The Two Runaways
Tulok / Byrdy
Tulok / Byrdy
When Tulok had been made aware that they were going to the clinic, it wasn’t because anyone had told him. Rather, it was because his dad, in his infinite wisdom, had complained about the upcoming trip to his wife the day before and had let slip the ‘S’ word.
The ‘S’ word was a dreaded thing that nobody ever spoke of in the house, much less in earshot of the youngest son of the family. Despite endless attempts to soothe and adjust him to it over the years, his reaction to it never seemed to get any better.
And Meta had said the forbidden word the day before. So when it came time for Meta to take him to the clinic that next morning, Tulok had already been well prepared. Tulok envisioned it a lot like how Kirby fought off Demon Beasts - and in his opinion, it was kind of the same thing. Kirby fights monsters to keep people from being hurt, and Tulok fights to keep himself from being hurt. Even if his dad isn’t a Demon Beast, it’s the same idea if you think about it.
Shots are the worst thing ever. And he’s had many, many shots in his life, so he knows for certain that it’s true. Having barricaded himself in his room and locked his windows before Meta was even up, he hadn’t been going to let his dad get the jump on him this time.
Even if he’d ended up really, really hungry. Even if dad had offered him his favorite breakfast– especially if he’d done that. He’s done it before!
“Tulok…”
“No.”
“Tulok–”
“No!”
Tulok had been convinced it would work. His dad went quiet after a long time, so he thought maybe he’d won, but if he stuck his head out then he’d probably get grabbed. That had happened too.
“Hey, Tulok! Listen, I know you hate shots. I do too!”
Kirby? Dad was calling in reinforcements.
“So, how about we make a deal?”
“No.”
“Okaaaay, but are you really gonna pass up spending all day with your cool brother and getting as much ice cream and candy as you want after we go to the doctor together?”
…A suspicious but interesting idea.
Kirby was never around for too long during the day, see; he was always out patrolling, saving the universe with Gooey. Tulok had begged all the time to come with, but it pretty much never happened. It sucked.
So all day with Kirby? And with ice cream and candy?
“...You promise?”
“Pinky promise the second you open the door!”
“...You gotta fight dad if he says no.”
“Haha! Don’t you worry about a thing with him, alright? Leave that to your big bro!”
So the battle was lost, again. But Kirby said he was proud of him when he came out, and Kirby thought he was amazing for being so brave about it, so he thought it was…okay.
But it still doesn’t stop Tulok from hating shots, or doctors, or hospitals. Everything about them is awful - it’s not just the shots, though they’re the worst part. The smell burns his nose and the food is gross. There are always people around - he never gets to be by himself or go outside. The IV bags and the machines are always hooked up to him, and he’s not allowed to take any of it off.
All of the ice cream and candy and Kirby in the world can’t stop him from hating it. That’s why Meta doesn’t stop squeezing his hand when they all head out to the clinic that afternoon, so he doesn’t bolt. That’s why Kirby is extra loud and distracting at their side, so Tulok forgets where he’s going and why.
But it’s hard to forget when you get there. And the lobby is woefully, uncomfortably familiar.
Tulok freezes just past the threshold as Meta ushers everyone in, staring out at the colorful chairs and toy tables that surround him. He’s not fooled no matter how fun it looks; this place is a menace designed to hurt you. At least out of all the hospitals he's been to, this one always smelled like fruit.
There’s also a lot of people here today, he notices. More than there should be. Tulok sees someone almost but not really run down a hall and into a doctor’s office, followed by someone else who veers into the office next to that one. A lot of people are doing that, he sees, running all over the place. It’s like almost everyone here decided to play the biggest game of tag ever.
“What’s with them?” He mutters up at his brother, watching as someone barges through a door with a big yellow ‘RESTRICTED’ sign on it. “I don’t think that’s allowed…”
Kirby hums. “Don’t know, little man,” He murmurs. “Maybe they just lost something.”
Tulok tilts his head. A lot of people must have lost something, then, he figures. Not one of them looks happy about it either. Their faces are all twisted with big frowns, like they just swallowed too-sour candy, and when they look at each other as they pass by they shake their heads. Weird.
Kirby nudges his arm. “Come on,” he chirps, grinning. “Let’s get this done with! In and out, right?”
Ugh.
“Right,” Tulok mumbles. He gives an experimental tug on his father’s hand and finds it clasped tight. Nothing.
As they head up to the reception desk, Tulok feels his stomach do a little flip. He knows how it goes by now. Dad will give Tulok's name, the lady will check them in. A nurse will call him back and then he's going to get put into the big chair, with the cushioned armrest. And then, they're going to put a rubber band on his arm, and then rub stuff on him that hurts his nose. And then–
He shudders, looking down the hall at where those people keep running around. He knows exactly which room he's going into, and someone's been in there twice already.
Maybe the clinic will have to close for the day if they don't stop. He’s sure it's definitely not allowed. Please close.
“Kirby!”
And then everything in Tulok's body jerks.
Kirby, unphased, calls back affably. “Well, if it isn’t the King of Dreamland himself!”
Tulok whirls his head around.
Coming up to them, bigger than anyone Tulok has ever seen, is a penguin. He’s big, and blue, with a beak twisted into a frown, and from Tulok’s height it’s like this guy takes up the whole entire lobby. As he comes closer, Tulok has no thought except to duck himself towards Kirby’s wing and he does so immediately, his arm jerking against his father’s grip with the sudden pull.
Who is that? He wants to ask. He knows Kirby knows lots of people, being the big hero and all. But this guy? Who’s this? A King? And why’s he so big? He practically blocks out the light when he reaches them - Tulok can’t see a thing except him!
When did Dreamland have a king anyway?
Tulok looks over to gauge his brother’s reaction, taking in the smile on Kirby’s face. The other guy, the penguin, couldn't look less happy.
“You didn’t happen to see Byrdy around here, did you?” The big man asks.
At that, Kirby’s face falls. He blinks. “Oh? Uh, no I haven’t. Why, did you…?”
“Ugh.”
“Ha! Lost him again, huh?” Kirby snorts. “I was wondering why all these attendants were here.”
“I don’t know how he does it, Kirb. He can’t have gone far, and I know he isn’t outside, but it’s been over twenty minutes now. How do you lose a kid in this place? It’s hardly the castle!”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. No worries, we’ll find him. You’re lucky I’m free today!”
Between the two, so small by comparison he may as well have been a speck, Tulok glances back and forth, taking in the scene with much interest. That explains all the people, probably, if the big man is a king and he’s looking for someone. Initially, Tulok doesn’t think much of it. But then he hears Kirby speak and has to do a double take because– Wait. Huh?
His free hand tugs urgently on Kirby’s wing, snagging his attention. “Are you leaving?” He squeaks.
“--Ahh. Well-” and Kirby scratches his head, a sheepish look on his face. “Just for a second, ice cube. Alright? Someone's missing, you know, and your big brother could never ignore someone in need! Don't worry--I'll be back in just a few minutes!”
