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It was a quiet night in Pixandria, it was raining, and had been for a few hours. It wasn’t heavy downpour by any means, but it was thundering.
The copper king, as well as the rest of the empire, was fast asleep. The rain was calming, and the candles had been unlit by the precipitation. This was not a issue, for the citizens of the empire, all except for one.
The copper king himself, Pixlriffs.
Pixlriffs had always had a fear of the dark. This was common knowledge to all the empires, but none truly knew how bad it really was. no one but himself and his closest ally, The Codfather, knew the intense panic and misery the dark invoked. But even then, Jimmy had never truly witnessed Pixlriffs having a meltdown.
Pixlriffs suddenly jolted awake to a loud burst of thunder and lightning. He turned over to look out his window. He’d always do this when he awoke at night, hoping to get comfort from the beaming light of the vigil. Usually he would be comforted by the illumination and fall back asleep.
However tonight, his gaze met with nothing except for complete darkness and the rain. Not even the moonlight was there to offer solace, as it was covered with clouds and fog.
He took in a sharp inhale, sitting up on his bed. He would’ve tried to focus on the candle next to his bed, but he had forgotten to light it before falling asleep. All he could focus on was the unforgiving dark consuming him and his thoughts.
He fiddled with the collar of his shirt, unable to think of anything but what could be around him, unseen and unknown. His thoughts weren’t clear and he leaned back against his bed, trying to keep his breathing even and steady.
It wasn’t working. God, it wasn’t working.
Everything going on was simply too much, and eventually he couldn’t bear it anymore.
Pixlriffs wasn’t even quite sure when it started, everything was a blur, but he was curled up In a ball, pressed against the headrest of his bed. His breathing was heavy and he was quivering, tears falling down his face.
He tried to breath and regulate himself, but all that he could muster were choked sobs and wheezes, which only made his mind race faster and faster.
His leg was bouncing rapidly and he was desperately holding onto his chest, rocking back and forward. Tears were streaming down his face and he couldn’t think straight. All he wanted was for the dimmed room around him to be lit up, but even if it was, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull himself out of his terror.
The darkness was simply too much, the fear of what might lie inside it overtaking his senses, the terror in his heart overriding any common sense he had left.
It was a double edged sword. He didn’t want anyone to know how bad it really got when there was no light around him, for someone to know he wasn’t always the stronger person—
—But at the same time, he desperately wished there was someone there to comfort him, to tell him everything would be okay, that nothing was there, that nothing could harm him.
He sat, crying on his bed, enveloped by darkness.
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The Codfather was walking around the swamp empire, admiring the stars and the rain. He was a fish, after all. He always enjoyed the rain, especially at night, when there was no one to disturb him, no conversations to be had or battles to be fought.
He was running his hand along the wall that separated the ravine, Lord Sausage’s empire, and his empire. He’d occasionally stop to watch the fish inside the large, glass wall, before returning to his stroll.
He was rather content to sit with his thoughts, until a horrifying realization struck him down.
It was raining. Pixlriffs hated the dark. The candles would be out. Oh no..
He was fairly certain Pixlriffs would have lit a candle, but there was little to no warning for the rain. He felt the need to assure himself Pixl would be okay, so, he jogged to his storage room— which wasn’t too far away from where he wasn’t currently was, and grabbed his elytra.
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After about 8 minutes of going as fast as possible towards Pixandria, Jimmy landed in-front of Pixl’s house, and he was greeted with the familiar feeling of sand under his feet as he hit the ground. He knocked, but got no response from inside the house.
After a few seconds of contemplating whether he should go in or not, he decided to simply open the door and invite himself inside. He was greeted with pained wails and sharp inhales from across the open space.
He saw a silhouette on the other side of the room, curled up on itself, sitting on the one bed in the house. He immediately recognized the silhouette as Pixlriffs and darted over towards him within mere seconds.
“Oh, Gosh, Pixl!”
