Diary of the Dead

by AppleTank

15: Cold Cycle

I heaved a tired sigh after my long day as I shuffled into the kitchen. I was somewhat surprised that we were able to transplant enough crops underground before the winter stores and freezing farm fields ran out.

I bumped my hip against a table as I passed it, sliding an old tome onto it as I made my way to the icebox. Rations were still in effect, so I could only fish out a few bundles of greens. Fortunately, by this point I wasn’t all that concerned with taste anymore.

I tossed the rations onto a clean plate and went back to studying the pilfered tome. I frowned thoughtfully at the small trail of dust I left. I had clearly made more of a mess doing my chores than I expected. I will require a wash soon.

After returning from washing my hooves, I opened the tome to my old bookmark and began reading. An idle hoof dragged the plate to my side, then slapped the center of the plate. Green lightning arced out of my fur and danced across the leaves.

A whiff of smoke escaped the pile before the greens started breaking apart as if they were all turned into grains. The pile of green dust instantly became soggy as all the stored water inside clumped together into one giant greenish-grey goo blob.

I flipped a page as I slowly licked the goo off my hoof.

So focused on the pages, I didn’t notice Gladas’s presence until she was nearly upon me, her gloved talons slapping the table and smearing red streaks across the surface.

“How!?” she shouted, making me stumble away from the table.

“W-what?” I stammered, incomprehensibly.

She pointed a bloody claw at my plate. “You told me you cause decomposition. That is not decomposition, its something else.”

“I’m just--” I protested, then stopped, comparing it to all the other times I exercised my talent. There was no heat, no deconstruction to base components. All I did was something that can be replicated with a mortar and pestle. “... Kinda?”

“How many ‘kindas’ does that cover?” Gladas snorted, calming down slightly. “You’re the only one with that Mark, but do you know exactly what that does?”

I looked back at my rump. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

“Figure it,” Gladas said, stepping away from the table. “We need whatever advantage we can get. Maybe ... “ she sighed. “Maybe I’d be able to help stop my Uncle from falling apart.”

She shook her head. “Anyways, you do that. I need to make sure Agatha’s blood vessels aren’t crumbling away any further.”

I didn’t say anything as Gladas left, staring vaguely into space as my mind whirled.

Author's Note:

Spoiler: He gets very good at recycling.
v2 Notes: Touched up to follow new characterization.

Comments

[DiscountDiscord]

“...How do Marks work, anyways?”

Maybe this will help you Cycle?