What? His brother is trying to leave? Now? Right before he’s gotta go in and get this dumb shot? Tulok doesn’t like it. Kirby promised he’d be here all day, didn’t he? He promised!
Tulok kind of wants to yell at him. He wants to– to stomp his foot, say something. Just a few minutes, that’s phooey. Nobody else had found this person, and there were a billion people here! How would Kirby find them in just a few minutes? His brother would be gone all day, Tulok just knew it!
…
Wait.
Kirby is going to be gone. Practically all day.
And Kirby, he's a big hero. Tulok wants to be just like him when he grows up.
…Could he–
As the cogs turn in his little head, the big man in front of him directs his gaze downward. Faced with a pair of unfamiliar eyes suddenly staring at his own, Tulok freezes.
“Ohh. Oh! Is this–?” The man starts.
“Haha! Yep!” Tulok feels a hand rest down on his head, ruffling his hair. Kirby beams with pride. “This is Tulok! My little brother!”
“Well, would you look at that…”
And Tulok watches the big man kneel in front of him, slow and easy. “Hi there, Tulok!” He says. A flipper bigger than Tulok’s whole body extends outward, waiting for him to shake it. “You’re Kirb’s little brother, huh? My name’s Dedede! I’m your brother’s friend. Heard a lot about you - glad to meet the superstar in person, finally!”
“...Hi.” Tulok replies. He takes Dedede’s hand tentatively, giving it a shake like you’re supposed to. “...Are you really a king?”
“Haha! That I am, pipsqueak! King of Dreamland, at your service!”
“Hrm.” Tulok scratches his chin, glances between Kirby and the King, glances up at his dad. Mister King Dedede seems nice, he decides– If Kirby likes him, then Tulok supposes he can too. So…
Taking a big, big breath, Tulok grins and gives everyone the biggest, brightest, pleadingest look that he can. “Can I help you! Like Kirby’s gonna? I could look too!”
He wants to be just like Kirby when he grows up, and Kirby is always helping people. If he helps too, then Kirby is still sort of hanging out with him like he promised, right?
And. No shots.
King Dedede lets out a loud squawk of laughter. Man, even his voice is big… “Ha! Takes after the family, doesn’t he!”
And then Meta speaks.
“I’m afraid not, Tulok.”
Meta, who had thus far been quiet most of that time, gives Tulok a raised brow and an expectant look when the boy whips his head around to look up at him. “We have our own appointment to get through before we can help His Majesty and your brother out, don’t we?” Comes his ever-calm, too-pointed question, and he gives Tulok’s hand a squeeze that says more than his words do.
“What? Hey-!” That’s not fair–!
Meta turns smoothly, ignoring the noises of his son’s building tantrum as he offers Dedede a smooth and polished bow with a too-straight face. “Forgive us, Your Majesty. I’d be honored to help as well when this ice cube has his check-up.”
“Oh, please, Meta Knight,” Comes the guffaw, “You know you don’t need to be so formal with me. It’s good to see you and your family again, you know! You all ought to come visit soon sometime; I’d love to introduce you to my wife!”
“Of course. If you’ll excuse us–”
Tulok doesn’t get a chance to say anything. His father pulls him along, past the check-in desk and into the hall where a nurse is already beckoning him into one of the offices some distance away. Tulok pulls at him with a growl to no avail, looking back to see Kirby giving him a sheepish wave before he and the King are both gone around a corner.
No fair. No fair! “Dad!” He cries. He’d wanted to help! Why did his dad have to make everything so unfair! “I wanted to help! Come on!”
“And you can help when we’re done with your check-up, Tulok,” Meta says evenly without looking at him. “They’ll be alright until then.”
“But Kirby promised he’d spend the day with me!”
“I know, kiddo, but sometimes things happen. The King’s son is missing. That’s pretty important, isn’t it? I’m sure he’ll come back as soon as they’ve found him.”
Yes, it was important. He knows that! But that’s why Tulok wanted to help too! He could help and stay with Kirby. Like hunting two snow deer with one arrow, right?
Tulok lets out a noise of frustration, following along with his father and kicking at the floor with each step, refusing to look up. He has to be dragged along the entire way, and Meta brings him on undeterred. His clinic tantrums are far from uncommon.
They only stop when they reach the office proper, when the nurse at the door says something and hands Meta a clipboard to sign. Tulok doesn’t listen to a word; he just glares at nothing while his father sighs and lets go of him to fill out the paperwork–
…
–he lets go.
Tulok stares. At his hand, at Meta, who isn’t looking.
He glances back towards the way he’d just come.
…
Tulok runs.
-----------------------------------------
His mom taught him how to play South Novan hide and seek when he was little.
When he was stuck in the hospital a lot, the few times the doctors let him out to play, she would sometimes show him things like how to be quiet. How to put his feet down so you didn’t make noise, or where to look so you weren’t spotted.
She called it learning the basics of hunting, but Tulok didn’t think it was because they weren’t actually hunting anything. But she still taught him lots about it, and now it’s coming way in handy, because he’s been sneaking around for a long time now and he’s starting to hear people yelling for him.
Tulok is small for his age. He uses that to his advantage by ducking under desks and hiding in corners when people pass by. When they get too close, he coils into as tight of a ball as he can until they pass, and then he keeps going.
He’s looking for the King’s son. Well, that, and avoiding his no good, horrible shot. But he is looking! He’s looked everywhere by now, he thinks. All of the doctor’s offices, the break room in the back that he’s never seen before, the closets… He hasn’t seen any stairs yet so he doesn’t know if there’s a basement, but he’s looking out for one just in case.
It would help if he knew what the King’s son looked like. A penguin like him, maybe? Or something else? Bigger or small, like him? What was his name again? It started with a B…
Ugh, he doesn’t know.
Tulok lets out a sigh as he comes to a stop at the end of a hall, one of the few that he doesn’t recognize. He’s been running around for so long that he needs to take a second to breathe, and he scoffs to himself as he leans against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.
This hero stuff sure is a lot more work than he thought it’d be, he thinks with irritation. How does Kirby make it look so easy?
“Tulok!”
“Already…?”
As the sound of footsteps start to get closer, Tulok pulls himself hastily from the wall and looks around until he spots the first door he sees. He runs, grabbing the handle and yanking - it’s heavy! He has to pull and push with as much strength as his little body can muster, and it almost doesn't seem like it’s going to budge.
“Tulok!!”
His heart drops. He pulls. “Come on, come on–!”
And–finally! The door opens with a creak. It’s just a few inches, but it’s plenty for someone as small as him, and he darts in immediately, shoving himself back against it so that it closes before anyone can see what happened. As it lands closed with a click, Tulok stands frozen to the spot and listens to the sound of footsteps as they run past just a second later.
He doesn’t move for a long time. Only when he’s absolutely certain that they’re gone does he even start to relax, and only then does he bother to notice where it is he’s at.
…Except he doesn’t know where he’s at. It’s dark.
