sterngaze | noctium

[It takes a while after Liem gets home for him to notice the envelope stuffed beneath his door. He’d come in through another entrance, and even after his arrival back home, it had been some time before he’d thought to check for mail. Even when he does see the note, Liem comes to realize that his phone is nowhere to be found in his home, and it takes a while for him to track it down and recharge it.

It’s well into the afternoon, a couple days after most of the other gembonded arrived from the Burnished Crater, before Jester’s phone inbox receives a picture message from Liem’s account. The photo shows a pale hand with long, ring-adorned fingers spread over the opened note.]

I hope you’re not planning on using this kind of language in the commentary for any of those recipes. [Jerk? Heaven forbid.] That would be a shameful thing to inflict on a perfectly good cook book.

[By the time Liem replies, Jester has all but given up hope of ever hearing from him again. It sucks. It's a really shitty feeling, and she's been eating even more sweets than usual to try and fill the cold, pale, Liem-shaped void.

When her phone lights up with a message, she doesn't jump for it like she had a few days prior. Blinking down at the photo thumbnail, it takes her a second to realize whose hand she's staring at. Whose name is attached to the message. And just like she'd hoped, a familiar syntax chiding her for her language. Jester's heart leaps into her mouth as she scrambles to answer.]

LIEM!!!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩
You fucking jerk I thought I was never going to see you again!
I'm so happy!!! you're ok and everything?????

I can truthfully say that it wasn't my intention to upset you. Had it been my own choice, I would have at least said goodbye before leaving. Perhaps given you the opportunity to throw another surprise party first.

But here I am, back in Sumarlok, and all in one piece. It's good to hear from you again.

oh Liem! i know it wasn't!
it's ok. i forgive you. i'm just so glad you're not gone forever!!

are you saying you want another surprise party? sounds to me like you do 😈💕

could i come visit you soon?? you're probably super tired and stuff i'm sure....

[And gods, she has SO many questions, but she's doing her very best not to bombard him!!]

That is not what I said, and you know it. Perhaps you could plan a surprise party for someone else instead.

[The last party was nicer than he thought it would be, but that still doesn't mean he's ready for another one, especially so soon after getting back.]

I am tired, but think I could still find time for a visit from a friend. I feel as though I haven't seen you in weeks and weeks.

ooooh yes!! i need to figure out whose birthday is next...

really? you don't mind? then i'll come now!
do you need anything!! snacks??

[Thank the gods it'll be another ten months before his birthday comes around again. The next time someone throws a birthday party, he can be on the other end of things.]

If you want snacks, you may want to bring your own. I haven't had time to do any cooking since I got back. The milk probably isn't good anymore, either.

I suppose a shopping trip is in order.

[oh! He remembered she likes to have milk to drink. That's so nice...Jester's typing is a little bit jumbled as she struggles to text and change clothes at the same time, a flurry of motion and jingling bells.]

dont' worry lime!
lidm
liem

i'll be there in a litlte bit! ! just han g tight!

[Did she just start typing with her tail or something? What's going on over there?]

Don't worry, Jester. I'm not going anywhere. You can arrive whenever you like.

getting dressed!! be there soon 🫐💕

[She manages to get on a nice, navy-blue dress with long, flowing bell sleeves and red ribbons tied up the arms, and a pale cream dirndl over the top that laces under her bust and flares out in a cutaway at the front. Before long, she's on her way, making a quick stop at the market for some essentials before continuing on to Sumarlok and Liem's house. When Jester finally arrives on his doorstep, her arms are full of grocery bags, so she knocks at the door with one of her horns, a stilted, dull thud-thud-thud.]

[Liem answers the door promptly, swinging it open and taking in Jester’s armfuls of groceries in a single glance. If he’s surprised at all to see how much shopping a trip for “the essentials” resulted in, it doesn’t show on his face. He only looks pleased, and a little tired as he leans forward to take some of the bags from her.]

Jester. Let me help you with these.

