Moments Between Them

The Collector found food to be a rather strange concept. They’d never needed sustenance, so to say. Their entire species practically ate knowledge constantly, but to them? No, it was never a need moreso, a curiosity.

Eggs were a confusing bit to them too. Sometimes, it would be crispy and filled with a salty yolk that they thought was divine. Other times, it would be like mud being shoved down their throat, sticking to their mouth like slime. On the self-proclaimed Bad Egg Days, The Collector chose not to eat; food wouldn’t be as fun if eggs couldn’t be involved.

Granted, after their whole fiasco, Eda was quite insistent that they eat at least once a day while they were over, a generous offer considering the other children in The Owl Lady’s house had to eat at least three times in a single day, and drink water even more than that.

Just mortal things, they supposed.

The Collector found themselves lacking in that department. Mortal concepts like sleeping and taking care of a constantly withering body never got right with them. They never needed to do that, only to observe like the others before them.

Even so, sleeping was fun. The Collector slept a lot when they were in that stone tablet. Dreams were as freeing as they could make it, even if for a little bit. 

Eating and drinking made them feel weirdly energized, and it was fun to taste new things. Too bad Eda said that rocks and sticks couldn’t normally be eaten, so weird.

Breakfast was always a fun meal for The Collector. They would wake up–or simply get up if they didn’t feel like sleeping, another freedom that Eda permitted–and race downstairs to see the new concoction of ingredients Eda could whip up.

Today was no different. The Collector rose up, quickly changing into a set of clothing– courtesy of Eda once more–, shaking off a particularly weird dream that they couldn’t remember. 

Running downstairs, The Collector wiped their strangely clammy hands on their pajamas, feel their excitement rise as the smell of cinnamon and ligament-berries. “Eda!” The Collector shouted, embracing the surprised lady tightly.

Eda chuckled, patting the child’s white hair. “Mornin’ Kiddo.”

“What’re we having today, Eda? I was thinking about it alllll night!” The Collector bounced on their toes with a bright smile.

Eda hummed briefly, tapping her chin. “I dunno,” a smirk crossed her face. “How about some pancakes?”

The Collector continued to wait, increasingly bouncing as Eda listed off food items.

“Ah, wait!” Eda snapped her fingers, pulling a plate of a thin pancake-like substance.

The Collector’s smile widened. “Woah! What is it?”

“Camilla told me about some human thing from Prance or whatever,” Eda set the plate down. “They’re called ‘crepes’, but I think I actually made pancakes.” She shrugged.

The Collector sat down at the table, bouncing as Eda went to call down the others.

There were many perks to being awake early, The Collector thought in the brief silence: being able to see what they would eat– at times seeing the actual process, – being able to chat to other early birds– mostly Hunter or Amity, should they be in The Owl Lady’s house.

The only downside they could find was having to wait for other people who preferred to sleep late, Eda being a frequenter of taking more time to rest. In either case, The Collector’s own excitement reached into their hands, trembling through their body. Perhaps it was the hunger, they were already feeling somewhat weakened. Perhaps, they should take up Eda’s offer and eat more.

At the sight of Luz and King, The Collector’s shaking stopped entirely, their legs kicking mindlessly. “Good morning!” They sang, waving to the two.

Hunter– ever the habitual teen– yawned, waving back. Luz appeared to still be sleeping, eyes barely open as she plopped onto the table with a tired groan.

Eda shook her head with a knowing grin. “Let me guess.. This time: You stayed up with that one theory about Azura being possessed by that Curator guy?”

Luz nodded against the table, using her hands to push herself up. “It’s just.. Ugh, it makes sense. The symbolism is there, elements of foreshadowing and everything lines up! The. Only. Thing. Is that the character design is drastically different, small details don’t work out and grrrrmmmgnn.”

Eda patted Luz’s head, setting down two more plates before heading upstairs. “I think King is enjoying his sleep a bit too well. I’m gonna go get him. Feel free to eat while I wrangle him!”

