There's a moment that exists between life and death. Some experience it. Others never do. Sometimes it's a life - your own or another’s - flashing before your eyes. Sometimes it's an out of body experience.
But sometimes it's acceptance.
All in the blink of an eye, you realize what is happening, this is it, and you know your time is done.
The last time he came this close to death, he hadn't even known it. Instead he was useless, passed out on the floor. If it hadn't been for the quick thinking and physical strength of a probie half his size, he wouldn't have made it that day.
Still, that doesn't make this time any easier. He wishes he weren't alone now, but he's also glad for it. If he has to go out in a fiery blaze, better that he's not taking anyone with him.
Briefly, he wonders if dying takes long. Will the impact take him out immediately, or will he have to wait for the darkness? He knows which he would prefer. And if anyone finds the crash site, will there be anything of him left to bury? He would laugh at the thought if he had the time.
As he watches the trees and the ground rise up to meet him, he takes a deep breath and braces for impact. He can hear all of the alarms blaring simultaneously, the trees scraping and ripping at the chopper blades, glass shattering, the wind and rain whipping through the cockpit.
He closes his eyes, breathes out, and thinks of blue eyes and sunshine and warmth as everything goes dark.
Another AU set in my Freelancers Universe, diverging just before the canonical end of the Swansong Arc. (It's a good point in the canon for divergent plots, alright?)
Wolf's patient, dogged determination has paid off - his handler is off-base, his medical escort will have three guards, and there are three American volunteers who should be eager to play a part in this escape attempt. He hopes they are - because none of them are getting out of this alive if they get caught.
Military setting, captivity, escape, on the run, medical treatment, assumed dead, fear of recapture, betrayal, angst (with a happy ending?), referenced torture and noncon
In honor of my new blorbo, Jon Antilles, whose has reports of his death frequently exaggerated (according to fandom anyway), have some fics where a character was presumed dead.
Salt in the Wound (AO3) - "The Wave arc, except Sakura's flimsy attempt at protecting the client results in her accidentally faking her death. Zabuza survives and takes her along with him as an apprentice, and she grows up in the harder but more emotional life of a nin on the run."
In a kingdom by the sea (AO3) - "Princess Adalasia di Genova knew what she was giving up by flouting her father's will and running off with a Venetian Patrician, but the list had never included her beloved younger brother Nicolò, who encouraged her romance with Federico, aided her escape...and willingly stayed behind, to face their father's wrath alone."
found each other on the wayside (AO3) - "(Or: that time everyone spent three days thinking Tim was dead.)"
Mhi Solus (AO3) - " Din is waiting for his pay out in a guild cantina. The mood is unusually light. With a drink in his hand and a laugh on his lips a young hunter gives Din the news. Boba Fett is dead."
Stay With Me (AO3) - "They attacked in the night. They got Bob and Fennec— but not Din, which leaves Din the one to get them out of this mess. With the palace under enemy control and Boba on his knees at gunpoint, Din would do anything to keep the one he loves safe. This only traumatizes Boba a little bit."
Bonus: Aftermath (FF) - "Taylor Hebert dies in the locker. But the story does not end there ..."
takes place around the same time as Sunrise, though obviously at night.
-
Bellamy ended up being the one to set up the funeral.
The de Sang family seemed all too happy to be rid of their most shameful son, none caring to hold a ceremony honoring his memory. It made Bellamy wonder what his family would do with him when he died. Hopefully nothing, he thought bitterly. He wanted his funeral handled by his friends. They’d been more family to him than his biological one ever had.
They’d offered to come. Caroline, Sylvia, Leon, the usual bunch. But aside from a brief and rude introduction with Caroline eight years ago, none of them had even met him. Kane certainly wouldn’t have liked any of them, the condescending prick he was, and he was doubly sure that none of them would have liked Kane. Or at least, not the person Kane was when he died.
It still didn’t feel real.
But it was. He stood alone under the waning moon in front of a gravestone marked Kane de Sang, without even a body to bury.
Other than that single night of the reunion, he hadn’t even spoken to Kane in upwards of ninety years, since they were children. Kane never answered any of the letters he sent. Bellamy wondered if he’d ever read them at all. It was too late to ask, now.
He felt stupid for getting so emotional about a man he hadn’t been friends with in more than ninety years. He’d always been told he was too sentimental. Kane used to tell him that, even when they were boys.
