He’s at school. It all seems normal. He sees Hazel with her friends, Jasmin and Winn. It seems like she’s showing of her fidget toys. Best to just walk by and ignore, they probably don’t even know that he ran away from home yesterday. Not that that was his initial intent, he just needed some fresh air.
It’s odd though, he doesn’t fully remember, but he just all of a sudden got a really peculiar feeling. Like he was missing something important. It was almost like he had to go out and look for it. Which isn’t really like him. More of an indoors kind of person. On his way out he had seen Dale, it felt cold. Like all the admiration he had had for his dad had vanished. Yeah, he really needed a walk.
He’s happy he did take that walk though, if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have meet Kitty and Timer. Oh, yeah, Kitty need a new name! Now, what would be a nice name for a nice cat. At least he can distract from the feeling that still lingers with the task at hand. She does need a nice name, and he’s pretty good at coming up with names.
“Hey, Dev!” Hazel calls, running up to him. No. Why is she here? He doesn’t even remember what he did!
“What?” He answers as nonchalantly as he can, glasses still on, she can’t read him, right? She does seem somewhat taken back by the response though.
“How are you feeling?” She gauges? Why does she care? Wasn’t it him who hurt her?
“Why do you care?” Could have probably said that with more tack, but it is true that he’s curious. Isn’t she hurt over- umm- whatever it was he did. Man, he still feels awful about it. Oh, wouldn’t it be fun if one could wish it all away. Oddly though, a thought tells him that he can, which is pretty absurd.
“I was just- curious? Are we- We’re still friends, right?” Wait.
“We are?” But I thought-
Her face brightens up like the summer sun. “Really!” She exclaims with glee. Oh. He’s happy, but conflicted. Well, at least they are friends, again. Maybe he should ask about that- “You should come join us.” She says before leaving for her better- other friends.
He starts to follow, but when they see him. It’s too much. He turns and goes back to whatever he was doing before. Name. Name. Gotta think of a good name. Hazel, Winn, Jasmin, no, you can’t give a cat those names. Surely there are better names, even if those are the ones running around in his head.
Most of the school day he spent like any other, alone. Though Hazel and her friends did sit with him during lunch, which was nice. He didn’t really contribute to their conversation, despite the fact that they were apparently now friends again. That feeling. That horrible feeling that he’s done something irredeemable is still there. Yet, if it truly was irredeemable, would Hazel still be willing to care about him? Maybe it wasn’t that bad and he’s blowing things out of proportion? Or maybe she’s just that good of a person? Regrettably, the latter option sounded most likely.
All he really wanted to do was go back to the forest. Go back to Kitty. He looks out the window, the spring was really in bloom, the trees where green, the flowers bright. It really was pretty, just like Kitty. Wait. That’s perfect! He found the perfect name!
He can’t wait till school is over and he can run away again. Should he go home first? No. Still to cold. He’s going straight to Kitty’s home. It takes a while to get there so he might come right when Mr. Tree huger does.
He didn’t.
He walked all this way, only to be meet with a locked door, empty house and the start of a rainstorm. The only good thing was that he got there before the rain really started to fall. He’s really glad that the house has a porch with a proper roof so that he’s sheltered from the elements. Well, the rain, the wind is still a bit bothersome.
It had been such a pretty spring day too.
“Meow,” a voice from the inside speaks.
Turning towards the window, there she is! “Kitty!” Dev exclaims with glee.
He tries his best to play with her by tapping the window. It makes the time pass faster, but she does eventually get bored and moves away from the window. Dev can still see her, but that’s pretty much all he can do. He really wants to pet her, but he relents.
Looking out over the forest as the rain rushes down. He closes his eyes and listens to the sound. It’s nice, in its own way. He still doesn’t want to go home. He has to many thoughts in his head, but he can’t sort them. They’re to fuzzy and always makes him feel weird if he tries for to long. Maybe he should just give up on remembering what’s been forgotten and instead look towards the future?