Luz quickly dug in, her energy seemingly returning in a flash. Hunter, a bit more poised, ended up scarfing his food down in a similar manner within minutes.

The ‘creepes’ resembled frisbees to The Collector. They chuckled at the weird appearance, taking a slow bite of their food. The food felt like lead in their stomach, but it tasted good enough for The Collector to ignore it pleasantly, choosing to face any consequences later.

The Collector slowly finished the last of their food as King was hungrily, albeit clumsy, scarfing their food down.

Hands sticky and feeling queasy at the sound of King’s audible chewing, The Collector retreated upstairs, mindlessly floating amongst the space-themed room they’d arranged. Their stomach felt.. Off. 

Perhaps, it was an emotion they never heard of. Luz said that some emotions don’t even have names. Other emotions have different names; like happy and sad, but there were different happies and sads like excited and depressed. Was this a happy or sad? Maybe it was anger? They had nothing to be angry about, or sad.

The Collector snapped, placing themself down on the floor. Their stomach must have butterflies in it. 

They were just really happy!

They smiled, rocking back and forth on the carpeted food they sat at. That was a good thing, right? They had good food and everything, which means that they had to be happy!

Encouraged by the revelation, The Collector returned downstairs, seeing King watching the crystal ball intently.

“Hey King! Whatcha watching?” The Collector called out.

“Oh! Good morning, Collector! Just watching some shows before Luz and Hunter go to school. You wanna come?”

“Mmm,” The Collector shook their head. “I think I’ll play around the forest today, but I’ll be sure to say bye before they head to their weird ‘school’ thing though.”

King chuckled before returning to his show.

The Collector stepped outside, feeling the suddenly intense heat hit their face. Despite the cold breeze, the outside felt like an oven. Yet, The Collector continued forward, knowing the old titan could be warm one second and cold the other depending on the days.

Their mind felt as if it were filled with cotton, no ideas coming out from it. Instead, after walking around and bidding their pseudo-siblings farewell, The Collector chose to practice weaving a flower crown, a trick that his friend Willow taught them.

The day went by slowly. Eventually, The Collector finished their crown. Despite it being incredibly messy– their fingers wouldn’t stop shaking for reasons they couldn’t tell–, the crown was adorned with various flowers that wouldn’t yell at them when picked. Various blues and yellows lined the red grass crown. It was pleasant to look at with their burning eyes.

The Collector took a breath in, standing up to look at the slowly redding sky.

Huh.

Eda and King would be picking the other two up by now.

Taking another moment to admire the sky, The Collector began walking back to the Owl House, gently holding the flower crown. They weren’t sure who should get the flower crown; they only had the one which took them a great effort. Maybe, everyone should get one? But, that would take at least a day, and that was too long for Eda to wait.

The Owl House stood in view as The Collector continued. Eda hadn’t arrived yet which gave them an odd sense of relief.

Greeting the loud owl demon by the door, The Collector slumped forward, heaviness overcoming their body. Making flower crowns must be a pain for regular witches if they can cause The Collector to be this tired.

The Collector retreated to their room for the second time that day, laying down on the sort-of-not-really-nest that King and Luz helped them with, sighing in relief at the soft texture. Black took over their vision in an instant as static overcame their suddenly aching body.

Their room was dark, their own light spells that littered the room barely holding light. Their body shook, swaying with a force they couldn’t describe. The Collector groaned, feeling unusually warm. They curled into themself, hearing a muffled sound above them before a hand comes to remove their nightcap and brush through their hair. Their room came into sight as The Collector heard their voice mumble out without thinking, gaining another–this time audible– comment from the hand petting them.

“You doing alright, Collector? You’ve been in bed for a while.” Luz’s voice was blurry in their mind, yet The Collector nodded.

“Mm, tired.” They muttered, snuggling further into their ‘bed.’

Luz chuckled, “It’s almost time for dinner, y’know? Are you hungry for some of Eda’s ole’ cooking?”

