Parting of Two Brothers
Chapter. 2- The Goodbye
Two weeks go by in a blur. It feels like an eternity, and yet like Tulok had only blinked his eyes. That's what happened when people were stuck in bed, he supposed.
Kirby, lucky him, was as fast a healer as he was a warrior. They barely had to keep him in bed for a day after surgery, or they barely could, judging by how he had practically stormed his way out of his room to check on his brother and called it a done deal. Their father has to tell him to knock it off with the backflips before he knocks something over, and will he please stop acting like a child? Tulok, personally, doesn't see the issue.
The doctor is pleased with their progress, though, all considered. The transplant went well and Tulok is healing, no complications.
But it isn't the main solution to his problems. With one kidney, both Kirby and Tulok have to take care of themselves. That means exercise, eating healthy, and not putting yourself at the whims of an environment that is more dangerous for you than beneficial. Given that Tulok, while in a well air-conditioned room, is still showing signs of lingering illness, it may be the case that the warm Pop Star weather simply doesn't agree with him anymore.
His parents spend the day discussing it, but in the end there isn't much that needs to be said. For his health and the safety of his life, Tulok has to leave. Leave to South Nova, the home of his ancestors, where the weather will be infinitely more agreeable and allow him the chance to recuperate.
Tulok had planned to move there already, of course. Next summer, when he was of age. But knowing he has to leave now, within a few days, something smarts. He loves South Nova, but-- something about it feels too soon.
So everyone gets things ready, even if he doesn't see it. Equipment from the hospital is lugged out by the doctor, his father, and a few nurses, pieces at a time to be stored somewhere in the massive hull of the Halberd. His mother mentions something about moving his things, all of them, and he makes sure to tell her to be careful with /some/ of it, please.
Is he going to stay there on his own? He asks her once, while everyone else is busy. Not at all, she says, because what kind of parents would they be if they just left him on his own while he's still so vulnerable? He's going, and she's going too. It's relieving, even if he doesn't admit it.
Kirby visits, and visits often. While back on his patrols, he still makes sure to drop by every day, always sneaking in sweets when the doctor and their parents aren't looking. Always telling Tulok to hurry up and eat them before someone notices a stray wrapper, even if by now he's /very/ good at hiding evidence of his snacking. Tulok, who is stuck in bed while everything uproots itself around him, is more than grateful for the pillar of stability that is his brother.
This is how two weeks pass. Buzzing activity, with Tulok caught in the eye of the proverbial storm, watching from a distance as it all happens.
And then it's time.
It's late afternoon, bordering on evening to give Tulok a little more time outside to say goodbye before he has to depart. A distance away, the Halberd sits quietly, blotting out the sky with its bulk, casting an additional bit of shade. Tulok pretends that he feels better underneath it.
Margalo is there, his father's guardian, and so is Gooey and Kirby. Tulok's friends hadn't been notified as there hadn't been enough time. The doctor had said that his goodbyes had to be short and sweet so as not to waste unnecessary time in the outside weather, and Tulok would curse him if his parents weren't liable to wack him in the head for it. Why is it going by so quickly? Why did it have to?
"Here, Tulok-" Margalo flutters closer before he has a chance to get lost in thought, and he sees a small charm decorated in feathers that he recognizes as hers, several of them all a luscious violet. "For protection against demon beasts, so nothing will come your way! It's not much, but I hope it helps! I'll really miss you!"
"You too...!"
She flutters out of the way so that Gooey can come up next, and Tulok feels his gut squeeze at just how sad the expression on his face is. Gooey had always been like another brother to him, accompanying Kirby on most of their antics and there to protect him and offer him a proverbial shoulder to lean on, and Tulok has to swallow back a sudden urge to cry as things settle in.
"So uh. Guess this is goodbye, huh?"
Gooey lets out a quiet, near inaudible sigh and nods before reaching up towards himself, and Tulok watches with a slack expression as he removes his cape, letting it flutter out before swinging it over Tulok's shoulders. It's strange, not warm and not quite cold either, a soft fabric that Tulok can't help rubbing his hand through before he jolts. No way.
"You're giving me this? Seriously?" And when Gooey nods, he practically chokes. "No way, nu-uh, I can't accept this! I know how important it is to you!"
"Oh, don't worry, Tulok. I can get him a new one! Although he sure does look funny without it, huh?"
Gooey might've socked Kirby in the arm for the joke, but this once he slips away with nary a blink, and there he is, stomping right up to Tulok like he's on the warpath. He's grinning, jovial as ever, but Tulok knows his brother and he sees that look in his eyes. It hurts him too, this parting.