Turning to look at Kitty again, yeah, sometimes he wishes he could just be a cat. A place of comfort, a place for food, and a place to belong to. Wouldn’t that be so nice to have?
He waits on the porch for quite some time, it’s getting dark. That’s when he hears it, a car! He sits up, waiting patently with bathed breath. He’s finally back!
Walking up to his own porch, groceries in hand, he soon sees a familiar sight. It’s that kid, Dev, but, what he’s doing here? He goes up to the kid and asks just that.
“I came up with the perfect name!”
“Oh, did you now?” Timmy says trying to match the kid’s energy while unlocking the door.
“Yeah, I was looking out the window at school, it was a pretty day, you know before all the rain started.”
“Uh huh, yeah.” He takes of his shoes, makes his way to the kitchen, and is stopped midway by Kitty. “Oh, there you are, have you noticed that we seem to have our guest back.”
“I’ve been here a while actually.”
“How long have you been here?” Timmy asks, putting down the groceries.
“A… while.”
“So, since school ended then?”
Dev just averts his eyes and Timmy gives a sigh.
“You said you had a name.”
“YES! Spring!” He pauses. “Isn’t it pretty?” Dev asks expectantly, he really thinks it’ll fit.
“I- yeah, it’s nice.” Timmy responds, mauling it over.
“You don’t like it?” It was a less enthusiastic reaction than Dev had expected.
“I do, think it fits.”
“Really?!” Yes! He did good!
“So, would you like to give ‘Spring’ her well-deserved food?” Timmy asks, getting out a bit of newly bought cat food.
“Yes!” Dev answers eagerly and starts to help.
The rest of the day he spends mostly petting Kitty, now calling her Spring. There is still that feeling of missing something bubbling up from time to time. Though, at least for now, he finds that the future might still be bright, and he can still find joy. He found Spring after all. A new beginning.
░░▒▒▓▓█████▓▓▒▒░░
Wanted to make some sort of end to this all, I hope you like it!
Just Dev finding some modicum of happiness despite everything, just a little piece of joy in his day to day. Just something to make the world feel a little bit more okay.
He deserves to be happy
He really, really does
(And I hope you're happy too!)
(Or a better way to put it, I hope you always have a reason to be happy!)
Omg how did this take like a thousand years to make
I must have drawn something similar like seven times since you sent this but i just couldn't get it right. At some point it had been so long i gave up. Anyways i hope you like it even if I'm like super late i still didn't want to leave you with nothing!
Also I've been reading "What it takes", haven't finished it but i absolutely love it so far your writing is like unbelievably good how do you come up with this stuff
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Dev, the runaway, ran from home
He doesn't know where or how to atone
It all lays forgotten, but feelings remain
In the forest green shine he finds a new friend
They bond over what lays forgotten at minds end
Originally a set of asks sent to @lordofthesparkleland
They made some lovely art, check it out!
Thinking, if he had a choice,
he rather chose this which is old
It’s lively and has a kindness he can’t place
Though,
It’s the house of a stranger, that is clear in mind
But that also begs the question, why a stranger bother be kind?
---
Here's the little poem, as per your request
It's nice to hear you like the poems I make,
Thank you!
I mostly write them before the rest of the story so that I have an idea of where one may want to go, but there was no questioning of Timmy's kindness, so it didn't fit
This is so pretty thank you for sharing it, I love reading your poems!!
Also I think it could fit. Maybe dev would wonder why Timmy decided to help him, not questioning if he has any malicious intent but just finding it weird that a stranger and especially an adult was nice to him. I think it's in character for him.
He falls onto the ground and wakes in the dark. He can’t see a thing, where is he? Walking forward his shin hits something hard. Pain. Backing up he bumps into the bed that he fell out of. Wait. Feeling around and with the dim light from the window. It’s a sofa? Why would he be sleeping in the sofa? Now that he thinks about it, who’s sofa, is it?
Taking a look around, he doesn’t recognize anything. Though it does look like a pretty cozy house, from what he can see, nothing at all like he’s used to. Oh, right, this must be where that adult he met lives. Right, duh. He was finally starting to clear his mind, remembering how he got there.