But he was. Kane used to be his best friend. The one who taught him how to be confident. The one he spent his childhood with. His first love, though he’d never dared admit it.
And now it was too late. Not that Kane would have ever reciprocated, but there was so much left unsaid.
The boy he’d been best friends with had died a long time ago, Bellamy conceded. Somewhere along the way, all the joy and brightness had been sucked out of him by that all-consuming need to gain the approval of his miserable family. It had happened before they’d even parted ways.
He likely wouldn’t have recognized Kane, even if they’d managed to reconcile their friendship. The human boy’s terrified face flashed through his mind. Jim, he’d said his name was. The way he’d begged Bellamy for help he couldn’t provide. He’d been so relieved when he’d heard that he’d managed to escape, after years of guilt imagining the boy’s suffering, though he knew Kane must have been in quite the fit of despair over it.
And now, five years later, he’d gotten himself killed by hunters. Of course he had. The man couldn’t use persuasion to defend himself. He’d promised Kane he would always protect him when they were children, and he’d utterly failed. Sylvia said it wasn’t his fault. Caroline, too. But it still felt like it was.
Though, part of Bellamy felt that maybe this was for the best. Had Kane lived, he would have only continued victimizing humans for centuries to come. Caroline had told him all about what the boy had said after they left.
He said that Kane just... beats the shit out of him until he does what he wants.
Bellamy’s heart shattered at the thought. How had his dear Kane turned out this way?
And now he was dead. Nothing could be done to fix any of it.
Maybe he would finally be able to move on, after all these years.
“I’m sorry it turned out this way, my dear.” Bellamy said softly to the ornate headstone.
He stood there for a while. It felt wrong to leave. He was the only attendee of Kane’s funeral, and once he left, it would be done.
Unfortunately, that didn’t remain true for long.
“Hey, Verta.” called a voice Bellamy hadn’t missed.
“Fuck off.” he snapped, not even bothering to turn around and look.
“Well, that’s not very nice. Can’t a guy attend his own little brother’s funeral in peace?”
“What are you even doing here?” Bellamy asked, voice choked with tears.
“Like I said, I’m attending.” Anton casually rested an elbow on Bellamy’s shoulder, which he promptly pushed away, rolling his eyes.
“Don’t act like you ever cared about him.” he scoffed.
“Well, I bet he’s talked to me more in the past ninety years than he’s talked to you. Guess that makes me his best friend, huh?” Anton said through a grin.
Anton had always been good at getting under people’s skin, something Bellamy had learned to try to rebuff since as far back as he could remember, having always been around the de Sang family since he was a child. But he was out of practice, and this was a knife straight to the heart.
Bellamy stood there in stony silence, still staring at the gravestone marked Kane de Sang. Fresh tears pooled in his eyes and quickly spilled over. He’d always hated crying in front of Anton.
“Still a crybaby, Verta? Thought you would’ve grown out of that by now.” Anton sneered. “You and Kane really were a matching set like that.” He nudged the gravestone with his foot.
Bellamy shoved him away. “Don’t.”
“Ah, what’s it matter? He got himself killed doing stupid shit he knew he shouldn’t have been doing. Everyone knew he couldn’t hack having his own human. You’d think having the first one run out on him would be lesson enough. He was an idiot for even trying.” Anton shook his head with a tsk-tsk.
Before Bellamy knew it, he found himself tackling Anton to the ground. He was smaller than Anton, but the older vampire wasn’t expecting it, caught off guard by his sudden attack.
He punched Anton square in the face as hard as he could, something he’d wanted to do ever since he was a child. His parents couldn’t admonish him for it, now.
“Take it back!” he demanded, landing another hit in quick succession as Anton tried to push him off. “Take it back, you bastard!” Tears streamed down Bellamy’s face, his voice broken as he continued to smash his fist into Anton’s face.
“Get off me, you little freak!” With a hard shove, Anton managed to push him away, blood gushing from his broken nose.
“Leave, now.” Bellamy commanded.
“Always the killjoy.” Anton grumbled, but he did leave.
Bellamy was glad he’d declined his friends’ offers to join him. He disliked losing his composure in front of others. It happened so rarely- he was proud to be known as a gentle soul, after the monster his father had tried to turn him into- but even he had his limits.
He went back to staring at the grave. Kane hadn’t been so lucky. He’d tried his best to be the monster his parents wanted him to be, and look where it’d gotten him.