Tulok blinks his eyes rapidly to get them to adjust, though it doesn’t really help; the room is pitch black no matter what he does. He can barely even see his own hand! Awkwardly, he reaches up to fumble for a light switch on the wall, but no matter how he tries he can’t seem to find one.
That’s fine, he guesses. That’s okay! That person is long gone by now. He’ll just leave and go somewhere else. Tulok moves his hand to the door handle and tugs.
…And tugs. And tugs.
The door doesn’t move. No matter how hard he pulls or how much strength he tries to put into his arm, the door just doesn’t move. He gives the handle a harsh jerk and hears it rattle faintly, resistant to his grip. It won’t turn.
It’s locked.
…
Tulok takes a very, very deep breath.
“That’s okay,” he mumbles to himself. “The dark isn’t scary, it’s just whatever’s in it, right? That’s what mom says…”
It didn’t stop him from getting nervous. This is a clinic, and hospitals are practically made to hurt you. He doesn’t know what’s in here. The vision of shots - icky, icky needles - somewhere in this room enters his head and he shudders. Maybe there’s another door out of here…
With nothing else to do and no other option, Tulok slowly starts to fumble his way away from the door and further into the room, hands outstretched. He waves and grabs awkwardly, bumping into things made of metal, he thinks, and hitting what feels like– is that a cabinet? That’s a drawer, he thinks. There’s a chair his foot hits, and he jumps when he feels - and hears - it go rolling away.
He has no idea where he is. He thought it might’ve been a doctor’s office, but the further in he goes, the larger the room seems to get, larger than any office he’s been in. There’s something in the middle there, something he can’t describe but feels kind of like a table, and his hand rests on it as he tiptoes his way around, using it as an anchor. At least he hasn’t found anything bad.
He keeps going until he’s sure he’s started circling around roughly back in the direction of the door he’d just come through. His foot inches along the floor, feeling for anything in front of him until it catches on something soft and fuzzy–
He hears a whimper.
Tulok yelps and jumps.
The thing under his foot jerks. He trips, falling back half onto his side and half onto his rear, and he scrambles to sit up and scoot himself back until he hits the table behind him. A hard rush of air leaves him with such force that it hurts his chest and it takes every bit of heroic strength he’s got to remember how to breathe the way his dad taught him.
What is that. What is that. What is that? He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. He’d expected sharp and pointy things in here, not Demon Beasts! Did hospitals have those too? Come on!
He sits frozen to the floor, stuck in the dark and unable to see a single thing, waiting for something to happen for what feels like forever. He’s tempted to scream, knows someone’s gotta hear, but– but–
…
It’s quiet.
…
Nothing’s happened yet.
Hesitantly, Tulok calls, “...Hello…?”
And he hears an answer so quiet that he has to strain with all his might to hear.
“Wanna go home…”
It’s a whisper. A really tiny one, and to Tulok’s relief, it sounds like just– a little kid.
The stress practically melts from his body, tension leaving him in a big whoosh. He fumbles to get a better look, squinting his eyes as hard as he can; this close, he can just barely see an outline of someone if he really concentrates. Fuzzy, with two little arms that trail down into…what are those, flippers–?
Tulok blinks and looks to where he thinks their head is. Fuzzy, fuzzy, something round right there and it looks like a… Oh! Oh, hey!
“You!” He says, loudly. It’s not really a shout, doesn’t count. “Are you the… the…” And he still can’t remember the name, ugh– “--are you the King’s son?”
At that, he hears movement, along with the sound of a whimper. The vague shape of the figure moves for the first time, inching closer until Tulok can feel the brush of his feathers. He jumps a bit to feel little arms suddenly wrap around him tight. And that’s it. They don’t say anything.
Tulok hesitates.
He’s always wanted to be like Kirby. A big hero, someone cool and strong, like his brother is. But he’s never actually rescued anyone before, or helped people the way Kirby does. So he doesn’t really know what to do when it comes to doing stuff like that. What would Kirby do if it were him here?
“Hey,” Tulok tries, making his voice soft the way he’s heard Kirby do when Tulok gets upset. “Everyone’s looking for you, you know. Did you get lost?”
He feels the kid shake his head. “I ran away,” They mumble, “...Don’t wanna go back. I just–wanna go home!”
His voice abruptly turns upward into the sound of a shrill squeak, the kind that makes Tulok wince from this up close. He feels the other let go of him to slap their flippers onto the floor with a loud smack, which they then proceed to do again and again until they’re outright thrashing on the floor.
“Wanna go home, wanna go home, wanna go home–” They repeat like a mantra, frantic and angry.
“Ohhh, yeah. Me too,” Tulok replies without thinking. “Doctors are mean. But– um…” He chews his lip. Ugh, Kirby makes this stuff sound so easy. “I-It’ll be okay! Really! Don’t cry!”
But they do. They cry, and cry loudly, or– well, it’s more like a whole lot of chirping. Their flippers slam against the floor as they go on, and Tulok can just feel them thrashing against his side like a wet fish out of water. Faced with the sudden onset of what is essentially a temper tantrum, Tulok is at a complete loss.
He wracks his head. This kid is little. How do you make little kids happy? Kirby had offered to spend all day with him if he went to the clinic. Kirby had lied, but he’d still promised. So…
“What if I went with you?” Tulok tries, finally. “It’s not scary that way, I think…”
Still, the other doesn’t respond. But! At least him saying that slowly makes them stop hitting the floor. The kid, instead, makes a noise that Tulok has to strain to hear. He’ll take it as a yes.
So with that out of the way, Tulok beams. “My name’s Tulok! What’s yours?”
“...Byrdy…”
Byrdy! That’s it! Tulok makes sure to remember that for later.
“Awesome! Hi Byrdy, nice to meet you!!” Tulok finally gets up from the floor, and because Byrdy is also on the floor he does the heroic thing and helps him up too. “Well, I promise I definitely won’t leave, okay? I’ll be here the entire time, and after that, maybe you could even join me and my brother for ice cream and candy! I think that would be cool! Then you can go home!”
Tulok thinks it’s a pretty cool idea. By Byrdy’s silence, he probably needs to think about it. Tulok doesn’t say anything though, because Kirby would wait, so Tulok will too. And eventually, Byrdy says yes! So they’re good!
He turns, then, motioning Byrdy to follow with a wave of his hand. “Okay, so if we can just find the light switch…” It should be around here, somewhere, even if Tulok hadn’t found it the first time…
“Ah– Wait. Can I hold your hand? I-I can’t see…”
“Huh? Oh, yeah I can’t either! It’s really dark, sorry. I can go and find the light switch if you wanna wait here!”
Byrdy is quiet for a long second. And then, he whines, “No. I can’t see.”
Tulok doesn’t get it, unfortunately, until Byrdy explains it to him with a fumbling grab of his arm. He did run away, but he had also gotten lost, because he can’t see and he’d accidentally dropped his white cane somewhere and couldn't find it. That makes sense, Tulok thinks.
