Brenda
Fennel hadn't aged. They'd been walking the wastes for years, or what felt like years, but they were as tall as ever, as agile as ever, as sturdy as ever. No matter how many kilometers they walked, they never seemed to get any stronger, nor any weaker; neither wear and tear nor training made their mark upon them.

Only now have they noticed.

A long, long time ago - so long ago Fennel can't remember - they encountered someone else in the wastes. A slight, wispy figure, who made them see things, who claimed they were asleep and dreaming. They'd decided not to try to wake up at the time, and they'd shoved the experience to the back of their mind. They didn't want to think about another world being outside somewhere.

But they were starting to realize that there had to be. Nothing ever seemed to *Change* In Fennel's world. They'd injured themselves once or twice, and managed to rip a bit of their clothes off once. But the surfaces everywhere were rugged and rough - surely a smaller version of all those rips were being made on their shoes as they walked? Surely that would add up over time?

Wear and tear, they remembered. That was called wear and tear. And it was real, and it wasn't happening.

Fennel was dreaming. There was a real world out there, and they'd left it behind. They could no longer pretend otherwise.

They sat down on a rock, closed their eyes, took a few slow, deliberate breaths, and they sat on a windowsill in a room they didn't recognize, with things that looked soft and vibrant colors and even something actually alive that didn't look like it was fake.

They'd found reality. They remembered little, but something told them that what they were seeing was real.

Something also told them, however, that they themselves weren't real. They hadn't made it into reality - they'd made it into a real person's mind.

Like Uriel had done to theirs.

Fennel didn't recognize the person whose mind they'd entered. But they didn't remember anyone, so they had hope that this person might at the very least know them.

...

Dae-hyun, for his part, couldn't know much - apart from the fact that Fennel had just appeared on his windowsill, and that they looked a little bit... Implacably *Off.*
Joseph
_ _ _ _ Dae-hyun had been appreciating the calm evening. A fresh cup of coffee sat on his bedside table, small steam puffs rising from the warm drink. His entire room smelt like a café, it was a comforting smell. Sort of warm, and overall suiting the rather neutral brown colour palette he had decorated his dorm with. 

 Everything was silent, it was like every other evening. Weeks in between the few interactions he had with others, where he would just sit comfortably in his dorm. He didn't mind the loneliness, in fact it was far too familiar to dislike, but there was something itching in his brain. This wasn't unusual, Dae-hyun was often in his own head. He sat on the edge of his bed, watching the steam rise from the cup, almost completely drawn into the way the small clouds billowed over the rim. 

 A small sound snapped him out of it. His deep midnight eyes rose to look towards his window, the source of the sound, and he nearly fell over at the sudden sight. 

 His open window now had a person sitting in it, except this wasn't a stranger. Dae-hyun knew them, and the last time they had interacted it wasn't exactly the sweetest. Not necessarily bad, Dae-hyun didn't hold any negative feelings towards them, but they looked even more off than the first time he saw them. Fennel, was tucked against the frame of Dae-hyun's window, staring at him. 

 Dae-hyun reached for this cane, and stood up to meet their gaze. 

 "Fennel... Right? What're you doing here?" His voice was uncertain, in a way his smooth tone couldn't cover up this time. He wasn't expecting a guest, let alone someone coming in such an unexpected manner. It was unsettling, but the boy wouldn't let that get to him. Their presence was haunting, they didn't look like they were even comprehending the fact they were in his dorm, let alone the fact Dae-hyun was standing in front of them. 

 "I heard you where in the hospital for a while... Are you doing better now?"
Brenda
Fennel glanced blankly at Dae-hyun... Or rather, *Past* Dae-hyun, as though he wasn't there at all. The spark of recognition that one might expect from seeing someone they recognized wasn't there either. It was as though Dae-hyun were faced with a Madame Tussauds-esque wax effigy of Fennel rather than the real thing.

They blinked, slightly too noticeably, as though it were deliberate. "Do you know me?"
Joseph
_ _ _ _ Dae-hyun felt himself want to lean away from them, they had a certain feeling to them that was just— *Off.* They weren't look at him, they were looking *Through* Him. Clearly something was wrong.

 "Yeah I do— We met a while ago, in the music room. You're Fennel... Right?" He asked for clarification again, despite getting none when he first asked. This entire situation was strange but he wasn't about to just leave them or scream and demand for them to leave. Something was off, and Dae-hyun was the only person around to help.

 His phone rested neatly beside his cup of coffee, it was there if he needed extra assistance but he doubted that would be necessary. Did this have to do with The Distortion? Dae-hyun had heard Fennel wasn't in the best conditions but didn't know why. Maybe this had to do with their powers? The last time he was around them they gave him a nasty hallucination. Where they facing a sort of reaction from their powers? Dae-hyun had no clue.

 "Are you alright?" He already somewhat knew the answer to this.
Brenda
"Music room..." Fennel echoed flatly. They nodded. "Yes, I'm Fennel." They stared at Dae-hyun for a few more moments, then grasped their head between their hands and vanished, only to reappear on the bed behind Dae-hyun a moment later. "No, I'm not Fennel," They said. "Fennel is dreaming."

