own.
“Thanks for coming with me,” he added after a few moments, because he already knew he would have been miserable there by himself.
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