Kane would probably still be alive today, if Bellamy had stayed. He could have given in to Kane’s demands and stayed. They would have moved in together. Even if Kane never felt the same way as Bellamy felt about him, they would have still remained best friends. They would have been happy together.
But that was never a possibility. He never could have stolen an innocent human life away for his own selfish reasons. Countless lives, piling up over the centuries.
“Let them put the cuffs on..” Leader whispered. Their fists were clenched in anger but their voice remained steady and calm. Their outburst could get their whole team in worse trouble. They had to push away their anger, they were the leader, their team’s safety came first.
Guilt rose up in their chest. Their situation, this whole situation was already screwed up in more ways than one. They let their emotions take hold at the completely wrong time. Despite all the emotions swirling around inside their head, their face looked neutral and they relaxed their hands. They couldn’t afford another outburst. Not when the odds looked bad already.
Leader took a couple deep breaths. They did their best to shove their anger deep down far far away where they could no longer reach. It would be fine. It had to be fine. They would talk to Supervisor calmly, they couldn’t afford to screw up anymore. Their previous mistake already brought unwanted consequences, they felt horrible for it.
Speaking of consequences, the cuffs they were going to be forced to wear were not normal handcuffs. A chain did not connect on each side. Rather, they were a piece of tech that looked like a tight metal bracelet for each wrist. It slowly injected a serum that quickly blocked the powers of supers.
They looked over at Fighter and saw they stopped pulling away from the officer. They visibly tensed when their arm had been grabbed. They heard an audible snap as a cuff closed onto each wrist.
Teammate swayed a bit on their feet, chewing on their bottom lip. They did not want to but they also reluctantly let the officer do the same to them as they did to Fighter. They held back tears, they were all quite literally powerless in Supervisor’s office now. The cuffs were power suppressants.
Leader had been the last to feel the cool metal touch their skin, they shivered as they no longer noticed their magic flowing through their body. They felt empty like that, as though they were missing a piece of them now. The rest of the team felt quite similar, the cuffs made the air in the room shift to encompass a sense of disheartenment.
“Precautionary my ass..” Fighter muttered under their breath, subconsciously picking at their wrists.
“Excuse me?” Supervisor snapped at them. “Do we have an issue? Or are you going to follow your captain’s footsteps and cause a disruption in my office?”
Fighter glanced at Leader who shook their head in response. They looked back at Supervisor with a scowl on their face while they reluctantly answered. “No. There will be no issues from me.”
“Good good,” Supervisor said calmly, which only seemed more infuriating to the group. “Now what was so urgent that you were willing to cause such a disturbance?” They folded their hands on their desk, eyes narrowing at Leader while they spoke.
Leader took another deep breath after Supervisor’s stare. They fidgeted with the soft fabric of their shirt, they knew bringing up Hero almost guaranteed another “disturbance” in their words. But they still found that the words came flowing out of their mouth anyways. They had no choice, they were given almost no information. “Why wasn’t Hero safely back at the van like the order on our watches said?”
“They were nowhere to be seen..” Teammate hesitantly added. They were looking at the ground, they couldn’t meet the higher-up’s eyes.
“Were they even ever at the van?” Fighter accused. Unlike Teammate, they were glaring full on at their boss.
“We lost their vitals on their watch. We assume Hero is dead. We have not found a body but their vitals showed nothing to suggest they are alive,” Supervisor answered simply.
Leader choked on a sob. They looked up and saw Teammate blinking back tears and Fighter appeared as if they might strangle their supervisor.
Leader had a whole new wave of questions, their answer only added to their growing pile of concerns.
“Why would- why would you say they were safe? We could have gone back and helped them! We could have- they could have been standing here with us right now! And then we wouldn’t be having this conversation!” Leader sputtered, tears were starting to fill their eyes too. Their hold on their plan to stay calm started to quickly slip away.
“You and your team’s safety became more important at the time. Villain is a high ranking villain and can cause a lot of damage. Hero made a mistake and got too close too quickly. We had to evacuate everyone after we lost contact with them,” Supervisor explained.
Teammate flinched when Fighter slammed their hands down on their wooden desk. “You are saying Hero’s safety became irrelevant as soon as you lost contact with them? That they are disposable as soon as they made a mistake?!”
“You twisted my words. Step away from my desk please,” Supervisor said.
