Valenbie CYA - Green String

A door creaked open to a plain room full of various books scattered about and a desk with many papers. A purple haired necrobie took a step inside, holding a rolled up paper in one paw and a candle in the other. The necrobie sighed, seeming more tired than he already looked. Stratos had gone on quite the adventure today and it all started with him following an odd green string. He glanced at the paw that he watched the string go to, tilting his head and thinking for a moment. There was a lot that happened that day, running away from cuddlebugs, encountering familiar faces and ending up with this strange map. Then he stepped further into the room, closed the door, and made his way over to the desk. He placed the map down on the desk and moved some papers and books off of it so he could put the candle down on it as well.

"Let's see what this is about... What kind of a map has an odd string leading towards it? And why have I been given it?" Stratos stood there for a moment, staring at the rolled paper before pulling the chair out to sit on. Once he was settled in, he unrolled the map, curious to see what was on it and what it could lead to, he also wanted to see if it would give answers to his questions. Though what surprised him is that for the first moment of him opening the map, it was completely blank. It left him momentarily confused and a little irritated that he went all that way just for a blank piece of paper, but what surprised him more was that soon the paper filled itself out. Images and words started to appear and the necrobie stared in awe, his curiosity peaking even more of what kind of magic this was.

However, soon that awe turned into a sense of familiarity as he recognized some of the points that had appeared. Places like the library and his home showed up, the N.E.T. headquarters appeared too and some faces were noted too like his brothers, Magnus, Blank, the mayors of Shop Street and many others. He wondered more about what the map was showing aside from things that were familiar to him or what he's done and seen. Stratos seemed to be quietly looking through and watching more points appear, going further through his own past and thinking about the memories that the map brought up. He mostly held a straight face, occasionally smiling a bit at a nice memory or rolling his eyes, looking a bit irritated because he ended up recalling something annoying that Azel, Rose or Emerald did.

The map had started filling itself out at the point that Stratos had been given the map and he had gone home to read it. Then it went backwards from that point in time, showing notable events that had happened in Stratos' life, like when he joined N.E.T. or when he began working at the library and all the people he's met in his life. It even showed what would've been a lot smaller events like when he found what would be his favorite book or he started a hobby of gardening. Stratos was getting lost in this walk down memory lane, though he doesn't think too much on some of the memories he's being shown. There was a point in the map that snapped Stratos back to reality and had him staring for a while. It was at the very beginning of it, where he became a necrobie.

He had gone a bit wide eyed and he frowned. It wasn't something he really wanted to think on much anymore, not after how much he's pretended to be different in order to feel like he meant something. It reminded him just how jealous he was of his brothers, them being able to be confident with what they do and how they're able to act upbeat or rowdy or the latter in general. Meanwhile he's the only one of the three who ended up as a hoodlum, becoming a necrobie from the mass amount of shame his old companion felt. He remembered how his companion was so eager and confident to confess to someone they had a crush on, hoping that they'd have the same feelings for them. His plush was a little flower, able to fit in the palm of one's hand, and it was supposed to be a gift to his old companion's crush to go along with their confession.

Unfortunately, the confession didn't go well. It happened in front of their crush's group of friends and while the crush politely rejected them and wanted to just stay friends, their friends weren't as nice about it. It left his companion feeling shamed and somewhat betrayed as well because what if their friends acted like that because the crush didn't even like them at all and possibly gossiped about them behind their back. That lead to his companion running off and throwing the plush flower away, somewhere where they couldn't see it anymore and no one else would see it. Stratos seemed be absent as he recalled the memory, and unknowingly tears started rolling down his face.

The memory of when he became a necrobie always filled him with feeling of hurt and shame for existing. Maybe if that confession went well and they both shared feelings, Stratos might not have the need to pretend to be someone else. Maybe he could've been happier and more confident like his brothers. He placed a paw over his eye to wipe it once he noticed the droplets falling onto the paper. He wished he could've had a different start, that way he wouldn't have to feel so awful remembering this. The pained feeling is why he never wants to think about how he came to be ever again. With another wipe of his eye, he carefully rolled up the map, not wanting to look at it for any longer. Stratos pushed it near the edge of the desk and stared at it for a moment before holding his head in his paws.

He hoped that no one would walk in to see him like this, he'd rather they never see him like this. He doesn't want anyone to ask him what's wrong or have him explain that he wishes that he came from a more positive emotion or the like. After a moment of holding his head in his paws, he stood up and picked up the closed map, stared at it again for a second and then moved to put it away somewhere in his room where others wouldn't see it. Once that was away, he walked back to the desk to pick up the candle which seemed to have melted a lot more than he thought it would. Then after rubbing his face with his free paw, he moved to the door, opened it and quietly left the room, hoping that this hurt feeling would go away soon so he could focus on some other work.

Steps Taken:
- Follow the green string
- Dive into a nearby ditch
- Check if he's Ok
- "What's going on Maple?"
- "Wait... OUR job? I'm in MIND with you, but I wasn't assigned to this..."
- "What about Kijtol?"
- "Of course."
- Looks like it's time to go
- Head towards the clearing
- Make it across
- Open the map
- The Green String slips along your arm, slipping amongst your stitches.