[...]
Clementine is hanging around their treehouse, trying to still process everything.
They got a couple of papers which seemed to be research on whatever that weird blob thing Luna described was.
Something about the blood kept ticking them off.
The effects seemed extremely concerning, but at the same time, maybe it was the key for their next big project.
Maybe they could use it as fuel for something? Or even replicate that thing...? There was only one way to figure it out really.
They started to workshop a makeshift alchemy zone in their treehouse, and, maybe tomorrow, they'd go with Lud to that one house to ask for help.
---
[...]
Knock.
Oleander gets up, holding his head then smelling his shirt. They gag. "Jesus..." They get up and grab their bag, about to head to the bathroom before they hear the knock, then they go to the door.
Spider appears leaning against the wall.
The Astro plush descends from his corner and starts to jump on Knight.
A scraggly looking teen opens the door. They smell of booze and axe and have a penis drawn on their forehead in sharpie. They look like an absolute mess.
Clementine is in front, Lud right behind them seemingly not really wanting to be here. "...damn kid, you okay?"
"Went to Wrath. Got hammered." They cover their mouth as they burp. "So no, not really. Can I help you?"
"Yeah, uh, need to talk to Luna. It's for something." They yawn a bit.
Oleander looks back at the living room, then looks at Clem. "Uh... I'm not sure where she is. Let me text her."
"Nono, fuck it, uh-" They look around a bit.
Isaac is passed out with bloody knuckles by a torn down tree nearby.
"Okay, listen do you just-" They grab their backpack. Lud at this point is sitting on the ground. "You mind letting me in? It's for something that's, uh, a bit important I guess?"
"Uh... sure... but don't try and pull anything." Oleander notices Isaac, a bit of concern evident in his face as he backs up to let Clem in.
Clem signals to Lud, he gets up and they both walk in.
Clem walks in, Lud right after. Lud gets closer to Clem and starts to whisper. "This shit is not gonna work, you're just gonna get our asses killed by that thing."
"God not you lot again." Spider sighs.
"Oh my god, can you just stop for a second?" They look at Spider. "Sorry to crash, but we kinda need some help."
"New people?" Knight asks before flinging Astro (Plush) towards a wall.
Clem pulls a notebook out of their backpack, flipping through it before stopping on a page that's... a mess to say the least. Just a ton of concept sketches for machinery and alchemy bullshit.
"You guys wanna get caught up in the worst way possible or do I just jump straight into what I'm here for?"
"That last one preferably."
"Just say what you're here for."
"I need some help trying to find a weird concrete thing to get a weird... blob tentacle thingys blood." Clem blurbs. Lud sighs.
"Concrete thing?" Knight asks.
"We found a weird concrete elevator thing in the woods, got in, got out not in the woods. Weird office thing. Found some shit and now I'm interested."
"Whats your names by the way?"
"Clementine. He's Ludwig."
"For fucks sake, are you gonna let me speak-"
"Shush small child." "Ha, Small Child."
"I see. I'm confused about what you want so can you actually catch us up?"
"Will try. Me and Lud went out to forage. Found a weird concrete structure in the forest. It opened up, looked like an elevator. Said fuck it, went in, ended up in an office. After a while, we got dragged by some weird tentacle thing to the lobby. One of our friends, Otto, was there too. We thought we got out, but it was just dead grass with nothing around, not even a scrap of a broken down car. Apparently he came looking for us with Luna, and then after a bit she showed up panting and begging to leave, and then we left."
"She mentioned a name, but I was too caught up in the trying to not starve to death thing to care." They sigh.
"Okay..." Oleander looks confused. "So... do you think it was a domain or something?"
"A what?" They look confused as well.
"Like a dromen domain?"
Spider chuckles.
"...god I know I should be caught up with this type of shit at this point but like- I've basically spent all my time in the fucking outpost, the hell is a dromen."
"Explain it to them like they're a toddler. Helps them ACTUALLY understand it." Lud chuckles.
"Uh..." Oleander pulls up something on his phone. "They're basically entities that feed off emotion? Heres a website about it." He hands them his phone with https://catacombis.neocities.org/dromen.html open on it.
They scroll though. "Oh, wait, it was uhhh, this one." They point at DM-028.
"Sounds like whatever the fuck Luna said."
He snatches the phone from Clem. "Huh. Yeah, this is it." He hands the phone back to Oleander.
Oleander reads it over and nods. "So you want to go back to its domain?"
"Pretty much."
"For what purpose if I can ask?"
"My fucking god, WE ALMOST STARVED TO DEATH LAST TIME CLEMENTINE." Bro is flabbergasted.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP LUDWIG I CAN LEAK THE DMS BETWEEN YOU AND SARAH AT ANY FUCKING SECOND-" They cough. "Found some weird research shit in that building and I'm interested in looking more into it. Plus, if I got a sample of dromen blood, I feel like I could probably make it into something a bit useful. Same applies to whatever tar that thing is made out of."
The screen on Oleander’s phone glitches green for a couple of minutes, the same coloured distortion just visible in and on her hair and fingertips, as it glitches it looks like the page is scrolling .
She sighs as the distortion cuts out and the screen goes back to normal.
Oleander glances at the phone, letting Spider read it before putting it away.
"I'll go with you, if you want to go back." Oleander says. "I know I don't look the part at the moment but I'm a capable fighter and can keep provisions in my bag."
"Better compared to Lud." They chuckle. Lud flips them off.
"Do you want to go back right now? I just need to shower and make sure my bag’s packed first if so."
"You can go shower, I'll probably need to grab some stuff by the outpost. Shouldn't take too long."
"Also, uh, what's your name?"
Oleander nods. "Sounds good." He smiles, extending his hand. "Oleander."
They grab Oleander's hand, shaking it. "Nice to meet you."
Lud chimes in. "You should go look in a mirror, not trying to offend you, but... heh."
"What?" Oleander looks at his phone camera. "OH SON OF A BITCH-"
Lud wheezes.
Spider growls at Oleander, her ears flattering against her skull.
"Sorry-" He rubs at his forehead and groans. "Right well, Im gonna go shower and try to get this off. See you in a little bit?"
"Mhm, I should be waiting in the front yard with a couple of things." They smirk.
"Alright,," Oleander heads into the bathroom
Clem and Lud leave.
Spider walks out
Clem and Lud are sitting in the grass, just waiting.
Oleander walks outside, the penis faded but still there. Rip... He looks way better and smells like. soap or smth. idk he doesn't smell like shit anymore he's CLEAN. He has a big survivalist backpack on and a sword in a sheath on his side. Then he has a sort of glove on his right hand? Yeah.
"Ready?"
Clementine and Ludwig have at least 4 backpacks filled to the brim with shit. "We kinda overpacked, but yeah."
Oleander shrugs. "To each their own. Spider, are you coming with?"
"Why not." They shrug.
"Welp, uh, no use wasting time around here I guess." Lud gets up and starts to walk into the woods. So does Clem.
Spider and Oleander follow.
"Sooo, last time we came through, it was somewhere over..." Big concrete elevator thing. "There. Huh. Did it just stay there?-"
"Maybe it's been waiting for us." Oleander shrugs
"yeah cause that's not alarming at all"
"God, at least someone agrees." Lud sighs. Clem walks up to it, doors open, they head inside along with Lud and wait for everyone.
Oleander follows.
Spider pauses for a minute studying the lift before walking in, their hand resting on the handle of their knife key piece thing that's currently sitting in a sheath on her belt.
Clem presses a random button, and the lift goes down.