"Ah!" The newest one in Astral's collection. He hadn't even broken them completely- he'd just gotten bored. "I'm glad you like it." Astral chuckled a bit, lightly touching it with one finger.
"Yes, it is. You can keep it if you want." Astral genuinely didn't know they could still talk to anyone.
"And you don't have to be careful, I wouldn't get upset. Really."
He nodded, smiling softly. “Okay! Thank you.” He so badly wanted to believe that Astral wasn’t a bad person, he wanted to believe that for once, someone would treat him kindly. Even if Astral wasn’t around that much, it’d be enough for him.
Arien smiled a bit.
"You're welcome!" It didn't matter anyway- they were both his.
"So, how have you been doing today?" Astral sat down on the bed, looking at Simon. Who knows, maybe he could get some fun out of him before heading back to work.
“I’ve been doing well. I didn’t bother you did I?” He asked, not wanting to be the reason that Astral had left his workshop.
"No, you didn't. I had a quick break, and I've come out to check on you." Astral smiled a bit. He knew how Simon was always stared at- he'd fix it later. It happened every single time, too, but this time was understandable.
"Don't forget that if you need anything, just ask."
He nodded. “Okay I will!” As of right now though, he didn’t need anything. Except answers of course but he wasn’t sure he was going to get them, or if he even wanted them.
Astral smiled again. He stood up, looking at the trinket and Simon one last time.
"I think I should get headed back to work," he said. "I'll be in my work room if you need anything!"
“Okay! Thanks for coming to check on me.” He smiled softly in response. Everything felt fine. There was no reason why he wasn’t safe here, right?
"You're welcome!" Astral flashed Simon one last smile, then left and closed the door. Silence. It was just Simon and the trinket, now, but the quaking toy in Simon's hand didn't say a word.
Simon continued to just hold it gently, beginning to hum softly. Honestly he didn’t know what he would do if Astral ended up being a bad person. He didn’t even know where he was, let alone how to get home from here. But did that even matter? It wasn’t like he had a home to go back to anyway, just one of his many exes apartment’s where he was guaranteed to get hurt.
Eventually the trinket in Simon's hand calmed down a bit, once it was proven Astral wasn't coming back. It was obviously terrified of the god, but why? Did Astral have a tendency to accidently break things? He had been kind to Simon, and this seemed to be the only thing in the house that was actually afraid of Astral, and it didn't even seem to be truly alive.
“Are you alive? Or were you?” He asked out of curiosity. Maybe he’d just misunderstood the whole situation. After all, Astral was a god, it was expected for him to have a few things that seemed odd to Simon.
I… I was… The trinket didn't seem to be looking at Simon at the moment. It stayed still in Simon's hands, and if it could have it would have just closed them entirely.
“What happened?” He asked softly. He knew this answer could change everything, but also could change nothing at all. Regardless of the answer, he wasn’t leaving.
I-I… there was hesitation in the voice. Was it safe to tell Simon? Astral was at least pretending to be nice to him for now. Would him knowing ruin that?
I died, the trinket finally said. Astral… took my soul and made me like this…
“Why?” He asked in confusion. “To keep you safe or something?” Was Astral really as terrible as he was in Simon’s nightmare?
I… I don't know. The trinket did, though, but they weren't going to let Simon know. Let him like in peaceful bliss.
He did it to all the others, too… That would explain the feeling of not being alone, then. That was a lot of souls…
“Oh…well I guess it doesn’t really matter, I don’t have anywhere else to go. No one will look for me, no matter how long I’m gone. Sometimes I feel like I don’t even exist.” He said, going back to humming softly.
To Astral, he still didn't. He was just a toy- he looked at Simon the same way Simon had at the decorations and trinkets before. The one in Simon's hand was slowly relaxing more, falling silent. They were all on the same boat, after all. Simon was left in silence again, the only sound being his own humming.
Simon just sat there by himself, continuing to hum softly. He didn’t really care what happened to him. If he met an early grave, maybe that’d be the best thing for him. He’d always thought he was never meant to live long.
Astral… would not be happy to hear that. He wanted to squeeze as much fun out of Simon as he could, and if Simon gave in so easily, then why would it be easy.
I… your dream last night…
“Hm?” He asked. “What about it?” He asked, though frankly he didn’t want to think about it, he didn’t want to remember.
Was it really one? The trinket had seen everything in the living room, after all. How Astral had smashed him against the wall, over and over.
That actually made him pause, his humming stopping. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He didn’t want it to be real. He wanted to stay in denial for just a little bit longer, make himself believe that for once he wasn’t going to get hurt.
The trinket fell silent a moment.
I'm sorry, it's a stupid idea… They trailed off, finally turning their gaze back to Simon. Let him have this time, when he thought everything was okay.