So he just has to let Byrdy hold his hand while he saves the day and fumbles through the dark for them both! It’s harder than it sounds because he can’t see either in this pitch black room, but he’s pretty sure he’d been heading back the way he came before he bumped into the other, so it’s not too bad. Just has to retrace his steps. He still kicks his foot on a few things, though.
Eventually, the two of them both manage to reach the door. Tulok tugs on the handle again just in case - nothing - and he still can’t find the light switch no matter where he paws on the wall.
“Guess we just gotta yell until someone hears.”
“Oh. Okay…”
So! That’s what they do.
---------------------------------------------------
A nurse will eventually be drawn down the hall to the sound of two children yelling and screaming, where she’ll find the son of Meta Knight and the son of King Dedede both locked in the X-ray room. Word spreads fast of their safe discovery and it’s an immense relief to everyone in the entire building who can finally relax after the chaotic mess the day’s been.
It’s sort of funny to see just how different Byrdy looks compared to his dad, in Tulok’s opinion. The King couldn’t be happier to see his son, scoops him up the moment he’s in arm’s reach. Byrdy looks like a little plushie compared to him.
Tulok’s dad, on the other hand…
Meta pinches the space between his eyes. He doesn’t say anything for a good minute, but his twitching expression tells Tulok that he is in a lot of trouble. Tulok tries to soften him up: “Dad, look! I found Byrdy!” He proclaims, pointing at his new friend as though it weren’t obvious already. “I’m a hero like Kirby now, see?”
“You sure are!” Kirby says at his side. One hand raises for a high-five. “Look at you go, Tulok, good job!” And boy, doesn’t that brighten Tulok’s day!
Meta is less amused. “Don’t encourage him, Kirby,” He grinds out. “Tulok, what were you thinking! Everyone was worried sick!”
“Aw, come on, dad. Give him a break. Everything went crazy the moment we got here, it’s not his fault.”
“Yeah,” Byrdy squeaks at his father. “Tulok found me! He’s my new friend!”
“Well, how about that,” Dedede chuckles. He gives Byrdy a little squeeze, practically engulfing the chick in his dense coat of feathers as he looks the other child’s way. “You really are Kirby’s brother. Thank you for bringing my little Byrdy on back home, Tulok. Don’t know what we’d have done without him.”
Tulok beams.
In front of him, Meta takes a slow, visible deep breath. When he speaks again, his voice is carefully even, and Tulok finds his hand suddenly grasped in his father’s own - tight. Meta looks at him, and Tulok tries not to squirm under the gaze.
“I’m proud of you, ice cube. Really, I am. But you are running very late for your appointment now. We have to go, like we came here to do.”
And Tulok finds himself being tugged back towards the doctor’s office. There’s no running this time, he knows, and nor does he try to; his dad is already mad enough.
He just… hates hospitals so much.
But as he starts to shuffle along, he hears a loud chirp come from the direction of Dedede’s figure. When he turns his head, he sees that Byrdy has shoved himself half out of his father’s feathers, leaning far enough that Dedede has to adjust his hold to not drop him. “Hey!” He cries, frantic. “Wait! Tulok promised he’d come with me! He can’t leave!”
Meta blinks and looks back at his son. Tulok looks down with a flush, staring at an interesting little spot on the floor.
“He got scared,” Tulok finally mumbles, “Was just thinkin’ of what Kirby would do.”
The quiet blankets the area. Tulok inhales quietly, taking in the clinic scent - strawberry today, isn’t it? This place always picked nice smells…
“A hero isn’t one to break a promise, dad,” Kirby murmurs gently. Tulok can’t see his face, doesn’t look up because he’s afraid of what he might find. He just– stands, breath held.
Nobody moves. Meta stares for what feels like a very, very long time.
And finally, with a great, immense sigh that seems to breathe life back into a place that had been deprived of it, Meta loosens his hold before releasing his grip entirely.
“I’ll…have a word with the doctor,” He relents. Tulok’s head whips up to look at him.
“Really?”
“But you can’t miss the next one–”
Meta finds the wind completely knocked out of him as his son barrels into his middle with as much force as his body will allow. The place is chaos immediately, full of repetitive thank yous, so much squealing it hurts his ears.
As Tulok lets go and Dedede leans down to let Byrdy go and greet him, Kirby hovers close at his friend’s side, watching as the two children mingle and chatter. It’s good, he thinks, for Tulok to actually have someone roughly his age to play with on Pop Star. Poor kid has had a time of it since he came home.
And, he thinks, Byrdy may not be all that different.
“Remind you of a certain pair, huh?” Kirby chuckles, nudging Dedede in the side with an elbow. “Wonder who?”
Dedede snorts. “Gee, I wonder.”
It’s fate, probably, to see their families connect the way they themselves have. Tulok and Byrdy trade a hug that Tulok is very careful about, mindful of Byrdy’s cane, and Byrdy, he returns the gesture with a chirp that’s louder than Dedede’s ever heard it being around new acquaintances.
They’re good for each other, he decides. Who knows what they’ll get up to when they’re older.
“If Tulok is anything like his brother - and I know he certainly is,” He murmurs, in a quiet tone meant only for Kirby to hear under the din of noisy, happy children, “Then my son is lucky to have a friend like him.”
And Tulok, Kirby thinks fondly, is lucky to have Byrdy too.
When Tulok had been made aware that they were going to the clinic, it wasn’t because anyone had told him. Rather, it was because his dad, in his infinite wisdom, had complained about the upcoming trip to his wife the day before and had let slip the ‘S’ word.
The ‘S’ word was a dreaded thing that nobody ever spoke of in the house, much less in earshot of the youngest son of the family. Despite endless attempts to soothe and adjust him to it over the years, his reaction to it never seemed to get any better.
And Meta had said the forbidden word the day before. So when it came time for Meta to take him to the clinic that next morning, Tulok had already been well prepared. Tulok envisioned it a lot like how Kirby fought off Demon Beasts - and in his opinion, it was kind of the same thing. Kirby fights monsters to keep people from being hurt, and Tulok fights to keep himself from being hurt. Even if his dad isn’t a Demon Beast, it’s the same idea if you think about it.
Shots are the worst thing ever. And he’s had many, many shots in his life, so he knows for certain that it’s true. Having barricaded himself in his room and locked his windows before Meta was even up, he hadn’t been going to let his dad get the jump on him this time.
Even if he’d ended up really, really hungry. Even if dad had offered him his favorite breakfast– especially if he’d done that. He’s done it before!
“Tulok…”
“No.”
“Tulok–”
“No!”
Tulok had been convinced it would work. His dad went quiet after a long time, so he thought maybe he’d won, but if he stuck his head out then he’d probably get grabbed. That had happened too.
“Hey, Tulok! Listen, I know you hate shots. I do too!”
Kirby? Dad was calling in reinforcements.
“So, how about we make a deal?”
“No.”
