Static Reflections: Book 1 of The M... - Chapter 50: Chapter 50

Nick awoke the following day with Tålmodighed by his feet. He kicked it to the side, gently, yawning as he sat up in bed. The hyena looked around. "Adrian?"
Still nothing. The mouse must have left when he passed out the night before. Knowing Adrian, he would probably assume that Nick was just really tired and not in a void dimension pulling a sword out of thin air.
He reached over for his phone, eyes adjusting as he went to his contacts, and found Richard, wanting to speak to him.
Nick: hey
It took not even a moment until Richard responded.
Richard: Good morning, Nicholas.
Nick: how did you sleep?
Richard: Barely.
Nick: aww i'm lucky i got any considering what happened
Richard: Something happened?
Nick: yeah . . .
Richard: What was it? Are you okay?
Nick: can i make an excuse to see you?
Richard: You don't need an excuse to see me.
Nick: i don't see you over here so apparently i do
Richard: I'll be right over.
Nick smiled, setting his phone back down and laying back. Was that flirting? Did I just . . . His heart fluttered as he smiled, taking the pillow and placing it over his face. Uuuugh, feelings.
Richard arrived not ten minutes later, Nick greeting him at the door only in his underwear, not bothering to get dressed since he trusted the raccoon. "Hey. Thanks for coming," the hyena grinned as Richard walked in.
Richard put his hands on Nick's shoulders, looking him up and down. "What happened? What did he do to you?"
"Huh? What are you doing?" asked Nick, as Richard turned him left and right by his shoulders.
"You said something happened. It was with Adrian, right?"
"N-no! Richard!" Nick reddened completely, eyes widening.
"Then what is it?! What happened?!" the raccoon queried.
Nick slowly brought his hands up and grabbed his partner's. "Dick, did you really think I did something like that with Adrian?"
"Y-you said you had a history . . . I thought maybe you would have rekindled it."
Nick kept Richard's hand as he put his free hand on his hip. "Yeah, well, what I didn't tell you is that when he asked me out, I rejected him. I know how intense he is with that stuff. We never went that far."
Richard looked down. "Ah. Sorry . . ."
Nick chuckled gently. "Come on. Let me show you what really happened." He pulled the older animal along, bringing him to his room, where Tålmodighed and its sheath sat on the bed. The hyena walked over and picked it up, turning the thing in his hands. "Ever seen something like this before?" He handed it to Richard.
The taller animal inspected it closely. "Where . . . Where did you get this?"
"I know it might sound crazy, but when Adrian and I were hanging out, I ended up falling asleep. I woke up in this quiet void, and this sword appeared to me there. And then, I met Absalom."
Richard looked up at him. "I'm sorry?"
"Yeah. I mean it. Absalom was there, talking to me!"
"You met the thing possessing your friend? What did he look like?"
"He was . . . a shadow. The shadow of an otter. And I asked him why he chose Boris, and he said something about a contract."
"Contract?" Richard's brows furrowed.
"No idea what it means," Nick sighed. "Anyway, Absalom told me his plan was too far along for us to stop it. That just made me want to get him out of Boris more."
Richard placed a hand on Nick's cheek, meeting his gaze. "We will."
Nick huffed, opening his mouth to say something when a loud blaring filled the room, causing him to flinch. The two animals looked around, and Nick went over to the nightstand, picking up his device. "It's my phone."
Richard pulled out his as well. "It's mine, too."
Nick looked at what was on the screen. "It's an emergency message. It says, 'Emergency: There have been reports of over thirty suicides all at once in the Austin area. If you received this message, we've assigned you to the case. You can find the specific victim you are investigating in your Cases app. Do not take this mission lightly, and you should investigate it immediately.'" The hyena looked up at Richard, his breath catching.
The raccoon's head moved up from his phone. ". . . Another mass suicide. Except, this time, it's mortals."
Nick shook his head, placing his hands on the bed. "No, no, no . . . I-I'm not ready for this . . . It's only been three days! I'm still reeling after Jack!"
Richard slowly came closer, putting a hand on his friend's back and rubbing in slow circles. "I wish I could describe to you what I'm feeling right now . . . but it would keep me from going on this mission."
Nick savored the soft touch, exhaling gently. "We can't just reject it? Say no, or something? I really don't think I can handle something like this right now, Richard."
The raccoon rubbed down to his lower back, then slowly back up, grazing Nick with his claws. "My guess is they think that King is behind this, somehow. Which means it's part of the King case."