[He steps back to allow her entry, lingering a moment to see that the door gets closed and her shoes find their homes on the rack before he heads for the kitchen. Today’s home attire for Liem consists simply of slim grey pants and a black turtleneck. Abadar’s holy symbol hangs on a chain against his chest. He carries the bags as far as the kitchen counter before abandoning them for a moment and turning instead to regard Jester with a quiet smile.]

It’s good to see you again. You look well.

[She may have overbought a little...mainly she just grabbed anything she saw that Liem might like, which is why there's a box of raisins in there and some hard pretzels, too. For her, there's a package of cheese danishes and a bag of chocolate-covered caramels, plus a liter of milk for Liem's fridge. A few other things, too...eggs, cheese, bread, and some Noctian vegetable she doesn't recognize but has seen in Liem's kitchen before. As he answers the door, Jester feels relief bubble up in her throat, the kind that wouldn't come until she saw him with her own two eyes.]

Liem! Here, I got you some essentials~!

[She follows him anxiously into the kitchen, her tail whipping excitedly back and forth and knocking against the walls as she goes. Jester doesn't hesitate; as soon as Liem's arms are free and he turns toward her, she latches onto him in a brief, tight hug.]

Not as good as it is to see you...! I'm so happy you came back. Where were you, anyway? Your home?

[Liem’s arms fold around Jester for the brief embrace, giving her a small squeeze of his own before she releases him again. It seems strange to think that he’s now known her for almost as long as he’s known any of his companions back home. Although the two of them haven’t lived through any life-and-death struggles in that time, they’ve managed to grow close in other ways, ones that he simply hasn’t had the time nor opportunity for with those he knows in Taldor, and her excitable presence in his kitchen is an incredibly welcome one. He realizes that he’s come to count her as a good friend.]

My home, yes. My country.

[Just as he hadn’t missed Noctium during his time on Golarion, he also hadn’t thought to appreciate all the things about his country and his world that he misses while he’s here. The wide, rolling plains and farmlands of Taldor’s interior are unlike any of the countrysides he’s roamed in Sumar and Primavera. The people are different, and the towns they live in, the songs they sing and the gods they pray to. Though he hadn’t taken note of any of it at the time, he thinks now that it was nice to see it again, for a time. He wonders if that was the final chance he’ll have to do so.]

I was there about a month, doing a job I’d been anticipating for over half the time I’ve been here.

[Then he was finally sent back home, only to check out before the mission’s conclusion. Fate is such a fickle mistress.]

[Satisfied that Liem is real and solid and isn't going anywhere for the time being, Jester sets about unpacking her grocery bags. She makes two very distinct piles: Liem food and Jester food. Pretty obvious which is which.]

And then you just...came back? Did you remember any of us while you were gone?

[It's something she finds herself worried about quite a lot. What happens if any of them go home? Will all this, all the friends she's made, just be gone from her memory...?]

[When Jester returns her attention to the bags of groceries, Liem does the same, attending gratefully to the simple chore. The refrigeratable items he places in the fridge, then while he’s at it, he begins pouring his old milk out into the sink as well.]

I don’t remember being taken, from either world. And while I was there, I didn’t remember my time here at all.

[Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t remember. He can’t say for certain that thoughts of his friends here wouldn’t have distracted him from things that urgently required his attention.]

But once I arrived back at the Sky Station, I remembered everything. Just like the last time I was sent back home.

What the hell...

[Jester mutters softly as Liem explains the situation. She's halfway into tearing into the package of danishes, but her fingers slow, her tail lashing irritatedly against the floor.]

Well that...that's irritating. I don't want to forget anyone if I ever get home...It's so unfair!

[Her brow wrinkles and she glances quickly up at Liem.] It's happened more than once?!

[Liem nods pensively as he moves to rinsing out the old milk carton. He pours it out a second time, then begins folding the cardboard up so it can be recycled.]

It’s happened to me once before; last summer, I vanished from here and spent three months back in Taldor. I don’t think Malachite has complete control over when it happens.

[And on that occasion he was gone for less than a week. At least this time his time on Golarion hadn’t been so badly mismatched compared to how long he was absent from Noctium.]

