𝙎𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥/𝙈𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥 Oɴᴇsʜᴏᴛs

~ It's that time again! ~

You grunt, blinking at your surroundings. Currently, you leant against a pillar, frowning at everything your eyes swept over.

The lights overhead hummed, and the love of liminal space became apparent. Barren hallways, twists and turns and impossible dead ends, all of it encapsulated the one you'd come to visit.

"Still insane, I assure you." A voice hums, and you flinch, jerking in a way that a hit was sent at the speaker. Thankfully, Blooky had enough sense to dodge. "Woah, chill." They said. You roll your eyes, "You're the one that snuck up on me!". Smirking mischievously, he nods. "I did do that,"

Sighing through your nose, you raise an eyebrow. "Follow." Is all they say, and begin to wander off. You do so, but only after you frown. "You know you've been inactive for, what, a week now?" They shrug, "Time gets away from me, and that's without the occasional lack of motivation."

You fall silent, observing them instead. Their usual attire has changed; fashionably baggy trousers with simple black sneakers, a somewhat oversized shirt and a checkered shirt. Around their neck they adorn a choker, a simple black strip, and their hair has changed the most. Messy and unkempt, the strands of brown compliment the somewhat pale skin. The colour is faded with- "Are you ginger?"

Blooky stops dead and turns around, giving you a pointed look. "I am not ginger!" They huff, and pivot sharply, their continued march accentuated with anger and hurt. You note that the style seems much more them, and hurry to apologize. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset." He shrugs, "It's whatever, it's just annoying when everyone keeps insisting it is."

Silence blanketed the walk as you surveyed your surroundings; it appeared as though you hadn't moved and inch, but felt a though you'd been walking for miles.

As if sensing your thoughts, he clapped. "Aha, here's the exit we need!" He rushes to a door not unlike any other in the maze, pulling it open to reveal- white tiles? You wander through, inhaling the left over fumes of chlorine and cleaning products. "Isn't that a lovely smell?" Blooky asks, but it's mostly muttering to himself.

"Why are we... In a swimming pool?" Blooky chuckles, "This is my favourite type of liminal space. The ones that are so clean, and it..." His voice trails off, extending a hand so the sun(?) Trailing in from the windows warms it. A small, more relaxed smile overtakes his features, his whole posture conveying his peaceful state of mind.

It's then you see how truly tired he appears, and you somewhat understand why he came here. "It reminds me of my childhood," they concluded, voice hardly above a whisper. There is silence once more, only filled with the sounds of water sloshing about from somewhere and your breathing, soft and slow.

You are transfixed by how ethereal they look in this moment, but shake yourself out of it. "Are we going swimming?"

They light up at the idea.

---

Blooky had crafted what made you most comfortable to swim in, no judgemental gaze piercing your skin even as you slinked away to a corner hidden away.

You emerged, finding them in simple shorts and a shirt, beaming. "Well, ya getting in?" They ask, gesturing to the shallow water. Grasping the rail, they slid into the liquid themself, and shuffled around to give you enough room to slip in. The water rippled with their movement.

"Now, you don't have to if you don't want to." They offered, regarding you with a cautious look- they didn't want you to push past your comfort zone, after all. You decide that you'll sit and do it, letting your feet submerge themself first. The water was clear, and the pool was just how you liked it. After a moment, you make your decision and submerge the other parts of yourself.