Jimmy said, looking at the sobbing man infront of him. Jimmy had never been good at comforting people through emotions, let alone through a panic attack. He was trying to remember the tips his sister had given him on how to calm people through meltdowns, but his mind was unfortunately drawing a blank.
“Okay, uhm.. Pix, breathe with me, okay?”
Jimmy inhaled and exhaled at a steady rate, attempting to get Pixl to join him. Pixlriffs didn’t have the willpower to look up at the fish hybrid in-front of him, but did manage to shakily sync up with Jimmy’s breathing.
Pixlriffs was choking out sobs between his breaths, and managed to let out a few words.
“Can’t.. can’t!—“
He was attempting to say he was struggling to breathe, but couldn’t clear his mind enough to speak properly. He was mumbling something along the lines of asking someone to come back, or asking where someone was, but Jimmy couldn’t make out much.
Jimmy’s heart practically shattered at the sight of the person he cared about so dearly in so much panic.
“Shh, it will be okay! There’s nothing in the dark that can get you, swear it!”
He said gently, trying to calm Pix down. Jimmy was forcing a lopsided smile, attempting to make himself look qualified for this. unfortunately, It wasn’t helping in the slightest.
He finally managed to remember a grounding technique Lizzie used on him one time. He wasn’t sure if it would help Pixl, but it was his best shot.
“Okay, Pix? I want you to do something for me, name 5 things you can see.”
Pixlriffs was still struggling, but managed to look up, his face red and stained with tears. He swallowed his spit and shakily spoke.
“I— uhm.. I see.. the curtains and.. a-and your face.”
Pixl managed to choke out between breaths, he was still engulfed in dread, but it was seeming to ground him, even if just a little.
“Yep, the curtains and me are.. definitely here.”
Jimmy quietly said. He was pretty awkward when faced with anything even remotely negative.
“I see.. My hand.. And the blanket, a-and the walls.”
It was working, if you count ‘working’ as Pixlriffs now being able to control his speech now.
Jimmy nodded quickly, smiling wide.
“Yeah, that’s good! That’s good, dude! Alright, now, what are 4 things you can hear?”
He asked, slowly holding out his hand if Pixl wanted something to hold onto. Pixlriffs almost immediately grabbed Jimmy’s hand, squeezing it tight. Now Jimmy could feel him shaking, but it seemed to have gotten a bit better.
“I can hear.. Your voice, and..”
Pixlriffs paused, listening into the sounds around him.
“And the rain, and.. My heartbeat..”
His heart rate was slowing down. He wasn’t fully calmed, but he is mind was no longer clouded with fear.
“And.. Thunder.”
Pixlriffs said finally, and his breathing steadied just a bit more.
Jimmy had decided he probably didn’t need to keep trying to ground Pixlriffs, as he seemed calm enough to keep his breathing consistent and not burst into tears again.
“You.. want a hug, dude?”
Jimmy hesitantly asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Pixlriffs finally managed to meet Jimmy’s gaze, just before wiping away the remaining tears from his face and nodding.
He plopped himself down next to Pixl on the bed, and pulled Pix into a gentle hug. It lasted a few seconds before Jimmy rubbed Pixlriffs’s back and leaned away.
“I’ll go find a light for you, be right back.”
He said, standing up. He was about to begin walking away until he felt a strong tug on his sleeve. He looked behind himself and saw Pixlriffs holding onto his arm.
“Don’t go!”
He begged, desperately looking up at the man in-front of him. After realizing what he had just said, his eyes widened in a bit of embarrassment, he cleared his throat, attempting to compose himself and seem less desperate.
“Please, Jimmy?”
Pixlriffs said, his pleading now dampened by his slightly more refined tone, although, it wasn’t that convincing, due to the way he was still shaking, and the way his eyes made it look like he wasn’t fully there. the last thing he wanted was to be left alone again.
Jimmy sighed softly, and quietly back down next to Pix.
“Okay.”
He whispered, gently reaching for Pixlriffs’s hand.
After a few moments of sitting in silence, Pixl had completely calmed down, except for the anxiety lingering in the back of his mind, it was still dark, after all.