They thought for a moment, barely able to hold their eyes open. “Mm-Mm,” The Collector shook their head, stopping quickly with a wince. “Wanna sleep..”

Luz paused for a second. The Collector felt her eyes boring into them. “Alright, bud.” She whispered, laying a quick kiss on their head before standing and leaving them. 

The Collector sighed, settling into their blankets once more before trying to return asleep. The warmth they felt became boiling, nearly overwhelming to their small body. Sweat had formed on their forehead, and a heavy, throbbing headache overcame them.

Eventually, they woke up again with no recollection of having fallen asleep.

Their vision swam, lights fully out in their room. The Collector whined, shivering as they shoved the warm covers off of them.

Their mind felt as if they were crawling through abomination sludge and thorns. Their body was heavy with shuddering breaths. The Collector felt as if Belos’ goop had been secretly draining them of their magic.

They laid on their bed, mind struggling to come up with answers for their ailment. 

Emotions seemed a bit out of the question; they felt terrible. They couldn’t figure out anything to make them feel bad though, aside from forgetting to give Eda the flower crown they’d made. Maybe it was sadness? After all, they wanted to give someone their creation, and now, they couldn’t because it was night time, and everyone was asleep.

Happy didn’t seem right, nor did anger.. Fear?

There was nothing to be scared of really. The Collector felt scared, but that was because they didn’t know what was happening. That was just them being curious though, right? People are afraid of what they don’t know, so maybe The Collector was just curious about what was going on.

It didn’t feel right, though. It felt like this was something else to be scared about. Maybe Belos really did come back.

The Collector frowned, shaking their head. 

He was dead.

The Collector sat up, their mind pushing through the pain that came with being elevated. What was death like for mortals anyways? 

From the outside perspective, being dead is being gone, disappearing and just not coming back. A dead person is simply just a thing now, not a person like they were. But, if Luz died from turning into light and Belos died from being stomped on, are there more ways to die?

Their heart quickened, causing the throbbing in their head to return.

Hunter said his palisman died because of Belos, and The Collector had witnessed the deaths of some other grimwalkers– even if they didn’t know about that yet.

The Collector shot up, stumbling to a nearby wall while bracing their pounding head.

Is this death? Is this a form of death?

The Collector groaned softly, pushing their body to approach Eda’s room.

Their vision swam, and the ground swayed underneath them. The Collector felt their breath become rapid as their strength seemed to slowly diminish. Slowly opening the door, The Collector trudged through their brain fog, room being lit with a new combination of Luz’s and King’s light glyphs.

Eda and Raine peacefully slept in their shared nest, causing a brief eruption of guilt to pool in their queasy stomach.

Yet, the lingering feeling of fear prevailed, The Collector approaching Eda and softly shaking her. 

“Eda,” they begged, trying not to think about the dryness in their throat. “Eda, please wake up.”

Eda turned away from them with a mumble, something The Collector knew mortals would do because they slept in cycles. Yet, a soft ache lodged its way in their chest, tears emerging in their eyes with a whimper.

“Eda,” The Collector called out, somewhat louder. No response from her, but a groan sounded from the other side of the nest.

“Hhh, huh.” Raine mumbled, reaching for their glasses. “Collector?”

The Collector whined, feeling tears run down their face. “Raine, I think I’m dying.” Their arms trembled with the confession, a clenching sensation trapping any further words into their throat.

Raine shot up from the nest, looking at the trembling star-child. Raine was quick to approach The Collector, reaching out to them but never touching. “Hey, hey, bud. Can I touch you?”

The Collector nodded, feeling Raine wrap their arms around them. The Collector nestled into the touch with a sob. “Okay, sweetie, I need you to breathe in and breathe out with me, alright?”

Nodding once more, The Collector managed to heave in a few, shaky breaths. 

Raine nudged Eda, jostling her with a free arm. “Eda!” They hissed lightly, “Titan, you sleep like a wall.”

Eda grumbled, lifting herself up. “Whazzit?”