Tulok tries to think of what to say, in the face of this Star Warrior that is so much more than anyone could ever have imagined him to be. He idolizes him, always will, and compares himself to him in equal measure. Even now, some tiny, quiet speck of himself wonders how in NOVA they're related, weak Tulok and strong Kirby. Old insecurities, old fears long grappled with. He doesn't dwell on it like he used to.
"When I imagined myself leaving, I figured it was going to be with a really exciting farewell party. It was going to be amazing, you know?" Tulok can't help but chuckle good-naturedly. "But I guess the weather had to tell me no on that one. Look at me, stuck in bed and half dead. How lame is that, huh? Geez."
Kirby lets out a snort, shaking from the effort of having to hold in the bulk of his laughter for a second. "Psh, the weather can go kick rocks. It gave you a heat wave and you're /still/ kicking! That's not bad, little bro! Besides, you're the coolest little brother ever. You don't need a fancy send-off."
He lets out a sigh, looking down at the ground as his thoughts turn. Tulok should probably get going by now, but maybe everyone else senses it too, this pregnant pause in the air. Unwilling to break what will be their last conversation for a long time.
"You'll be alright, Tulok. You're going to do some amazing things and the village is going to be lucky to have you. They'll have an amazing chief one day."
His heart feels so warm at the words.
Quietly, he reaches underneath the bedsheets and draws out the warp star that had been with him since his infancy. It glows with a radiant light that only a Star Warrior can possess, undaunted by time's trials and challenges and pristine after all these years. Such a comfort, no matter how dire the situation.
He's going to miss it.
But when he holds it out to Kirby, he just chuckles and shakes his head. "Keep it. Think of it as a keepsake from home. To look at whenever you're sad, or just need someone beside you when you're a little too alone. A reminder of all the memories here, and a reminder from me to keep fighting no matter the odds. You're strong! you're a warrior! I know you can do it!"
And as he balls his fists to shoot them into the air, Tulok seeks the scar on his side from surgery just a few weeks ago, soft and pale pink, the newest addition to Kirby's collection, and he can't help the smile that crosses his face even as a tear finally trails down his cheek. Of course he can do it. Kirby never once believed otherwise, so it must be true.
And one day, when he's older and he's finally conquered this temperature battle he's had for so long, he's going to visit and show Kirby just how strong he's gotten.
The sound of roaring engines draws everyone's attention, Tulok jerking in surprise as the smell of stardust and fuel hit him in a wave and make him hold the sidebars of the bed for the tremors on the ground. The Halberd has started, her engines running at a purr, and his father is absent. He must have gone to get it ready.
"Time to go, Tulok."
His mother's voice is soft behind him, and he takes a deep breath before giving one decisive nod. He's ready.
"I love you all! Don't forget that!" Is what he yells as she starts to wheel him up, and he can't help grinning at the little chorus of shouts that come back. Kirby is by far the loudest, drowning Margalo right out as he shouts at the top of his lungs of the sound of the engines.
"Don't forget to drink a chocolate shake every month, little bro! Your kidney loves it even if the doctor says no!!" And Tulok guffaws just as the door shuts behind him, engulfing him in quiet.
When he gets to his room, most everything is there. His belongings packed neatly in boxes, along with a few others, as well as hospital equipment set up for portable use for the journey home. The window he has offers a lovely view of Dream Land and Pop Star from what little he can see from his spot on the bed and he stares out at it with something like longing and fondness as, slowly, the landscape starts to recede.
His mother leaves him after making sure he's okay. And there, he's alone.
He's just about to turn his head away before something catches his attention, something moving just outside. And with an inkling of familiarity, of anticipation twisting his gut, he shifts and moves to stand up. It's exhausting to say the least, leaves him reaching out to hold onto the wall for support as the air leaves him in a great rush, but still he steps forward, leaning against the window to look outside.
White wings, spread out wide, catching the distant star in their feathers as the flap and soar to keep up with the movement of the ship. White wings and gold pauldrons and a pink body, and Tulok lets out an audible hiccup. His brother gazes up at the halberd, at /Tulok/, with tears in his eyes and a grin on his face, and he stays that way until the Halberd finally ascends through the atmosphere.
Tulok doesn't sit down until long after he's gone and the ship has crossed into the black of space, and even then a part of him wants to linger, unable or unwilling to part with the planet that he called home all his life. He had everything there. Family, friends, favorite foods, celebrations, favorite spots to travel. It was safe, for all that the heat loved to try and kill him. It was home. And it was his.
He's going to miss it. But he's going to miss his brother most of all.