Nick slowly lowered himself and buried his face in the comforter. He took a long moment to respond. " . . . Who are we investigating?"
Richard searched around on his phone, opening the Cases app and finding the latest report. "Looks like we'll be investigating an opossum girl named Sandy Mitchell. She's a college student that lived in a dormitory alone."
Nick pulled his legs up and curled into a ball on the bed. ". . . And she's dead now?"
Richard placed himself on the bed next to the hyena. "Yes . . . she is."
Nick shook his head again. "Okay. Then it would be wrong not to figure out how she died. I'll get dressed . . . ." He turned on his back and looked at the ceiling. "Sorry about all of that. This is hard."
Richard couldn't help himself, feeling the need to comfort the hyena with his touch. He rubbed his arm softly. "I understand, Nicholas. As I said before, if you knew my first response to this, I wouldn't be able to go on in this case either."
Nick scooted closer, pressing his cheek against Richard's leg. "Are you going to be able to handle it?"
"Certainly . . ." the raccoon whispered, petting him affectionately. "Especially if you're there."
"I will be there. If I went out like that, I'd want somebody to avenge me somehow, you know? These animals that die . . . I feel like we're responsible for putting their Souls to rest."
"That's quite deep, Nick," Richard said, looking down at him.
"I know, but it's true. Hey, where do you think we go when we die? Or do you know for sure? Have they told you?"
The raccoon sighed. "I don't know. There must be a place. Ghosts exist, after all, but I don't know."
Nick lifted his head, scooting over so he could rest it in Richard's lap. "If you died, somehow, during one of our missions, would you come back and be my ghost partner?"
Exhaling softly, Richard cupped his cheek, stroking it with his thumb claw. "Of course, I would. If the whole thing about unfinished business is real, I'm sure you'd be a part of mine."
Nick's heart beat faster, a tugging feeling pulling him toward the older animal. He wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled himself up, so he was sitting in Richard's lap. "Is this alright?"
Richard nodded slowly. "Is it comforting you after that news?"
"Yeah, it is . . . ."
"It's helping me, too. I always tried to avoid animals after what happened, but you're easy to hold on to," Richard explained. "I could just stay like this if we didn't have a mission to do."
The hyena sighed, looking down. "Yeah . . . Yeah, I should get dressed, huh?" He removed himself from the raccoon's lap and stood up, moving about to find his Guard Garb, getting it on while Richard just watched and waited. Inside, Nick definitely sort of hoped he was paying attention.
After he was ready, green tie and all, he looked over to his partner. "I'm so sorry . . . ."
"Excuse me?"
"I totally made plans with Adrian when you and I were supposed to go furniture shopping!" Nick whined. "I felt so bad when I realized it. He said you didn't mind, but I wanted to!"
". . . Me, too," Richard blushed, looking to the side. "I was hoping we could eat somewhere and try that game of yours . . . ."
The hyena gave a small smile. "Alright, then. Let's go. But let's agree that if this case gets to either of us, we'll tell the other. I want to be able to be there for each other in times like that."
"Only if you go to Trauma once it's over," Richard bargained.
"Fine, I will." Nick turned on his heel, glancing at Tålmodighed on the bed. "Should I bring it with me?"
"I didn't bring mine," Richard stated.
"You have one?!" Nick gasped. "A sword like this?!"
"No, it isn't a sword," explained Richard. "Mine is a sort of rod. Its name is Aktsomhet. I have no clue how it works, currently."
"Wh-what? How long have you had it?!"
"It's been here even before I came out of the alternate timeline," Richard said. "The first day I got here, actually, just after my father passed Diligence to me."
Nick's mouth hung open. "Holy shit, you've had it for a long time. And you haven't tried activating it, or awakening it, or whatever?"
"Eh. I've barely been thinking about it. It's just been gathering dust in a closet in my residence."
"That's an insane concept to me," Nick gawked. "Looks like the sheath has a loop . . . ." He unbuckled the strap for his Guard belt, sliding Tålmodighed's sheath's loop into it and letting it hang on the side of his left hip. His blade sheath was on his lower right back with the weapon in place, and on his right hip was the holster with his Prism Pistol. "How do I look?"
"Prepared," Richard said, gesturing to the door. "After you. Let's both remember to breathe."
"Kinda wish we could talk to Iwai before we go out there . . . ." Nick groaned.
"We can always call him," Richard assured. "Don't worry."
"Too late."