They had no weight - they were an apparition lacking physical form - so the bed didn't warp beneath them. They sat on a pillow as though it were solid rock. They wouldn't know any better anyway - pillows had been solid rocks to them for the past thousand years.

"I am..." They paused. "...Not sure. I don't think I'm in danger."
Joseph
_ _ _ _ Dae-hyun turned his head around to follow them. What was this— how did they do that. He blinked and felt his face scrunch in confusion. This was all so strange. 

 "Its nice to see you again, Fennel." He sighed, and then processed their next words. "Dreaming?" His eyes were fixated on the space where they sat. The way the sheets didn't bend to their weight, the way they were able to just blink and be somewhere else. He knew this place was full of paranormal people and magic, that this wasn't completely out of the blue for what was average around here. If anything could even be considered *Average.* Even then, Dae-hyun couldn't help but feel confusion and uncertainty cloud his mind.

 The drink continued to steam on his bed, it was growing colder. 

 "Im glad you aren't in danger." He looked around for a second before letting his gaze fall back on Fennel. "Is there anything I can do to help? If... *The other Fennel* Is dreaming— surely there is some way to wake them up, yes?"
Brenda
"Yes. Dreaming." Fennel tried nodding. Their head bobbed in place and their neck didn't follow it. They stopped before it looked too unnerving, but it could still be noticed. "I am Fennel, but... I am not actually here. You are talking to yourself. But I appreciate the company."

They paused and glanced at the coffee. It did not look healthy or tasty - tar-black and smoking - but Fennel had a vague idea of what coffee was, still, so they didn't question it. 

"I don't know how to wake up. I'm sorry. I don't remember much." For the first time, Fennel's facial expression looked natural. Dae-hyun had seen it before - quiet remorse. "If you would like to help me, be there when I wake up. Find other people I knew and have them be there too. I think I will need time to adjust to reality again."

Fennel paused.

"Who are you?"
Joseph
_ _ _ _ Dae-hyun had a sympathetic look on his face. He was listening to what they were saying and couldn't help but feel bad for them. He took a seat next to them on the bed, leaving a polite distance between the two. The blanket bent under Dae-hyun's weight. Unlike the empty space that was holding an apparition beside him. 

 "Yeah. I appreciate the company too. Even if you aren't really here." He gave a wry laugh, a sort of pathetic expulsion of air, it was almost a scoff but without the passive aggressive tones scoffs usually come with. He reached over and took a small sip of his drink, he wasn't really tasting it. He was distracted.

 "Okay, I can do that. Are you still in the infirmary?" Dae-hyun spoke with soft concern. He tried to think really hard about people Fennel knew, but he barely even knew *Them,* So how could he know who they knew. *Valio would know.* Of course, its always Valio. Why does she always manage to be a totem of so much information. She seems to know everyone and everything, while also giving no information about herself. She was a mystery that eluded Dae-hyun. No matter, he had other things on his mind. 

 "Im Dae-hyun. I'll try my hardest to help, okay?" The tension in his shoulders relaxed. "The state you're in doesn't seem— the most pleasant."
Brenda
"I don't remember." And that was that.

Fennel vanished again, then appeared with their hand clipping inside the birdcage, gently stroking Miso - who, of course, did not react on account of Fennel not having a physical form. "Thank you, Dae-Hyun," Fennel said. Their voice was emotionless, but the words were genuine.

"It is lonely," They admitted, "But it is not painful. I think I can show you a bit, if you want to see it." For a brief moment, Miso seemed to lean into Fennel's hand. "Maybe it would help you if you would try to wake me."
Joseph
_ _ _ _ "Thats alright." Dae-hyun gave a weak smile.

 He watched as Fennel appeared beside Miso, and didn't make any efforts to get up. Some people may have been unnerved, uneasy about a stranger immediately leaning towards a beloved pet, but Dae-hyun wasn't worried. He just felt no reason to distrust them. Miso was fine, in fact the small bird was surprisingly calm. This was most likely due to the fact that Fennel wasn't *Really* There, but Miso was terrified of strangers. It was almost nice seeing another person be able to put their hands near the bird.

 "Of course. No problem." This entire situation was difficult to process but he found the less he tried to make sense of it, the less strange it seemed. Maybe it didn't have to make sense. 

 "Thats good, that it's not painful." He tilted his head. "Show me?" Dae-hyun was confused, with a tilt of his head he considered what that meant. "If it'll help, then sure." Maybe he would regret that.
Brenda
Fennel vanished.

Then the room vanished.

Dae-hyun saw what Fennel had been living in for millennia - a desolate world of stone and plastic and ash, rugged and harsh and lifeless and somehow still beautiful. And he saw Fennel sitting next to him, looking more alive than they did in his room yet less... Themselves. Fennel had lost something, without a doubt - something that made them who they were. They would need to adjust not only to reality, but to who they are.

"Hey Dae-hyun. This is it. You can stay here as long as you like, just close your eyes for a couple seconds and open them again and you'll be back in your room."

They paused.

