05-22-2021, 02:02 AM
Honestly, after what Sojourn had done to him, Michael had expected... nothingness. He was dead, after all. That meant... nothing. No more. Nada. He was gone, and while that was sad, at least he had died doing something meaningful. That was good enough for him, and he figured he could enjoy the nothingness. Unfortunately, that wasn't what happened. Instead, he just woke up in an unfamiliar place.
It was a forest, with a gleaming star of skies high up above, and a rather lanky looking serval lazing about nearby. Looking around in confusion, the – now rather ghostly – bobcat questioned aloud, "Where the fuck am I?" The serval merely seemed to shift a bit at that, jaws stretching in a large yawn before they muttered, "What does it look like? You're in the afterlife, dumbass." Michael frowned at the insult, looking once more around the lush landscape. There was even a beach in the distance, not unlike the one that The Typhoon had. After a moment, the thief questioned once more, "So... I guess this is my permanent residence now, huh?" He expected a solemn nod, or maybe a grim joke at his expense, but the starry serval just cackled, shaking their head, "Hell no, not yet there, chubby. It's not your time to go just yet. I know it's disappointing – valiant death and all that shit – but it's the truth. We aren't ready for you. So... shoo." Their words were so simple. Their straightforward.
Michael had never felt more confused in his life.
He blinked rapidly a couple of times before he said, a grumble leaving him, "What... what the fuck are you saying? That I can just go? How the hell does that work? I don't even know how to get out of here, not to mention the fact that my body is dead! You're really not being he–" He was cut off then, by the spectral serval doing nothing more than flicking a paw in his direction. And all of a sudden...
He was falling.
Plummeting, really. At least, that's what it felt like. And then he came to an abrupt stop, when he slammed directly into a new body. He wasn't sure what the body was to begin with. Maybe a rabbit? Something small, anyways. But it didn't take long before his shapeshifting kicked in, and the body slowly grew form a tiny prey animal into his lanky melanistic coyote form, bright blue eyes and bushy tail and all. It wasn't his bobcat form, but... that was to be expected, considering what had happened to it. He wouldn't be surprised if he was never able to shift into a form similar to that again, although he hoped that wouldn't be the case.
This really wasn't the time to be worrying about that, though. Instead, he had to worry about getting home. As he glanced around him, he found his surroundings both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He was fairly sure he was in the uncharted territories, meaning he'd have to do a bit of walking before he got back to The Typhoon. A heavy sigh left him at the realization, but he supposed he couldn't complain too much – he was at least alive, after all. So, after taking in a deep breath, he turned and headed off in the direction of The Typhoon once more.
It was a few hours before Michael finally reached the gate of The Typhoon again, although it was probably faster than it would have been with his bobcat form's shorter legs. Taking a deep breath, the dealer leaned up to shove his weight against the bell, listening as it sang out a greeting to the entirety of The Typhoon's territory. His voice was slightly hoars – and a bit higher-pitched thanks to his coyote body being biologically female – as he called out, "Hello? Guys? It's Michael! I'm back! Somehow..." He really didn't have a good explanation for it either, but he couldn't say he was ungrateful. Being alive once more meant that he could see his sister, and best friend, and fellow Typhooners and niceces and nephews once more. In all honesty, it made his heart sing.
Would he have accepted dying? Yes. Was he more happy to be alive once more? God, yes.
— Reggan
— Reggan