The Collector sniffed, rubbing their nose. Eda turned to them, immediately approaching the two. “What happened?” She whispered to Raine, kneeling down.

Raine shook their head, “I don’t know.”

“Hey, bud.” Eda got The Collector’s attention. “Was I snoring like a pig or what? What happened, bud?”

The Collector looked down, struggling to maintain their voice. “Something’s wrong with me. I think I’m dying.” They whimpered.

“Aw, bud. What makes you say that?” Eda reached out, petting The Collector’s hair.

The Collector shook, tightly shutting their eyes. “I feel weird, and it’s a bad weird.”

“Hmm,” Eda set the back of her hand onto The Collector’s forehead, feeling the smaller lean into it. “What else do you feel, kid? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“My head hurts, and my body feels funny.” The Collector whined, trying to press further into Eda’s cool hand.

Raine looked at Eda expectantly. Eda nodded, prompting Raine to lift The Collector in their arms and follow her downstairs. 

The Collector looked between the two, confusion and fear wracking their body. “So, am.. Am I?” More tears sprung in their eyes as Raine quickly pat their back.

“No, no, no, sweetie. You’re not dying.” Raine cooed, holding The Collector tighter.

Eda smiled at them, grabbing some potions from a closet. “Nah, kid. You’re sick. It might feel like dying, but it just means some bad things got in your body, and you’re fighting it off.”

“Like Belos?” The Collector shot up before quickly pushing their head into Raine’s shoulder with a groan.

Raine shook their head. “Not exactly like Belos. There are these tiny little things in the air that cause your body to be really sick. These can be germs or viruses, but your body fights against them. They aren’t Belos though; your body will get rid of these things most of the time, but sometimes, you’ll need a bit of help fighting them off.”

Eda nodded, grabbing a pain potion. “Yep, and you need a lot of rest too. You’ll be settling down for a few days, bud.”

The Collector nodded against Raine, relaxing slightly. 

Raine sat down on the couch, adjusting The Collector slightly. “You’ll be taking a few potions, alright? They’re to help you get better a bit faster.”

“Are they gross potions?” The Collector asked, lifting their head slowly.

Eda sat down, a few bottles laid in front of them. “I’ll be honest, kid. Some of these are downright dis-gus-ting, but we’ll give you a treat if you finish them.”

The Collector narrowed their eyes. “What kinda treat?”

“Mm, how about a little bit of some ice cream we have left over from dinner?” Eda suggested. “You can watch some shows for a few minutes too.”

The Collector paused for a second, nodding slightly. “ ‘Kay.”

Raine and Eda smiled softly at the youngest.

“Alright then,” Raine adjusted The Collector slowly. “Let’s get started then.”

Three potions and The Collector needing to take a break before the fourth later, and The Collector was seated on the table with a bowl of ice cream in front of them. The Collector yawned, resting their head as they slowly went through their bowl.

Eda set up the crystal ball, turning back to the tired celestial being. “You didn’t eat dinner, huh, bud?”

The Collector shook their head. “ ‘Wasn’t hungry.” They mumbled.

Raine took the now empty bowl. “Are you hungry now?”

The Collector shook their head again. “Tired.”

Eda snorted, lifting them up. “ ‘You still up for some crystal ball, or are you ready to sleep?”

The Collector leaned into Eda, eyes slipping shut. “Can I stay with you guys?”

Raine and Eda shared a look, smiling at the child in Eda’s arm. “Of course, buddy.” Eda nuzzled them softly, gaining a soft giggle from The Collector.

“We’re going to have some water nearby, in case you need it. If you feel any worse, tell us, alright?” Raine said, going to pet The Collector.

“Mm-hm.” The Collector mumbled, trying to absorb more of Eda’s warmth.

“We’re going to probably need a rag and cold water for that fever too,” Eda mumbled, “You did feel pretty warm.”

The Collector nodded mindlessly once more, letting themself drift off to the noises of the other two getting items for being ‘sick.’

Despite feeling bad, The Collector could confidently say they’d get sick again.