"But I won't be there. I have to try to wake up properly soon."
Joseph
_ _ _ _ Dae-hyun looked around. He was rightfully dumfounded. He looked at the swirling blue and yellow sky above him with wide eyes. The stars that found home in the midnight black had been covered by the reflection of the patterns above him. This place was different than anything he had ever seen in his entire life. Yet, he wasn't afraid. He wouldn't describe the dull ache in his stomach as fear. It was more along the lines of confusion. 

 He looked around, saw each rock and scanned the desolate landscape. This place looked like a very aesthetically pleasing hell, catered for Fennel themselves. *Did Dae-hyun have one? A sort of Limbo space?* He hoped he would never have to find out. Fennel looked worse for wear, and Dae-hyun wasn't sure how they were able to last in such solitude. Dae-hyun had known loneliness but not to an extent like this. It was only here that he felt truly sorry for Fennel.

 He leaned down, resting the rough ground against his knees. With the hand that wasn't holding his cane, he picked up a rock and surveyed it. It felt different than what he expected a rock to feel like, but he couldn't place exactly what was wrong with it. Everything here seemed wrong to an extent he couldn't place, like the uncanny valley but far less frightening. 

 "Does this all have to do with The Distortion? I vaguely remember someone saying you were severely hurt by it— but I wasn't sure."
Brenda
Fennel thought about it for a moment. They didn't know anything about any The Distortion. They didn't remember being severely hurt, especially not by anything like that.

But there was an intruding thought they were getting over and over again that said otherwise. "Yes." They said it out loud. "Yes." They didn't know how they knew that, but they did. Or maybe they didn't know and had been compelled to lie.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but... Yes."

Fennel paused.

"I don't remember anything, Dae-hyun. This is all I've ever known. I don't know how I answered your question just now, but I probably can't answer more. I'm sorry."
Joseph
_ _ _ _ Dae-hyun looked over at Fennel sympathetically. They had been through so much— and Dae-hyun couldn't think of many ways to help. Straightening himself upwards, he stared at the ground in thought. He rolled around as many ideas in his head as he possibly could, any way that he could help tie Fennel back towards the real world. They seemed so far gone— everything seemed like a lost cause.

 With his good leg, Dae-hyun kicked a small piece of rubble against the dirt. A small dust cloud billowed against his foot. With a dejected sigh, Dae-hyun joined Fennel on a rock. The rough surface beneath him contrasted his bed, and was far to uncomfortable to forget. 

 "No. This isn't all you've known. You gotta remember who you were before. Remember how kind you were to me in the music room. The way you immediately apologized and said your name in the softest tone." His speaking voice was a little desperate, only the slightest bit. The more time he spent here, the more he felt the ache of empathy drip into his core. 

 Suddenly, something hit him. An idea, a thought, something that could help.

 Dae-hyun looked down at his hands, stared at each individual finger. The way his long slender hands held bandaids and piano callouses. He thought fondly of every time he struck the chords— a symphony of his own personal making. On his left index finger, rested a silver ring. With his opposite hand, he slowly pulled the ring off his finger. 

 "Here. Take this. Think of me when you wear it. Think of the piano you heard me play, and how you were feeling in that music room. Think about your past if you can— your home and where you came from. I wish I could remind you what that was... But sadly I didn't get to know you well enough."
_ _

_ _ _ _ Dae-hyun handed Fennel the ring. It was a steel grey, with intricate swirling designs around the band. It depicted plants and ivy vines, small flowers and greenery. It rested neatly in their palm, and held a certain realness to it. Unlike everything else in this hellscape that felt wrong and fake, this was *Real.* Undeniably real. This would be a decent enough anchor if Fennel could figure out how use it properly. 

 "When you wake up— find me again okay? Let me get to know you better this time. Look forward to that." Dae-hyun gave Fennel a sweet smile. It wasn't wry, or strained, it was genuine and gentle. It was the smile of someone who wanted to know them— and who cared genuinely about their well being. 

 "Don't let yourself be trapped here. You've been through quite enough friend."
Brenda
Fennel smiled a melancholic sort of smile, the kind brimming with pity, with the knowledge that the moment, no matter how touching, can't save you - or change anything at all. They let Dae-hyun speak, and accepted the ring without a word. It was, undeniably, real. Too real. It was a real thing, trying to intersect with a world that never was. Fennel concentrated as much as they could, trying to keep the appearance that it was held in their palm up, but when Dae-hyun stopped speaking, they let it clatter to the ground.

"This isn't real enough for that, Dae-hyun. You're hallucinating this, all of this. It's not another world, it's a vision. The ring will be on the floor when you wake up. I can't keep it. I don't even know if I'll remember any of this when I wake up."

They paused.

"But you're nice. I'd like to see you again."

They stood up and walked a few paces away from where Dae-hyun had sat down. They looked away from him, up at the bright yellow sun in the sky, and kept walking. "I think I know what to do. But you can't stay here in the meantime." Their voice projected directly to Dae-hyun, as though there were no distance between them at all.

Fennel turned around one last time, said a quiet "See you, Dae-hyun", and waved. Dae-hyun's vision went white, but in the very last few moments before he found himself standing in his dorm room again, he could swear he saw a silver band resting on Fennel's ring finger.