Termy was his name, right? No, that sounds off. Did start with a T though, that he remembers, maybe Thomas? Kinda looked like a Thomas. Anyway. He shook his head to stop dwelling and decided to get back on track. He’s in a stranger’s house. He ran away from home. He didn’t bring any belongings, apart from his phone that was out of battery, practically a deadweight now. Is he a deadweight?
After all, it was only thanks to his dad’s stuff that he was able to have anyone pay attention to him. Though, even then, that didn’t always work. Recalling the party, where no one showed up because Hazel had a better one at the same time. Thinking back to that, he kind of wished he had gone to Hazels party. Obviously just to check out the competition!
He sighed and laid down of the sofa yet again. What use is thinking about the past? He missed his friends, or friend rather. Was there even anyone besides Hazel he hanged out with? The feeling said the answer was yes, but he couldn’t remember, so it probably wasn’t important.
Laying down looking out in the dark as his mind starts to play on what he sees. He hears a door creek. Without really thinking, he pretends to be asleep. His ears a perked and he tries his best to imagine what’s going on. There does sound to be some soft footsteps, but maybe that’s just his mind playing tricks on him? It could just have been the wind moving the door slightly. What was he even worrying about?
*Thump*
He felt a weight press down by his legs. ‘What is that?! Did some kind of wild animal break in and decide to sleep here? Should I run? Lay still? What if it bites me? What if I get sick and die?’ Thoughts were running wild in his mind, but in the end, he decided to just lay there. Or rather, he simply fell asleep after trying his best to not disturb the unknown creature.
When morning came.
“What? Annoyed that someone stole your favorite spot?”
Dev woke to the sound of the adult talking to, someone? Wasn’t to him at least. Not bothering to get up, his mind soon fell back on what had happened in the night. Which quickly got his system running. Shooting a glance at the spot, now in the morning light. It was empty, but it was clear something had been there.
Not really feeling like sleeping anymore, he sits up in the sofa and just starts wondering what he should do. Should he go back home? No. Should he ask Hazel for help? No. Are they even friends? No. Can he stay here another night? Maybe? Though it’s not like he knows this man, but if he was a weirdo, wouldn’t it have been obvious by now?
“Oh! You’re up.” The man in the doorway says.
“You have a cat.” Dev takes note of the feline who seems awfully fond of the man.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. Do you want some breakfast? I don’t really have much, but I think I have some cereal and milk. Would that work?”
“I’m lactose intolerant.”
“Ah, how about just some scrambled eggs then?”
“That works.”
The man turns to return to the kitchen, feline following happily along. Dev gets up, following as well. He really wants to pet that cat. He seats himself and does his best to seem super uninterested while also being inviting towards the cat. Though the cat seems far more focused on the man whisking some eggs together. Hmm.
“What’s her name?”
“You mean Kitty?”
“You named your cat Kitty?” Dev tilts his head. Is this guy being serious?
“I- yeah? Though it’s more just what I call her.”
“What? Doesn’t she have a proper name?”
“Well, what would be a better name?”
“I- hmm- I’ll think of one.”
“Sounds good kid.” The man responds amused, pouring the eggs into the pan.
Silence befalls while the eggs are being scrambled. Though Dev does make some sounds, thinking out loud what name would sound good. He looks outside for inspiration, trying to find a fitting name in the morning light of spring.
“You’re not going to eat?”
Dev looks back onto the table, where the pan with scrambled eggs sits in the middle. Oh! He fills the empty plate he had been given. “Thank you,” remembers to be polite and starts eating. To which he realizes that it’s been a while since he last ate, he’s hungry. “Thank you,” he says again, this time with sincerity.
“Glad you like it.” The man responds, eating along with Dev. He seems to be observing Dev.
“What do you want Timber?”
“Timmy. What are you gonna do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you have school?”
“I- maybe.” Dev averts his eyes. He should really go to school.
“Do you want me to drive you there after-”
“You don’t know my school.”
