Raze lay flat on his bed.
One arm behind his head.
Phone balanced on his chest.
In EGO, his avatar mirrored him exactly.
Same pose.
Same lazy tilt of the head.
Green pulse drifting lazily around him — thin, poisonous.
Raze glanced at the match screen.
Raxian mid game.
His pulse meter was steadier this time.
"Huh," Raze muttered.
He switched to spectate.
Watched.
Raxian secured a pulse core.
Rotated.
Didn't overcommit.
Didn't chase.
Waited.
Then struck.
Victory screen flashed.
Gold pulse rippling across the arena.
Raze smiled faintly.
"There you are."
Before Raxian could queue again, Raze nudged his avatar.
"Type."
The avatar rolled onto his side lazily and summoned a virtual phone.
Green pulse flickered once.
Message sent.
—
Raxian's avatar appeared in his private chamber.
Still glowing faint gold from the win.
Raxian hadn't even sat back properly before the notification popped.
He frowned.
Opened it.
RazeFlicker: gg u didnt int fr once
Raxian blinked.
"…Did your avatar type that?"
There was a pause.
Then—
RazeFlicker: maybe
RazeFlicker: spelling is hard
Raxian snorted despite himself.
"You're actually useless."
RazeFlicker: why type when you have free labor
In Raze's chamber, his avatar lazily propped itself up on one elbow, smirking faintly.
Green pulse idling.
Raxian leaned back in his chair slightly.
The edge from earlier this week… dulled.
"What do you want?" he typed.
Raze hesitated for half a second.
Then:
RazeFlicker: ran into someone today
RazeFlicker: small world
Raxian stared at the message.
"Who."
RazeFlicker: fayne
The cursor blinked.
Raxian didn't move.
His avatar did.
Gold pulse flickered once.
Sharper.
"…Where?" he typed.
RazeFlicker: flower shop
RazeFlicker: her mom's
Raxian's brain ran through that twice.
Flower shop.
Morning.
Raze.
"…How?"
There it was.
Not accusation, not yet.
Just confusion.
Raze exhaled softly.
He could tell him the truth.
Or—
He typed instead.
RazeFlicker: was gonna grab flowers for my old man
White lie.
Technically possible.
Eventually.
Raxian leaned forward slightly.
"You were just casually at a flower shop in the morning."
RazeFlicker: yeah?
RazeFlicker: i'm cultured now
Raxian didn't respond to that.
Instead:
"How is he."
That shift was subtle.
But real.
Raze's fingers stilled.
His avatar mirrored him.
Green pulse dimmed slightly.
RazeFlicker: same
RazeFlicker: hospital food still trash
RazeFlicker: still complains about everything
Raxian huffed lightly.
"Sounds about right."
There was a pause.
Raze stared at the next message longer before typing it.
RazeFlicker: you can come sometime
That sat heavier than it looked.
He'd never invited him before.
Never brought anyone.
Raxian blinked at the screen.
"…Really?"
RazeFlicker: yeah
RazeFlicker: if you want
Gold pulse in Raxian's chamber softened slightly.
"I'd like that."
Simple, honest.
Raze smiled faintly at his ceiling.
"Cool."
He didn't type that.
His avatar did.
Misspelled it.
RazeFlicker: kool
Raxian rolled his eyes.
"Tell your avatar to go back to school."
Green pulse flickered lazily.
Raze closed his eyes.
For a moment—
Neither of them queued.