“Okaaaay, but are you really gonna pass up spending all day with your cool brother and getting as much ice cream and candy as you want after we go to the doctor together?”
…A suspicious but interesting idea.
Kirby was never around for too long during the day, see; he was always out patrolling, saving the universe with Gooey. Tulok had begged all the time to come with, but it pretty much never happened. It sucked.
So all day with Kirby? And with ice cream and candy?
“...You promise?”
“Pinky promise the second you open the door!”
“...You gotta fight dad if he says no.”
“Haha! Don’t you worry about a thing with him, alright? Leave that to your big bro!”
So the battle was lost, again. But Kirby said he was proud of him when he came out, and Kirby thought he was amazing for being so brave about it, so he thought it was…okay.
But it still doesn’t stop Tulok from hating shots, or doctors, or hospitals. Everything about them is awful - it’s not just the shots, though they’re the worst part. The smell burns his nose and the food is gross. There are always people around - he never gets to be by himself or go outside. The IV bags and the machines are always hooked up to him, and he’s not allowed to take any of it off.
All of the ice cream and candy and Kirby in the world can’t stop him from hating it. That’s why Meta doesn’t stop squeezing his hand when they all head out to the clinic that afternoon, so he doesn’t bolt. That’s why Kirby is extra loud and distracting at their side, so Tulok forgets where he’s going and why.
But it’s hard to forget when you get there. And the lobby is woefully, uncomfortably familiar.
Tulok freezes just past the threshold as Meta ushers everyone in, staring out at the colorful chairs and toy tables that surround him. He’s not fooled no matter how fun it looks; this place is a menace designed to hurt you. At least out of all the hospitals he's been to, this one always smelled like fruit.
There’s also a lot of people here today, he notices. More than there should be. Tulok sees someone almost but not really run down a hall and into a doctor’s office, followed by someone else who veers into the office next to that one. A lot of people are doing that, he sees, running all over the place. It’s like almost everyone here decided to play the biggest game of tag ever.
“What’s with them?” He mutters up at his brother, watching as someone barges through a door with a big yellow ‘RESTRICTED’ sign on it. “I don’t think that’s allowed…”
Kirby hums. “Don’t know, little man,” He murmurs. “Maybe they just lost something.”
Tulok tilts his head. A lot of people must have lost something, then, he figures. Not one of them looks happy about it either. Their faces are all twisted with big frowns, like they just swallowed too-sour candy, and when they look at each other as they pass by they shake their heads. Weird.
Kirby nudges his arm. “Come on,” he chirps, grinning. “Let’s get this done with! In and out, right?”
Ugh.
“Right,” Tulok mumbles. He gives an experimental tug on his father’s hand and finds it clasped tight. Nothing.
As they head up to the reception desk, Tulok feels his stomach do a little flip. He knows how it goes by now. Dad will give Tulok's name, the lady will check them in. A nurse will call him back and then he's going to get put into the big chair, with the cushioned armrest. And then, they're going to put a rubber band on his arm, and then rub stuff on him that hurts his nose. And then–
He shudders, looking down the hall at where those people keep running around. He knows exactly which room he's going into, and someone's been in there twice already.
Maybe the clinic will have to close for the day if they don't stop. He’s sure it's definitely not allowed. Please close.
“Kirby!”
And then everything in Tulok's body jerks.
Kirby, unphased, calls back affably. “Well, if it isn’t the King of Dreamland himself!”
Tulok whirls his head around.
Coming up to them, bigger than anyone Tulok has ever seen, is a penguin. He’s big, and blue, with a beak twisted into a frown, and from Tulok’s height it’s like this guy takes up the whole entire lobby. As he comes closer, Tulok has no thought except to duck himself towards Kirby’s wing and he does so immediately, his arm jerking against his father’s grip with the sudden pull.
Who is that? He wants to ask. He knows Kirby knows lots of people, being the big hero and all. But this guy? Who’s this? A King? And why’s he so big? He practically blocks out the light when he reaches them - Tulok can’t see a thing except him!
When did Dreamland have a king anyway?
Tulok looks over to gauge his brother’s reaction, taking in the smile on Kirby’s face. The other guy, the penguin, couldn't look less happy.
“You didn’t happen to see Byrdy around here, did you?” The big man asks.
At that, Kirby’s face falls. He blinks. “Oh? Uh, no I haven’t. Why, did you…?”
“Ugh.”
“Ha! Lost him again, huh?” Kirby snorts. “I was wondering why all these attendants were here.”
“I don’t know how he does it, Kirb. He can’t have gone far, and I know he isn’t outside, but it’s been over twenty minutes now. How do you lose a kid in this place? It’s hardly the castle!”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. No worries, we’ll find him. You’re lucky I’m free today!”
Between the two, so small by comparison he may as well have been a speck, Tulok glances back and forth, taking in the scene with much interest. That explains all the people, probably, if the big man is a king and he’s looking for someone. Initially, Tulok doesn’t think much of it. But then he hears Kirby speak and has to do a double take because– Wait. Huh?
His free hand tugs urgently on Kirby’s wing, snagging his attention. “Are you leaving?” He squeaks.
“--Ahh. Well-” and Kirby scratches his head, a sheepish look on his face. “Just for a second, ice cube. Alright? Someone's missing, you know, and your big brother could never ignore someone in need! Don't worry--I'll be back in just a few minutes!”
What? His brother is trying to leave? Now? Right before he’s gotta go in and get this dumb shot? Tulok doesn’t like it. Kirby promised he’d be here all day, didn’t he? He promised!
Tulok kind of wants to yell at him. He wants to– to stomp his foot, say something. Just a few minutes, that’s phooey. Nobody else had found this person, and there were a billion people here! How would Kirby find them in just a few minutes? His brother would be gone all day, Tulok just knew it!
…
Wait.
Kirby is going to be gone. Practically all day.
And Kirby, he's a big hero. Tulok wants to be just like him when he grows up.
…Could he–
As the cogs turn in his little head, the big man in front of him directs his gaze downward. Faced with a pair of unfamiliar eyes suddenly staring at his own, Tulok freezes.
“Ohh. Oh! Is this–?” The man starts.
“Haha! Yep!” Tulok feels a hand rest down on his head, ruffling his hair. Kirby beams with pride. “This is Tulok! My little brother!”
“Well, would you look at that…”
And Tulok watches the big man kneel in front of him, slow and easy. “Hi there, Tulok!” He says. A flipper bigger than Tulok’s whole body extends outward, waiting for him to shake it. “You’re Kirb’s little brother, huh? My name’s Dedede! I’m your brother’s friend. Heard a lot about you - glad to meet the superstar in person, finally!”
“...Hi.” Tulok replies. He takes Dedede’s hand tentatively, giving it a shake like you’re supposed to. “...Are you really a king?”
“Haha! That I am, pipsqueak! King of Dreamland, at your service!”