“Yeah, but I kinda assume you do?” Timmy sighs, steadies his gaze and puts on a serious tone. “Look kid, you know you can’t stay here, right?”
Dev weakly nods, he know it’s true, but he doesn’t really feel like there is any better place.
“Right. So, how about I drive you to school and there you can ask one of your friends for a sleepover or something? That should work, right?”
“I thought I told you I didn’t have friends.”
“Okay, then… there has to be someone you know who somewhat kind at least, maybe you could ask them?”
“I don’t know.” He’s not ready to face Hazel yet.
Timmy lifts his hand to his face, trying to think. “Look. I want to help, but like, I can’t just- I’m- I work very late, I won’t be able to pick you up or anything like that. You understand that, right? I can’t take care of you, even if I wanted to.”
“I understand.” Does no one want him?
“I- I’m sorry kid.” Timmy looks down at his sweet little Kitty and picks her up, “but you know,” and seats himself closer to Dev. “You can still come and visit.” He starts playing with Kitty’s paws, moving her around, trying to cheer Dev up. “I still need a better name, right.” Kitty says through Timmy.
Dev cracks a smile, “yeah,” then looks up at Timmy, “Thanks.”
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Wanted to give you a little more continuation, just Dev waking up and getting some breakfast. After which they are presumably off to school. Plus, a cute little moment with Kitty! So cute
No poem this time though, (did actually write one, but didn't feel like it fully fit), but I hope you still find joy in reading what we've written
This is so cutee omg i got so excited when i saw you wrote more
Plus this other thing you thought of that i really liked
And I'd love to read the poem you wrote even if it doesnt fit, the previous ones were all amazing!
Ooh, I quite like the idea of him rescuing a stray. I can imagine that he might have seen a kitten at the end of summer and after almost finishing a meal might have thought it nice to put it out for the cat to eat. Not that he saw it eating, but the container was empty when he saw it again. So for some time he "accidentally" made too much food and just "had" to transfer the leftovers to the container he kept outside.
Then when it got colder, he didn't bring in the cushions for the semi-outside furniture, like he usually does. It's still under a roof, so it should be fine, and sometimes he would see the cat be there. Other times he might even decide to sit outside, like he does in the summer, just to see if the cat will come. See if it will eat even if he is somewhat close by.
Then after some time it would come to him while he was sitting outside, and before he knew it, he owned a cat.
[Chosen by he cat distribution system]
Of course there are many other ways to get a cat, but I like the idea of him having to almost prove himself
Like in the original show he was sometimes concluded to be a bad pet owner (despite keeping his fish alive for such a long time), so it seems cute if the cat choose him because he was good towards them. Almost like "Yes, this one is a good owner"
Also like the idea that he might have resigned himself to not having any pets at all, but then finding himself in a situation in which he had no choice but to accept
I wonder what he would name the cat? Or would he just keep calling it "Kitty" cause that's what he called it when he first saw it?
This is so cute i love him just calling it "kitty"
I think he'd give it a proper name at some point but he'd never really call it by it.
But he'd eventually come to consider it family and get very attached. I see him going above and beyond to give it the best cat life it could possibly have.
Him taking care of things in general makes a lot of sense to me. Like he's trying to prove to himself that he can do it better than his parents did.
He is definitely getting chosen by the cat distribution system.
To me it seems Cosmo and Wanda tend to be a little careless with their wording of things so they could unintentionally make her feel a little insecure while talking about how much they loved and miss timmy.
I think it would be a little out of character for her to act jealous, but it would also be interesting to see how she deals with things when cosmo and wanda are involved therefore she can't go to them for advice.
Idk how she'd end up finding it though since she probably doesn't know about their castle. Unless they changed it to be their apartment, then i see her wanting to explore it and asking them to show her the other rooms.
As you made one, I wanted to share one too
Think of it as a little magic, from me to you ᵔᵜᵔ
(For clarity, I took the photo myself)
Hope you like it!
THIS IS SO PRETTY OMG IT LOOKS SO ETHEREAL
Also it looks a lot like one of the first sketches i made when i was trying to figure out the composition. Im so happy that you shared this it's beautiful!
