[it'd taken him a little while to fully come around, probably an after-effect of the penalty he paid for being such a goddamn fucking moron, and for a while he just lay there, trying to piece together what the hell happened. then promptly did his damndest to mentally tuck that away with all the other goddamn fucking moronic ways he's died.]
[and then he'd sat there, scrolling through the messages on his bracer, other hand on his forehead, doubled over with guilt. jesus christ Strider, you've really fucked it up this time, haven't you?]
[but every second that ticks by that he doesn't respond just makes it worse — he won't leave Ryuji hanging any longer.]
im here im cool jesus shit dude im sorry really fucking sorry youre still at the vacation spot right
[after a few seconds, he sends a picture, too. it's a view of the very tip of the Candlenights tree, as seen from the Moon Base. he's safe. he's fine.]
and then around mid the next morning
[and then he'd sat there, scrolling through the messages on his bracer, other hand on his forehead, doubled over with guilt. jesus christ Strider, you've really fucked it up this time, haven't you?]
[but every second that ticks by that he doesn't respond just makes it worse — he won't leave Ryuji hanging any longer.]
im here
im cool
jesus shit dude im sorry
really fucking sorry
youre still at the vacation spot right
[after a few seconds, he sends a picture, too. it's a view of the very tip of the Candlenights tree, as seen from the Moon Base. he's safe. he's fine.]
but uh
wait are you actually gonna fry those