“Hrm.” Tulok scratches his chin, glances between Kirby and the King, glances up at his dad. Mister King Dedede seems nice, he decides– If Kirby likes him, then Tulok supposes he can too. So…
Taking a big, big breath, Tulok grins and gives everyone the biggest, brightest, pleadingest look that he can. “Can I help you! Like Kirby’s gonna? I could look too!”
He wants to be just like Kirby when he grows up, and Kirby is always helping people. If he helps too, then Kirby is still sort of hanging out with him like he promised, right?
And. No shots.
King Dedede lets out a loud squawk of laughter. Man, even his voice is big… “Ha! Takes after the family, doesn’t he!”
And then Meta speaks.
“I’m afraid not, Tulok.”
Meta, who had thus far been quiet most of that time, gives Tulok a raised brow and an expectant look when the boy whips his head around to look up at him. “We have our own appointment to get through before we can help His Majesty and your brother out, don’t we?” Comes his ever-calm, too-pointed question, and he gives Tulok’s hand a squeeze that says more than his words do.
“What? Hey-!” That’s not fair–!
Meta turns smoothly, ignoring the noises of his son’s building tantrum as he offers Dedede a smooth and polished bow with a too-straight face. “Forgive us, Your Majesty. I’d be honored to help as well when this ice cube has his check-up.”
“Oh, please, Meta Knight,” Comes the guffaw, “You know you don’t need to be so formal with me. It’s good to see you and your family again, you know! You all ought to come visit soon sometime; I’d love to introduce you to my wife!”
“Of course. If you’ll excuse us–”
Tulok doesn’t get a chance to say anything. His father pulls him along, past the check-in desk and into the hall where a nurse is already beckoning him into one of the offices some distance away. Tulok pulls at him with a growl to no avail, looking back to see Kirby giving him a sheepish wave before he and the King are both gone around a corner.
No fair. No fair! “Dad!” He cries. He’d wanted to help! Why did his dad have to make everything so unfair! “I wanted to help! Come on!”
“And you can help when we’re done with your check-up, Tulok,” Meta says evenly without looking at him. “They’ll be alright until then.”
“But Kirby promised he’d spend the day with me!”
“I know, kiddo, but sometimes things happen. The King’s son is missing. That’s pretty important, isn’t it? I’m sure he’ll come back as soon as they’ve found him.”
Yes, it was important. He knows that! But that’s why Tulok wanted to help too! He could help and stay with Kirby. Like hunting two snow deer with one arrow, right?
Tulok lets out a noise of frustration, following along with his father and kicking at the floor with each step, refusing to look up. He has to be dragged along the entire way, and Meta brings him on undeterred. His clinic tantrums are far from uncommon.
They only stop when they reach the office proper, when the nurse at the door says something and hands Meta a clipboard to sign. Tulok doesn’t listen to a word; he just glares at nothing while his father sighs and lets go of him to fill out the paperwork–
…
–he lets go.
Tulok stares. At his hand, at Meta, who isn’t looking.
He glances back towards the way he’d just come.
…
Tulok runs.
-----------------------------------------
His mom taught him how to play South Novan hide and seek when he was little.
When he was stuck in the hospital a lot, the few times the doctors let him out to play, she would sometimes show him things like how to be quiet. How to put his feet down so you didn’t make noise, or where to look so you weren’t spotted.
She called it learning the basics of hunting, but Tulok didn’t think it was because they weren’t actually hunting anything. But she still taught him lots about it, and now it’s coming way in handy, because he’s been sneaking around for a long time now and he’s starting to hear people yelling for him.
Tulok is small for his age. He uses that to his advantage by ducking under desks and hiding in corners when people pass by. When they get too close, he coils into as tight of a ball as he can until they pass, and then he keeps going.
He’s looking for the King’s son. Well, that, and avoiding his no good, horrible shot. But he is looking! He’s looked everywhere by now, he thinks. All of the doctor’s offices, the break room in the back that he’s never seen before, the closets… He hasn’t seen any stairs yet so he doesn’t know if there’s a basement, but he’s looking out for one just in case.
It would help if he knew what the King’s son looked like. A penguin like him, maybe? Or something else? Bigger or small, like him? What was his name again? It started with a B…
Ugh, he doesn’t know.
Tulok lets out a sigh as he comes to a stop at the end of a hall, one of the few that he doesn’t recognize. He’s been running around for so long that he needs to take a second to breathe, and he scoffs to himself as he leans against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.
This hero stuff sure is a lot more work than he thought it’d be, he thinks with irritation. How does Kirby make it look so easy?
“Tulok!”
“Already…?”
As the sound of footsteps start to get closer, Tulok pulls himself hastily from the wall and looks around until he spots the first door he sees. He runs, grabbing the handle and yanking - it’s heavy! He has to pull and push with as much strength as his little body can muster, and it almost doesn't seem like it’s going to budge.
“Tulok!!”
His heart drops. He pulls. “Come on, come on–!”
And–finally! The door opens with a creak. It’s just a few inches, but it’s plenty for someone as small as him, and he darts in immediately, shoving himself back against it so that it closes before anyone can see what happened. As it lands closed with a click, Tulok stands frozen to the spot and listens to the sound of footsteps as they run past just a second later.
He doesn’t move for a long time. Only when he’s absolutely certain that they’re gone does he even start to relax, and only then does he bother to notice where it is he’s at.
…Except he doesn’t know where he’s at. It’s dark.
Tulok blinks his eyes rapidly to get them to adjust, though it doesn’t really help; the room is pitch black no matter what he does. He can barely even see his own hand! Awkwardly, he reaches up to fumble for a light switch on the wall, but no matter how he tries he can’t seem to find one.
That’s fine, he guesses. That’s okay! That person is long gone by now. He’ll just leave and go somewhere else. Tulok moves his hand to the door handle and tugs.
…And tugs. And tugs.
The door doesn’t move. No matter how hard he pulls or how much strength he tries to put into his arm, the door just doesn’t move. He gives the handle a harsh jerk and hears it rattle faintly, resistant to his grip. It won’t turn.
It’s locked.
…
Tulok takes a very, very deep breath.
“That’s okay,” he mumbles to himself. “The dark isn’t scary, it’s just whatever’s in it, right? That’s what mom says…”
It didn’t stop him from getting nervous. This is a clinic, and hospitals are practically made to hurt you. He doesn’t know what’s in here. The vision of shots - icky, icky needles - somewhere in this room enters his head and he shudders. Maybe there’s another door out of here…
With nothing else to do and no other option, Tulok slowly starts to fumble his way away from the door and further into the room, hands outstretched. He waves and grabs awkwardly, bumping into things made of metal, he thinks, and hitting what feels like– is that a cabinet? That’s a drawer, he thinks. There’s a chair his foot hits, and he jumps when he feels - and hears - it go rolling away.
He has no idea where he is. He thought it might’ve been a doctor’s office, but the further in he goes, the larger the room seems to get, larger than any office he’s been in. There’s something in the middle there, something he can’t describe but feels kind of like a table, and his hand rests on it as he tiptoes his way around, using it as an anchor. At least he hasn’t found anything bad.