“Could you maybe…”
Pixlriffs was about to ask for something, but his sentence trailed off, not wanting to ask it anymore.
“What is it?”
Jimmy asked, tilting his head, tail flicking ever so slightly in curiosity. Pixlriffs paused, debating on whether or not to answer Jim.
“Oh, apologies for such a silly request… but I was wondering if you could possibly let me sit in your lap?”
Jimmy was a little taken aback, but he nodded, and pushed himself further back on the bed, inviting Pix onto his lap.
Pixlriffs shifted forward, sitting sideways on Jim’s lap, wrapping his arms around Jim’s neck. He plopped his head against Jimmy’s chest, and his head was now cleared, the only evidence of his previous sobbing was his tear stained face.
Pixlriffs chuckled awkwardly, and leaned back a bit.
“Apologies, for the meltdown, I mean. I’ve never been the best at handling stress. I didn’t mean for that to fall on your shoulders.”
Jimmy shook his head.
“Nah, it’s alright. You don’t need to always keep up your walls, dude. I won’t judge. Liz has seen me go through panic attacks way worse than that.”
Pix smiled, fidgeting with his thumbs.
“Thanks. My mother wasn’t so kind when I got upset as a child, I guess I just got used to expecting that.”
He paused, debating whether to tell Jimmy more. He could tell that Pixl was thinking about something because of the way his brow furrowed, and how he didn’t look fully present.
“You know, when I was a boy, I was traveling with my mother in the desert, it was night. We had run out of fuel for our lantern and we were looking around, but neither of us remembered how to get home,”
Pixlriffs explained, rubbing his arm, chuckling a bit. But it wasn’t the bright laughter filled with joy that Jimmy knew oh-so-well. It sounded regretful, and full of grief.
“I turned around and she was gone. I don’t remember much from that day, but I was hungry, dehydrated, and was running around looking for her. All I remember is desperately screaming for her to come back, and waking up in a village, surrounded by strangers.”
Pixlriffs said, and he looked at Pix sympathetically. Jimmy held onto him just a bit tighter, rubbing circles on Pixlriffs’s back, trying to offer some kind of comfort.
“Then, when I grew up, I came here. It was a weak, small town, with maybe about 200 people, but I saw its potential. Eventually, they ruled me king.”
Jimmy’s eyes drooped, eyes full of sadness. He always did easily empathize with other people, no matter how little connection they shared, however, this time, he did understand what it was like to be abandoned, at least to some degree.
“Yeah, it.. doesn’t feel nice, being separated from someone you love. I got left behind by Lizzie as a codling, but I don’t remember it. I couldn’t imagine how it felt being able to remember it.”
“It’s certainly not fun. But I learned to make the best of it. If she never left me behind, I never would found Pixandria, let alone would’ve found you.”
After a few moments, Jimmy stood up, holding Pix bridal carry style. Pixl quietly yelped, not expecting the (slightly weak) man to be able to do anything remotely similar to carrying a persons full weight.
“Imma’ find a flint and steel to light up your candles.”
Pix nodded, holding onto Jimmy’s neck a bit tighter to make sure he didn’t fall. He was only half-confident Jimmy wouldn’t drop him.
After rummaging through Pix’s storage room, they found a flint and steel and returned to Pix’s home, lighting the candle next to his bed and setting it on the nightstand.
“I’m gonna leave the flint and steel here, just incase this happens again or somethin’.”
Jimmy stated, setting it down next to the candle. He lazily flopped onto Pixlriffs’s bed with a groan.
“I’m way too tired to fly back home tonight, mind if I crash here?”
Pixlriffs laid down next to Jimmy, clinging onto his side. Jimmy pulled the blanket over both of them and rested his head ontop the slightly shorter man’s shoulder.
“Yeah, I’d like that. My bed has room for 2.”
After a few moments of them huddling together in silence, before Pixlriffs spoke.
“Goodnight, Jimmy.”
“Night, Pix.”