Fighter didn’t step away, rather they leaned closer to their boss. Leader or Teammate didn’t try to stop them, they were voicing both of their concerns for them. “Have you bothered to search for our friend’s body? Have you talked to their family? Or have you already given up because you all are cowards who have lost all sight in the values of this institution? Hero might be dead so you have zero hope at all that they could be alive? That their-“
“Step away from my desk or the officer will escort all of you out of this room!” Supervisor shouted, interrupting Fighter.
Leader put a hand on Fighter’s shoulder and gently guided them back so they could stand in front of the desk. “Supervisor, their watch could have just been destroyed. If no one is available to search for Hero, let us.” Leader wiped their eyes, they could only pray and have hope that their boss was wrong and Hero was alive.
Supervisor shook their head, standing up from their cushioned swivel chair. “Absolutely not. It is too dangerous and they are likely dead. You are under no circumstances allowed to search for Hero. There will be a service for them later this week.”
“No!” Leader sounded more desperate this time. “There could be a chance that they are alive, out there somewhere, maybe even in trouble! Please let us search! We are a hero team, we need them!” They could not give up so easily, Leader refused to let that happen. They were responsible for their whole team. They would do whatever it took to get their friend back.
“My word is final,” Supervisor stated. They walked over to the door and opened it. They whispered to the officer before addressing the team that scattered their office. “This officer will take you back to your room. Despite my request, you all still created a scene in my office. Your cuffs will stay on until tomorrow morning. Goodbye.”
They all started to protest but the officer ushered them out of the office. They begrudgingly let themselves be escorted back to their room. It could have gone worse but it also could have gone a million times better than it had.
…
Leader sat down on their bed when they arrived at their shared room at last. Fighter and Teammate sat across from them.
“That was such bullshit!” Fighter threw their hands in the air. “As if those fuckers even care.”
Teammate nodded in agreement. “Yeah.. I’m sorry I didn’t say much-“ They looked down at their hands. “That whole argument and situation was so screwed up.. all of it..”
Fighter rubbed their back. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Leader said, sighing. “I don’t think it could have gone any better. They’ve been that stubborn as long as I’ve been here.” But it didn’t make it any less disappointing and frustrating.
Leader groaned as they thought more about the whole argument. “I still think Hero is alive somewhere. From what I could find on a handful of news articles, Villain is a stupidly proud person. They always leave the bodies of the poor victims they’ve killed before disappearing back to where their base is. I want to find Hero, I have to find them- I- if this is right, I think they are still alive- I need to find them..“
Teammate reached over and held Leader’s hand. Their captain stopped talking, they didn’t even realize they had gone into such a panicked tangent. They blinked a few times, their free hand felt their quilt on the bed, regaining stability.
A tear ran down Leader’s face. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to ramble like that-“
Fighter interrupted them. “Hey, it’s alright. We are all upset. We will find them. If you think I want to listen to Supervisor, you are completely wrong.”
Villain stumbled out of the abandoned train station, eyes bloodshot and sunken. He looked up at the night sky rain fell from the sky, clearing the dirt and blood from his face and clothes and started to cry.
Pathetic.
No. He shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Limping, Villain slowly made as much distance from Hero’s base as he could.
Cars raced down the street, spraying him with stinging water. He pulled his hood over his head and leaned heavily against the stoplights pole.
“Hey, man, you alright?” someone said, suddenly behind him. He jumped back into the street and the stranger held their hands up, “Woah, it’s alright. Hey, you don’t look so good, do you want me to call someone for you?”
He took a step forward, back onto the sidewalk and shook his head, “No,” he cleared his throat and shook his head, “No, thank you.”
The stranger nodded and smiled anxiously, “Sure thing. Get home safe. Oh, you can cross now.”
Villain mumbled his gratitude and hurried across the street, leaving the stranger behind him. He stared forward, eyes locked on the police station and he covered his mouth with his sleeve to muffle a sob.
Pathetic.
He turned away from the station and hunched over so nobody could see the tears streaming from his face. The rain came down faster and soaked into his clothes, weighing him down.
Henchman looked up from her microwaved dinner when someone pounded on the door. She frowned and pushed her chair out from the table.
She pushed the blinds to the side and looked at the alcove, someone was hunched over, rain dripping from their hair and clothes. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
He looked up at her, and her heart immediately sunk. “Villain?”
He sobbed and covered his mouth, “Hey.”