Kirby, lucky him, was as fast a healer as he was a warrior. They barely had to keep him in bed for a day after surgery, or they barely could, judging by how he had practically stormed his way out of his room to check on his brother and called it a done deal. Their father has to tell him to knock it off with the backflips before he knocks something over, and will he please stop acting like a child? Tulok, personally, doesn't see the issue.
The doctor is pleased with their progress, though, all considered. The transplant went well and Tulok is healing, no complications.
But it isn't the main solution to his problems. With one kidney, both Kirby and Tulok have to take care of themselves. That means exercise, eating healthy, and not putting yourself at the whims of an environment that is more dangerous for you than beneficial. Given that Tulok, while in a well air-conditioned room, is still showing signs of lingering illness, it may be the case that the warm Pop Star weather simply doesn't agree with him anymore.
His parents spend the day discussing it, but in the end there isn't much that needs to be said. For his health and the safety of his life, Tulok has to leave. Leave to South Nova, the home of his ancestors, where the weather will be infinitely more agreeable and allow him the chance to recuperate.
Tulok had planned to move there already, of course. Next summer, when he was of age. But knowing he has to leave now, within a few days, something smarts. He loves South Nova, but-- something about it feels too soon.
So everyone gets things ready, even if he doesn't see it. Equipment from the hospital is lugged out by the doctor, his father, and a few nurses, pieces at a time to be stored somewhere in the massive hull of the Halberd. His mother mentions something about moving his things, all of them, and he makes sure to tell her to be careful with /some/ of it, please.
Is he going to stay there on his own? He asks her once, while everyone else is busy. Not at all, she says, because what kind of parents would they be if they just left him on his own while he's still so vulnerable? He's going, and she's going too. It's relieving, even if he doesn't admit it.
Kirby visits, and visits often. While back on his patrols, he still makes sure to drop by every day, always sneaking in sweets when the doctor and their parents aren't looking. Always telling Tulok to hurry up and eat them before someone notices a stray wrapper, even if by now he's /very/ good at hiding evidence of his snacking. Tulok, who is stuck in bed while everything uproots itself around him, is more than grateful for the pillar of stability that is his brother.
This is how two weeks pass. Buzzing activity, with Tulok caught in the eye of the proverbial storm, watching from a distance as it all happens.
And then it's time.
It's late afternoon, bordering on evening to give Tulok a little more time outside to say goodbye before he has to depart. A distance away, the Halberd sits quietly, blotting out the sky with its bulk, casting an additional bit of shade. Tulok pretends that he feels better underneath it.
Margalo is there, his father's guardian, and so is Gooey and Kirby. Tulok's friends hadn't been notified as there hadn't been enough time. The doctor had said that his goodbyes had to be short and sweet so as not to waste unnecessary time in the outside weather, and Tulok would curse him if his parents weren't liable to wack him in the head for it. Why is it going by so quickly? Why did it have to?
"Here, Tulok-" Margalo flutters closer before he has a chance to get lost in thought, and he sees a small charm decorated in feathers that he recognizes as hers, several of them all a luscious violet. "For protection against demon beasts, so nothing will come your way! It's not much, but I hope it helps! I'll really miss you!"
"You too...!"
She flutters out of the way so that Gooey can come up next, and Tulok feels his gut squeeze at just how sad the expression on his face is. Gooey had always been like another brother to him, accompanying Kirby on most of their antics and there to protect him and offer him a proverbial shoulder to lean on, and Tulok has to swallow back a sudden urge to cry as things settle in.
"So uh. Guess this is goodbye, huh?"
Gooey lets out a quiet, near inaudible sigh and nods before reaching up towards himself, and Tulok watches with a slack expression as he removes his cape, letting it flutter out before swinging it over Tulok's shoulders. It's strange, not warm and not quite cold either, a soft fabric that Tulok can't help rubbing his hand through before he jolts. No way.
"You're giving me this? Seriously?" And when Gooey nods, he practically chokes. "No way, nu-uh, I can't accept this! I know how important it is to you!"
"Oh, don't worry, Tulok. I can get him a new one! Although he sure does look funny without it, huh?"
Gooey might've socked Kirby in the arm for the joke, but this once he slips away with nary a blink, and there he is, stomping right up to Tulok like he's on the warpath. He's grinning, jovial as ever, but Tulok knows his brother and he sees that look in his eyes. It hurts him too, this parting.
Tulok tries to think of what to say, in the face of this Star Warrior that is so much more than anyone could ever have imagined him to be. He idolizes him, always will, and compares himself to him in equal measure. Even now, some tiny, quiet speck of himself wonders how in NOVA they're related, weak Tulok and strong Kirby. Old insecurities, old fears long grappled with. He doesn't dwell on it like he used to.