Alone it seems, but not for long
There are many ways to help others stay strong
Sit by their side
Listen to their story
Listen and understand
Life isn't all about glory
It's hardship and strife
It's forgetting the best
It's a house turned empty, yet nothing gone
And it's forgetting and thinking it wasn't important all along
It's lies on lies that we tell to keep a smile, but sometimes it's best to just lay down for a while
Instead of forgetting and thinking it gone, try to remember the feelings, is there something important lingering on?
There are many things that lay forgotten in the sand, then a breeze may come and give you a memory so clear, making you think, you are once again there
There isn't much I remember, all seems a haze, but I do remember that there were many happy days
-------------------------
The man gives a smile, "You know that's my swing," he tells.
Dev freezes, shoot, he so stupid, of course it belongs to someone, of course he had to come an bother another, of course-
"You can stay," the man tells, not wanting the kid to think he had meant he wanted it back, a short silence follows.
"It's a nice swing," Dev starts, feeling trapped, should he leave, can he? This guy looks strong, a tiny fear creeps up his spine. He should never have run away, he so stupid! He didn't even know why he was feeling like that.
"Yeah, it really is," the man agrees, looking out over the green trees and how it all shimmers in the suns light. "I like coming here, it feels, magical," he then looks down at his hands, grasping them, as if something had been lost. "I miss that."
Dev looks at the man, and finds that his feelings are somewhat the same, maybe that's why he decided to go into the forest. He was searching for something magical. "I ran away from home," he tells, thinking and looking down, "I did something bad," he looks back slightly.
"Well, yeah, you shouldn't-" the man stops when he meets sorrowful eyes, before they look down again, realizing that the kid wasn't referring to running away, when he said bad. "I'm sorry."
"Don't." He tightens his grip on the swing.
"I wasn't really the best kid either, everyone makes mistakes."
"It's not like that!" Dev screamed in frustrating as tears keep on building in his eyes. "I'm a bad kid, I do bad things, I- I don't even know what it was." That was the worst part, he can feel he's done something really bad, but he can't for the life of him remember what it could have been. "I'm sure it wasn't a mistake, I meant to do it." He knows himself well enough, to conclude that.
"Do you regret it?"
"I- yeah? No? I don't know! I don't even know what it was!" It's frustrating! It's all so frustrating! Why can't he remember. Maybe it's not worth remembering. Yeah, that has to be it
"Same. It sucks, doesn't it?"
Dev just looks away, wondering why he wants to remember something he has so clearly forgotten. He should just let it all go. He ignores the man and starts to swing.
The man asks something, but Dev doesn't listen and doesn't respond, just keeps swinging. The man seems to take the hint and leaves. Good, right? He's all alone again. That's better, that's what he deserves, right? He can see the shining green leaves, the sunlight shimmering on the moss of rocks, but it's all so blurry, he can't see it properly. He stops swinging, letting the swing slowly come to a stop as he lets the tears fall, thinking no one is there. For why would anyone be there for him?
"Do you want some Lemonade?" Comes from behind.
Startled, Dev almost falls of the swing. He turns and sees the man, "you're back."
"Yeah, I told you, right?"
"Right." He doesn't remember that either.
"Here," the man holds out the lemonade. He knows he shouldn't accept gifts from strangers, but honestly, things didn't really feel like they could get worse. Plus, he's always wanted to try lemonade.
Dev takes the drink, "It's sour."
"Heh, sorry about that, should probably have put more sugar in."
"No no, it's fine, I- I like it." This was nice.
"Thanks kid." The man takes a sip, it's clear on his face that he too found it sour. Dev smiled at the fact. The two then sat in soft silence enjoying the lemonade and pretty light that was starting to dim.
"So, what now kid?"
"Huh?"
"Do you have a plan?"
"For what?"
"It's getting dark, where are you gonna sleep? Can't sleep out here, right? Maybe you got a friend that can help, you can use my phone to call them if you want."