“What? You-Hero killed you,” she said. “No, yeah, I-I saw it. You didn’t make it out. I found your body.” She shook her head and looked up, “This isn’t real. Is it?”
His chin trembled and his hands shook. “Can you decide after you let me come inside?”
She nodded faintly and took a step to the side, leaving just enough room for Villain to squeeze past her.
He closed the door for her and led her into the living room, “Are you alright?”
She laughed sharply, “Am I alright? No, no, I’m very not alright. I buried you. I went through everything and-and I mourned you. And you show up three months later on my doorstep?” she looked up at him and bit her cheek to keep from crying, “Where were you?”
He shook his head, “Not tonight, please?”
She looked at him-really looked at him-and nodded, “Yeah, ok. Tomorrow though, promise me.” he nodded and she stood up. “I’ll go get you a change of clothes.”
Downfall timeline Links!!! I care about them so much you have no idea. I’m very normal about them. that’s partially why this is so late heh
Courage of ages explanation
————————————————————
Hue didn’t mind Slate’s world too much really, but fighting monsters after the sun had gone down right next to the edge of a cliff over a deadly drop was not his idea of a good time.
Especially since the monsters kept pushing them towards said deadly drop.
Himself, Brownie, and Hibiscus has been careful to stay plenty far away from the edges of the steep cliff they were fighting atop, but they’d been separated by the fight, and were being pushed towards the drop without the support of the others to lean on.
Hue blocked a swipe from a bokoblin and glanced backwards at where Brownie was fighting, his view of Hibiscus lost to the darkness.
Brownie was closest to the edge of the cliffs, darting around a pair of lizalfos with skilled leaps and swipes. He’d already killed several monsters based on the blood on his sword, but these two were ganging up on him, avoiding his attacks and herding him ever closer to the cliff. Brownie looked like he knew what was happening, but he couldn’t stop it, and his face was set in a look that was equal parts determined and annoyed.
Hue went back to his own fight when the bokoblin swung its spiked club at him, and was completely distracted from his worry for Brownie as the battle took all his concentration. He heard some lizardy-squeals though, and figured Brownie must have at least taken care of those. Maybe the moblin that had been lurking there too?
He suddenly heard a gasp, and turned just in time to see Brownie get hit right in the leg with a moblin’s club. A horrible crack went through the air, and Hue shouted Brownie’s name as he fell backwards, his leg no doubt broken.
Which would have already been bad, but was made worse by the fact that there was nothing but open air for him to fall back on.
Hue caught sight of a flicker of terror on Brownie’s face as his working foot fell out from under him, and snatched an arm out towards the rocks, but he was too late.
He fell straight over the edge.
“Brownie!” Hue shrieked, too far away to do anything as the hero disappeared from view. He charged towards the edge, but the same moblin got in his way, blocking him from getting anywhere near the cliff.
Hue slashed frantically at the monster stopping him, anger speeding him as he wasted precious moments in order to sink his sword through the beast’s chest. But once it was gone he scrambled to the edge where Brownie had fallen, noting with even more panic that Brownie’s bag had been knocked loose, and was lying on the ground near the edge.
Hue skidded to his knees, realizing in some part of his mind that the night had finally gone silent, but the rest was focused solely on squinting into the darkness below, faint moonlight barely helping him see at all.
“Brownie?!” he yelled, frantically craning his neck.
There was no reply.
Hue stared down at the darkness, blood roaring in his ears. He squinted desperately through the shadows, hoping for a sign, a shout, something to prove that Brownie was alive and had survived the fall, but there was nothing. No sign of him at all, apart from his bag that was lying in the dirt next to Hue.
He was gone.
“No,” Hue choked out, shock rooting him in place.
Footsteps sounded behind him and a hand settled on his shoulder, but Hue could only stare over the edge, uncomprehending the words he was pretty sure were being spoken to him as his stomach lurched and thoughts spiraled.
Brownie was gone. He was dead, there was no way he could survive a fall like that without his items or anything, even with how tough he was. His friend, his successor was gone and he should’ve done more, he should’ve gone to help him as soon as he’d realized he was so close to the edge but now he was gone—
“Link, breathe.”
Hue sucked in a gasp at the command, and felt someone lift his hand and place it on something. He numbly realized it was a chest, and someone was telling him to breathe along with him.