He keeps going until he’s sure he’s started circling around roughly back in the direction of the door he’d just come through. His foot inches along the floor, feeling for anything in front of him until it catches on something soft and fuzzy–
He hears a whimper.
Tulok yelps and jumps.
The thing under his foot jerks. He trips, falling back half onto his side and half onto his rear, and he scrambles to sit up and scoot himself back until he hits the table behind him. A hard rush of air leaves him with such force that it hurts his chest and it takes every bit of heroic strength he’s got to remember how to breathe the way his dad taught him.
What is that. What is that. What is that? He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know. He’d expected sharp and pointy things in here, not Demon Beasts! Did hospitals have those too? Come on!
He sits frozen to the floor, stuck in the dark and unable to see a single thing, waiting for something to happen for what feels like forever. He’s tempted to scream, knows someone’s gotta hear, but– but–
…
It’s quiet.
…
Nothing’s happened yet.
Hesitantly, Tulok calls, “...Hello…?”
And he hears an answer so quiet that he has to strain with all his might to hear.
“Wanna go home…”
It’s a whisper. A really tiny one, and to Tulok’s relief, it sounds like just– a little kid.
The stress practically melts from his body, tension leaving him in a big whoosh. He fumbles to get a better look, squinting his eyes as hard as he can; this close, he can just barely see an outline of someone if he really concentrates. Fuzzy, with two little arms that trail down into…what are those, flippers–?
Tulok blinks and looks to where he thinks their head is. Fuzzy, fuzzy, something round right there and it looks like a… Oh! Oh, hey!
“You!” He says, loudly. It’s not really a shout, doesn’t count. “Are you the… the…” And he still can’t remember the name, ugh– “--are you the King’s son?”
At that, he hears movement, along with the sound of a whimper. The vague shape of the figure moves for the first time, inching closer until Tulok can feel the brush of his feathers. He jumps a bit to feel little arms suddenly wrap around him tight. And that’s it. They don’t say anything.
Tulok hesitates.
He’s always wanted to be like Kirby. A big hero, someone cool and strong, like his brother is. But he’s never actually rescued anyone before, or helped people the way Kirby does. So he doesn’t really know what to do when it comes to doing stuff like that. What would Kirby do if it were him here?
“Hey,” Tulok tries, making his voice soft the way he’s heard Kirby do when Tulok gets upset. “Everyone’s looking for you, you know. Did you get lost?”
He feels the kid shake his head. “I ran away,” They mumble, “...Don’t wanna go back. I just–wanna go home!”
His voice abruptly turns upward into the sound of a shrill squeak, the kind that makes Tulok wince from this up close. He feels the other let go of him to slap their flippers onto the floor with a loud smack, which they then proceed to do again and again until they’re outright thrashing on the floor.
“Wanna go home, wanna go home, wanna go home–” They repeat like a mantra, frantic and angry.
“Ohhh, yeah. Me too,” Tulok replies without thinking. “Doctors are mean. But– um…” He chews his lip. Ugh, Kirby makes this stuff sound so easy. “I-It’ll be okay! Really! Don’t cry!”
But they do. They cry, and cry loudly, or– well, it’s more like a whole lot of chirping. Their flippers slam against the floor as they go on, and Tulok can just feel them thrashing against his side like a wet fish out of water. Faced with the sudden onset of what is essentially a temper tantrum, Tulok is at a complete loss.
He wracks his head. This kid is little. How do you make little kids happy? Kirby had offered to spend all day with him if he went to the clinic. Kirby had lied, but he’d still promised. So…
“What if I went with you?” Tulok tries, finally. “It’s not scary that way, I think…”
Still, the other doesn’t respond. But! At least him saying that slowly makes them stop hitting the floor. The kid, instead, makes a noise that Tulok has to strain to hear. He’ll take it as a yes.
So with that out of the way, Tulok beams. “My name’s Tulok! What’s yours?”
“...Byrdy…”
Byrdy! That’s it! Tulok makes sure to remember that for later.
“Awesome! Hi Byrdy, nice to meet you!!” Tulok finally gets up from the floor, and because Byrdy is also on the floor he does the heroic thing and helps him up too. “Well, I promise I definitely won’t leave, okay? I’ll be here the entire time, and after that, maybe you could even join me and my brother for ice cream and candy! I think that would be cool! Then you can go home!”
Tulok thinks it’s a pretty cool idea. By Byrdy’s silence, he probably needs to think about it. Tulok doesn’t say anything though, because Kirby would wait, so Tulok will too. And eventually, Byrdy says yes! So they’re good!
He turns, then, motioning Byrdy to follow with a wave of his hand. “Okay, so if we can just find the light switch…” It should be around here, somewhere, even if Tulok hadn’t found it the first time…
“Ah– Wait. Can I hold your hand? I-I can’t see…”
“Huh? Oh, yeah I can’t either! It’s really dark, sorry. I can go and find the light switch if you wanna wait here!”
Byrdy is quiet for a long second. And then, he whines, “No. I can’t see.”
Tulok doesn’t get it, unfortunately, until Byrdy explains it to him with a fumbling grab of his arm. He did run away, but he had also gotten lost, because he can’t see and he’d accidentally dropped his white cane somewhere and couldn't find it. That makes sense, Tulok thinks.
So he just has to let Byrdy hold his hand while he saves the day and fumbles through the dark for them both! It’s harder than it sounds because he can’t see either in this pitch black room, but he’s pretty sure he’d been heading back the way he came before he bumped into the other, so it’s not too bad. Just has to retrace his steps. He still kicks his foot on a few things, though.
Eventually, the two of them both manage to reach the door. Tulok tugs on the handle again just in case - nothing - and he still can’t find the light switch no matter where he paws on the wall.
“Guess we just gotta yell until someone hears.”
“Oh. Okay…”
So! That’s what they do.
---------------------------------------------------
A nurse will eventually be drawn down the hall to the sound of two children yelling and screaming, where she’ll find the son of Meta Knight and the son of King Dedede both locked in the X-ray room. Word spreads fast of their safe discovery and it’s an immense relief to everyone in the entire building who can finally relax after the chaotic mess the day’s been.
It’s sort of funny to see just how different Byrdy looks compared to his dad, in Tulok’s opinion. The King couldn’t be happier to see his son, scoops him up the moment he’s in arm’s reach. Byrdy looks like a little plushie compared to him.
Tulok’s dad, on the other hand…
Meta pinches the space between his eyes. He doesn’t say anything for a good minute, but his twitching expression tells Tulok that he is in a lot of trouble. Tulok tries to soften him up: “Dad, look! I found Byrdy!” He proclaims, pointing at his new friend as though it weren’t obvious already. “I’m a hero like Kirby now, see?”
“You sure are!” Kirby says at his side. One hand raises for a high-five. “Look at you go, Tulok, good job!” And boy, doesn’t that brighten Tulok’s day!