"No." Dev paused, thinking the fact over, but finding it to be true said, "I don't have friends." He may not remember what he did, but he knows he hurt, betrayed, and pushed away Hazel, along with anyone else who might have cared. That feeling still remains. "Not anymore, at least." He says as silence starts to lay down between them again. Letting only the sounds of the forest be known.
The man looks down at his lemonade, and drinks while debating over the options he has. What should he do? Can't just leave a kid alone in the forest. Maybe getting him back home would be the best? No, if the kid ran away, then it very likely that his parents aren't the best. Something he is far to familiar with. He shudders at the feelings that bubble up. Yeah no, best would probably be to let the kid sleep on his couch for the night, if he wants to.
"Hey, kid?"
"Huh?"
"If you have no place to sleep tonight, would you want to sleeping on my couch? It's at least better than sleeping on the cold ground out here."
Dev looks at the man, he hadn't even thought about that. He can't sleep on the ground. He's only ever slept in his nice warm bed. A bed he's starting to realize that he kinda misses. Why did he even run away? Though, thinking about going back makes him shudder. Taking up that offer of a sofa doesn't sound too bad actually.
"Yeah, I'd like that," he answers softly.
"Cool." The man responds. "Oh, and I'm Timmy, what's your name? Should have probably started with that..."
"Dev." That's his name, nothing else, "and thanks," Dev gives Timmy a smile. Dev can't help but feel like Timmy reminds him of someone. Probably someone he lost and forgotten, stupid memory.
-------------------------
I didn't plan on writing so much, it just kinda happened
Regardless, thought it might be nice with some sort of continuation
I hope you like it, even if it's pretty much a first draft, and thank you for the pretty art you made, I do so adore the forest in shimmering green, it's so pretty! And the composition was quite nice too, with Dev being alone in the middle, poor kid
HOLY SHIT THIS IS AMAZING
It's so sweet i rlly like the dynamic you gave them. That "something magical" was so cool i loved that sm!
I wouldn't recommend sleeping in strangers houses but still i wanted to draw smth. Hope you like it!
Besides my backgrounds still needing work especially the interior i wanted to explore what Timmy's house would look like. I think he would live either somewhere outside the city or some sad little rental flat. This is also heavily inspired by my grandmas house just bc i felt it fit the whole forest setting.
Down by the river bend
Down where the sunbeams end
Down in the darkness of self
Is there nobody else?
It's cold, dark, fleeting light
Is it wrong to think they are right?
Is the lonely all that life has left for me?
Is this what I was always meant to be?
Who will love what has been tossed to the side?
Who will care? Who will be there?
Want to do better, want to be good
But actions speak louder, and it's clear to see
That there was never any good to be found in me
-------
Thinking some thoughts of how Dev may feel
After what he did to fairy world, I doubt he sees himself in a positive light. Regardless of if he remembers or not, feelings sure remain and I'm quite sure he will never be the same. Turning anger to fear, builds isolation so grand
But maybe there is a light, maybe someone will reach out a hand?
Thought it might be a cool idea to have Dev run away from home after all that happened and then sitting alone in the cold of night. Hating the forest, after a horrible day, but hating a cold empty house more. so he stays, wishing someone would notice he's gone, but fearing that no one will. Though, is it really a fear if he knows it to be true?
As he sits there, maybe there is someone who would ask if they can sit by his side? Someone who would tell that there is at least one who cares, one how noticed that he was gone
Omg this was absolutely beautiful to read i love the concept
I hope i did it justice I've been trying to work on more backgrounds
It would have been too easy to have Peri look for him after he runs away. I've been thinking about how i could have him interact with Timmy so this was perfect
He would obviously wonder what a random kid is doing in the middle of the forest. Maybe he set up the swing and wanted to revisit it or smth (idk what to do with that part i just didn't want him sitting on the ground).
I dont think I'll continue this but they could bond over that feeling of grief without knowing what exactly they're grieving for. Plus that Timmy was in a similar situation to Dev when he was a kid. They would definitely have some things to talk about.
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