He gulped in another breath when the voice prompted him to, and managed to follow along with the steady inhale-exhale he could feel under his palm. The oxygen he hadn’t realized he’d been missing was enough to pull himself out of his spiral at least a little, and look at Hibiscus kneeling in front of him.
“Hib—“ he choked out, and Hibiscus put both hands on his shoulders.
“What happened?” he asked sharply, and Hue shook his head, throat tightening. He couldn’t say it, saying it would only make it more real, and it couldn’t be true. “Hue, what happened, where’s Brownie?”
“He fell,” Hue croaked.
He swallowed thickly, a wave of grief crashing over him, and suddenly it all came out in a rush.
“Brownie fell Hibiscus, a moblin hit him and it sounded like his leg broke, his bag fell off and he tried to grab the edge but he was too far away there’s no way he...”
Hue trailed off and shook his head again, fingers digging into the dirt.
“He’s gone,” he whispered.
Hibiscus’s expression turned to one of horror, and Hue squeezed his eyes shut, blinking back the moisture in the corners.
He and Brownie had only just figured out their connection a short while ago, realizing through a discussion of heroes and events and things that it was an extremely high possibility that Brownie might be the hero who came after Hue. They’d already figured out Hibiscus came before him, but Brownie being in the mix hadn’t even occurred to them before then.
Hue had never been too close to Brownie, and was embarrassed to admit he’d sort of glossed over him when they’d met due to his unassuming appearance. But with the reveal of their connection, he’d made an effort to get to know him more, and discovered that despite how he looked, Brownie was in no way unassuming.
They’d actually become friends, hanging out when they traveled, sometimes fighting together, and Hue found himself truly admiring the older boy, impressed at his resilience and determination.
But now he was gone.
Hue felt Hibiscus’s arm settle over his shoulders, and he didn’t protest when the other hero pulled him in, biting his lip as he stared down at the drop. A tear rolled off his nose and fell into the darkness, and Hue didn’t bother wiping away the ones that came after it.
“Do you think... could we look for him?” Hue managed to get out, but Hibiscus shook his head, his eyes shiny as well.
“Slate said even he doesn’t know how far down it goes,” he said, voice thick with grief. “It’s the very edge of Hyrule, nobody knows how deep it is. Even with a hookshot I don’t know if we could...”
Hibiscus trailed off, but then his voice took on a bit of bewilderment.
“...what is that?”
Hue turned and squinted down through the murk at where Hibiscus was staring, and blinked.
It looked like a tiny star was shining far below them, a soft speck of light that hadn’t been there a moment ago. Hue squinted, looking closer, and watched the light flickered, bobbing a little as it grew. It drew closer as Hue and Hibiscus watched in confused silence, and Hue could make out clear wings fluttering as it approached, a faint green color tinting the edges of the light.
A familiar color of green.
Something almost like hope lurched into his chest, and Hue stretched out a trembling hand towards the tiny ball of light, which landed on his palm with a slightly drunken flutter.
Hibiscus peered over his shoulder at the light, and Hue swallowed, staring at the fairy resting in his hands.
“Brownie?” he whispered.
The fairy let out a weak chime, light flickering, and it hopped out of his palm and spun around a few times, growing brighter. Hue and Hibiscus stared as the light grew, then suddenly went out with a few greenish sparkles.
And then Brownie was stumbling to his feet, looking shaken, but alive.
“Brownie?!” Hue and Hibiscus gasped. The hero in question clutched at his leg, stumbling a bit, but he raised his head and looked at the both of them, a weak smile on his face.
Hue immediately jumped to his feet and slammed into him, squeezing him tight and ignoring the squeak Brownie let out.
“Goddesses Brownie I thought you were dead,” he yelled into his shoulder, tears springing anew. “I thought you’d— I was terrified, don’t do that! How are you alive?!”
“I’m— I’m sorry,” Brownie stuttered, sounding rather surprised at his reaction. “It’s... it’s a spell...”
Hibiscus came up and grabbed them both into a hug before he could continue, shaking his head in what Hue was pretty sure an exasperated manner, but his voice was thick with utter relief when he spoke.
“Brownie, please never do that again,” he whispered, and Brownie nodded.
“I’ll do my best,” he mumbled, sounding embarrassed, but he let Hibiscus and Hue continue to hug him, which was probably a good indication of how shaken he actually was.
Hue didn’t say anything more, just buried his head in his shoulder, reassuring himself that his friend was really and truly alive.