I do need to go back when our task here is done… but I hope that once Malachite has ascended, they will be able to return us with our bodies and our memories intact.

[Jester makes a soft hmph! into a danish at the idea that it's out of anyone's control, even Malachite's. It's hard not to get swallowed up by her fears, but she does allow herself a little wibble. Her voice gets very small, aimed at the counter, and she sounds for a moment the way she had when they'd met in Ballymallet. Melancholy.]

Do you ever worry, like...what if all your friends go home and it's just you here?

[Asking For A Friend.]

[Liem is silent for a moment as he considers Jester’s question, letting his hands still as he watches her gaze down at the counter. He drops the empty milk carton into his kitchen recycling bin, then comes to lean against the counter next to her.]

I’ve thought about it.

[Of course he has. It was one of the first things that went through his mind both times he returned from Taldor, when he realized that time had passed in Noctium in his absence, and that the people he’d left behind might no-longer be there.]

People come and go all the time, in this world especially. A good friend of mine was actually sent back home around the same time you first arrived. That uncertainty is why I started putting up pictures of friends in my house—so something of them will be left here after they’re gone.

[As she feels Liem come to lean beside her, Jester's shoulders slump sideways almost automatically, letting her head rest carefully on his shoulder with a soft chime of her bells.]

That's a good idea. You know...I write about you all in my journal. I really want to make a page for everyone with a really good portrait of you, and like stuff we've done together. If I write it all down, maybe it'll survive the journey.

[When Jester slumps sideways to lean her head against him, he reaches an arm around her shoulders and gives her a gentle squeeze.]

That sounds like it would be nice to revisit. That way you can easily take it with you to the next place you go.

[He suspects that her journal entries wouldn’t make it back home with her if she were to suddenly disappear from Noctium, but there’s no point in dwelling on things like that. Entries like that will still make a difference here, if one of her friends gets sent home without her. And if Malachite ascends and their time here ends, perhaps they will all be able to return home with both their belongings and their memories.]

What kinds of things do you write about me?

Yeah. It's nice to have, either way.

[Jester sighs softly, comforted by the arm that wraps around her, and smiles despite her worries at the question Liem asks next.]

Oh, lots of things. [She sits back upright, glancing up at him with a tiny smirk that lets the points of her fangs peek out.] Stuff you like, stuff you don't like. Stuff we do together.

[Her cheeks color a bit as she says that, and her tail does a nervous little lash against the floor.]

It was going to be really funny if I had to leave off where I did.

[Liem’s brows raise as he looks down at Jester, noting the subtle violet tint to her cheeks and the lashing of her tail. A light hum escapes him.]

You’re saying you didn’t leave anything out, [he hazards drily. He gives Jester one more sidelong glance before reaching for the package of raisins and turning it about in his hand. Their relationship has grown deeper since they first met, not even half a year ago, but in some ways it hasn’t changed at all. They are still two very different people finding kinship and comfort in shared circumstances, with all the complexities that entails.

After a moment, his dry expression takes on a rather meaningful curiosity.]

Did you include illustrations?

Well...no, [Jester admits, barely holding back the giggles that want to bubble up in her throat.] Not really. My sketchbook is like, my diary, you know?

[And accordingly, she tends to record a pretty thorough documentation of what happens each day. And if that day happens to contain some Synchrony-related activities, well, of course she has to include that.]

Sometimes, [she hedges, but the smirk widens on her face.] If there's something noteworthy to record.

[Liem hums at the sight of the growing smirk on Jester’s face. Does “something noteworthy” include getting a horny misfire text and then having transformed gem-fuelled sex with a new person? He’s betting it does… but surely she only includes very tasteful illustrations in her sketchbook, regardless of subject matter. That’s what he’s going to choose to believe about this dick-drawing gremlin.]

Well now you can record the sudden return of a vanished friend in your book, and the last entry about me won’t have to include rabbit ears.

text | un: FatherTalbott

un: sapphire

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