Meta is less amused. “Don’t encourage him, Kirby,” He grinds out. “Tulok, what were you thinking! Everyone was worried sick!”
“Aw, come on, dad. Give him a break. Everything went crazy the moment we got here, it’s not his fault.”
“Yeah,” Byrdy squeaks at his father. “Tulok found me! He’s my new friend!”
“Well, how about that,” Dedede chuckles. He gives Byrdy a little squeeze, practically engulfing the chick in his dense coat of feathers as he looks the other child’s way. “You really are Kirby’s brother. Thank you for bringing my little Byrdy on back home, Tulok. Don’t know what we’d have done without him.”
Tulok beams.
In front of him, Meta takes a slow, visible deep breath. When he speaks again, his voice is carefully even, and Tulok finds his hand suddenly grasped in his father’s own - tight. Meta looks at him, and Tulok tries not to squirm under the gaze.
“I’m proud of you, ice cube. Really, I am. But you are running very late for your appointment now. We have to go, like we came here to do.”
And Tulok finds himself being tugged back towards the doctor’s office. There’s no running this time, he knows, and nor does he try to; his dad is already mad enough.
He just… hates hospitals so much.
But as he starts to shuffle along, he hears a loud chirp come from the direction of Dedede’s figure. When he turns his head, he sees that Byrdy has shoved himself half out of his father’s feathers, leaning far enough that Dedede has to adjust his hold to not drop him. “Hey!” He cries, frantic. “Wait! Tulok promised he’d come with me! He can’t leave!”
Meta blinks and looks back at his son. Tulok looks down with a flush, staring at an interesting little spot on the floor.
“He got scared,” Tulok finally mumbles, “Was just thinkin’ of what Kirby would do.”
The quiet blankets the area. Tulok inhales quietly, taking in the clinic scent - strawberry today, isn’t it? This place always picked nice smells…
“A hero isn’t one to break a promise, dad,” Kirby murmurs gently. Tulok can’t see his face, doesn’t look up because he’s afraid of what he might find. He just– stands, breath held.
Nobody moves. Meta stares for what feels like a very, very long time.
And finally, with a great, immense sigh that seems to breathe life back into a place that had been deprived of it, Meta loosens his hold before releasing his grip entirely.
“I’ll…have a word with the doctor,” He relents. Tulok’s head whips up to look at him.
“Really?”
“But you can’t miss the next one–”
Meta finds the wind completely knocked out of him as his son barrels into his middle with as much force as his body will allow. The place is chaos immediately, full of repetitive thank yous, so much squealing it hurts his ears.
As Tulok lets go and Dedede leans down to let Byrdy go and greet him, Kirby hovers close at his friend’s side, watching as the two children mingle and chatter. It’s good, he thinks, for Tulok to actually have someone roughly his age to play with on Pop Star. Poor kid has had a time of it since he came home.
And, he thinks, Byrdy may not be all that different.
“Remind you of a certain pair, huh?” Kirby chuckles, nudging Dedede in the side with an elbow. “Wonder who?”
Dedede snorts. “Gee, I wonder.”
It’s fate, probably, to see their families connect the way they themselves have. Tulok and Byrdy trade a hug that Tulok is very careful about, mindful of Byrdy’s cane, and Byrdy, he returns the gesture with a chirp that’s louder than Dedede’s ever heard it being around new acquaintances.
They’re good for each other, he decides. Who knows what they’ll get up to when they’re older.
“If Tulok is anything like his brother - and I know he certainly is,” He murmurs, in a quiet tone meant only for Kirby to hear under the din of noisy, happy children, “Then my son is lucky to have a friend like him.”
And Tulok, Kirby thinks fondly, is lucky to have Byrdy too.
-The End-
Artist Comment:
April 6, 2026
-----------------
FRIENDSHIP FLUFF!!!! 8D
This is the first time Tulok meets Byrdy and King Dedede! After a small incident where Byrdy runs away, Tulok ended up being the one to find him, and also become his new friend! Both Tulok and Byrdy hate hospitals- Tulok hates it A. LOOOOOOT! But I like to think after meeting Byrdy, Tulok's learned to sliiiiightly settle down with his tantrums and constant attempts of running away, the same with Byrdy! Poor Meta had to go through the wringer dealing with his son. Aaaand apparently Dedede too! ToT
A small fun fact is anytime Tulok would require to stay in the hospital, Byrdy would visit and keep him company now!! I drew a little sketch of it- Tulok had to get a very small surgery, but during his recovery, Byrdy asked his parents of they could take him so Tulok wouldn't be lonely. During one visit, Tulok was interest in the book Byrdy brought (Due to it being braille) and asked Byrdy if he can teach him how to read it. So eventually, as time went on, Tulok could understand braille. >v<
The boys are literal two peas in a pod, and I love them so much!! ;v;;;;;; But wait, what about Kana? She and Tulok are good friends, too! Tulok loves the visit the castle to hang out with them, but sometimes Kana will not be available as she is very studious, and is usually reading off somewhere since she is very focused about her role as future queen. She is super glad her brother has someone to play with, and keep her company when she's unable to! =D
April 6, 2026
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FRIENDSHIP FLUFF!!!! 8D
This is the first time Tulok meets Byrdy and King Dedede! After a small incident where Byrdy runs away, Tulok ended up being the one to find him, and also become his new friend! Both Tulok and Byrdy hate hospitals- Tulok hates it A. LOOOOOOT! But I like to think after meeting Byrdy, Tulok's learned to sliiiiightly settle down with his tantrums and constant attempts of running away, the same with Byrdy! Poor Meta had to go through the wringer dealing with his son. Aaaand apparently Dedede too! ToT
A small fun fact is anytime Tulok would require to stay in the hospital, Byrdy would visit and keep him company now!! I drew a little sketch of it- Tulok had to get a very small surgery, but during his recovery, Byrdy asked his parents of they could take him so Tulok wouldn't be lonely. During one visit, Tulok was interest in the book Byrdy brought (Due to it being braille) and asked Byrdy if he can teach him how to read it. So eventually, as time went on, Tulok could understand braille. >v<
The boys are literal two peas in a pod, and I love them so much!! ;v;;;;;; But wait, what about Kana? She and Tulok are good friends, too! Tulok loves the visit the castle to hang out with them, but sometimes Kana will not be available as she is very studious, and is usually reading off somewhere since she is very focused about her role as future queen. She is super glad her brother has someone to play with, and keep her company when she's unable to! =D
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The AMAZING literature written for this illustration was commissioned by my good friend, Dogblog. (dA- Shadowrealmprincess) ^v^ First time writing GW Dedede and Byrdy!! They did such a stellar job with them, I just---- I love it so much!!!! <3333
The AMAZING literature written for this illustration was commissioned by my good friend, Dogblog. (dA- Shadowrealmprincess) ^v^ First time writing GW Dedede and Byrdy!! They did such a stellar job with them, I just---- I love it so much!!!! <3333
Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