"When I imagined myself leaving, I figured it was going to be with a really exciting farewell party. It was going to be amazing, you know?" Tulok can't help but chuckle good-naturedly. "But I guess the weather had to tell me no on that one. Look at me, stuck in bed and half dead. How lame is that, huh? Geez."
Kirby lets out a snort, shaking from the effort of having to hold in the bulk of his laughter for a second. "Psh, the weather can go kick rocks. It gave you a heat wave and you're /still/ kicking! That's not bad, little bro! Besides, you're the coolest little brother ever. You don't need a fancy send-off."
He lets out a sigh, looking down at the ground as his thoughts turn. Tulok should probably get going by now, but maybe everyone else senses it too, this pregnant pause in the air. Unwilling to break what will be their last conversation for a long time.
"You'll be alright, Tulok. You're going to do some amazing things and the village is going to be lucky to have you. They'll have an amazing chief one day."
His heart feels so warm at the words.
Quietly, he reaches underneath the bedsheets and draws out the warp star that had been with him since his infancy. It glows with a radiant light that only a Star Warrior can possess, undaunted by time's trials and challenges and pristine after all these years. Such a comfort, no matter how dire the situation.
He's going to miss it.
But when he holds it out to Kirby, he just chuckles and shakes his head. "Keep it. Think of it as a keepsake from home. To look at whenever you're sad, or just need someone beside you when you're a little too alone. A reminder of all the memories here, and a reminder from me to keep fighting no matter the odds. You're strong! you're a warrior! I know you can do it!"
And as he balls his fists to shoot them into the air, Tulok seeks the scar on his side from surgery just a few weeks ago, soft and pale pink, the newest addition to Kirby's collection, and he can't help the smile that crosses his face even as a tear finally trails down his cheek. Of course he can do it. Kirby never once believed otherwise, so it must be true.
And one day, when he's older and he's finally conquered this temperature battle he's had for so long, he's going to visit and show Kirby just how strong he's gotten.
The sound of roaring engines draws everyone's attention, Tulok jerking in surprise as the smell of stardust and fuel hit him in a wave and make him hold the sidebars of the bed for the tremors on the ground. The Halberd has started, her engines running at a purr, and his father is absent. He must have gone to get it ready.
"Time to go, Tulok."
His mother's voice is soft behind him, and he takes a deep breath before giving one decisive nod. He's ready.
"I love you all! Don't forget that!" Is what he yells as she starts to wheel him up, and he can't help grinning at the little chorus of shouts that come back. Kirby is by far the loudest, drowning Margalo right out as he shouts at the top of his lungs of the sound of the engines.
"Don't forget to drink a chocolate shake every month, little bro! Your kidney loves it even if the doctor says no!!" And Tulok guffaws just as the door shuts behind him, engulfing him in quiet.
When he gets to his room, most everything is there. His belongings packed neatly in boxes, along with a few others, as well as hospital equipment set up for portable use for the journey home. The window he has offers a lovely view of Dream Land and Pop Star from what little he can see from his spot on the bed and he stares out at it with something like longing and fondness as, slowly, the landscape starts to recede.
His mother leaves him after making sure he's okay. And there, he's alone.
He's just about to turn his head away before something catches his attention, something moving just outside. And with an inkling of familiarity, of anticipation twisting his gut, he shifts and moves to stand up. It's exhausting to say the least, leaves him reaching out to hold onto the wall for support as the air leaves him in a great rush, but still he steps forward, leaning against the window to look outside.
White wings, spread out wide, catching the distant star in their feathers as the flap and soar to keep up with the movement of the ship. White wings and gold pauldrons and a pink body, and Tulok lets out an audible hiccup. His brother gazes up at the halberd, at /Tulok/, with tears in his eyes and a grin on his face, and he stays that way until the Halberd finally ascends through the atmosphere.
Tulok doesn't sit down until long after he's gone and the ship has crossed into the black of space, and even then a part of him wants to linger, unable or unwilling to part with the planet that he called home all his life. He had everything there. Family, friends, favorite foods, celebrations, favorite spots to travel. It was safe, for all that the heat loved to try and kill him. It was home. And it was his.
He's going to miss it. But he's going to miss his brother most of all.
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Artist Comment:
Date: N/A
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Once again~! The writing for this piece was a commission from my good friend Dogblog. (dA- Shadowrealmprincess)
Date: N/A
-----------------
Once again~! The writing for this piece was a commission from my good friend Dogblog. (dA- Shadowrealmprincess)
Species © Nintendo/ HAL Laboratory
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem
Interpreted characters created from said species © Rhylem