Shadow Slave: Kindness

Sunny lay tired on his bed, not physically — but mentally.

Learning how to use the communicator from Jack and Jill had taken nearly half of his entire day. And the rest? Spent fumbling through its icons, tabs, menus, and whatever hellscape "notifications" were supposed to be.

The communicator was, without exaggeration, a labyrinth of madness.

Why the hell did they create such a confusing thing again? Was it really necessary for every function to be buried under three different dropdowns?

He groaned and rolled over, staring at the ceiling.

Also… the rhyme. He had looked it up, finally.

"Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water…"

And then came tumbling down. Crown broken. Vinegar and brown paper and all.

Sunny didn't get it. Was it a joke? A warning? An allegory?

Well, either way, it seemed everyone who'd gone to school knew it.

He sighed and tapped on the communicator, checking the small friend-list that had somehow grown by two entries: Jackson and Jenelly.

Apparently, those were their real names.

Jack and Jill had just been easier for classmates, and eventually for themselves. It stuck, the same way nicknames sometimes do, until they became more real than the original.

Still, Sunny thought, "Jackson and Jenelly"… those were actually nice names. Softer. Less likely to show up in a rhyme where you fall down a hill and break your skull.

He rubbed his eyes.

Today had been unexpectedly… human. Tiring, yes. But not in the usual way. It wasn't running for your life. It wasn't fighting a monster. It wasn't bleeding in the snow or starving in the dark.

It was people. Talking. Laughing. Connecting.

And, somehow, that was scarier.

He sighed and turned over again.

Cassie…

He grimaced, remembering her expression — the way she'd shut down at the end of their conversation. He still didn't know exactly what he'd said wrong, only that he had.

Maybe… tomorrow. He'd try again. Apologize. Not push.

Just… be present.

It was a strange new world he'd walked into — of soft benches, strange twins, nursery rhymes, and blind girls who felt more distant than the moon.

But Sunny was still here.

And somehow, that was enough. For now.

Sunny sighed and couldn't contain his groan. His encounter with Jack and Jill had left him more tired than someone of his stature should have been.

It didn't help that he was missing Avi — and had no way to contact her or Jet.

And then, as if the world had decided to humor him, his communicator began ringing, signaling an incoming video call.

The number was unknown.

Sunny frowned, but… he picked up the call.

Immediately, the screen filled with the view of Avi — scowling, as she lay sprawled across a couch. Behind her, Jet sat calmly at a table, sipping from a steaming cup.

Avi's shirt was slightly stained — likely coffee — and she looked about two seconds away from declaring war on the nearest living being.

As soon as the connection stabilized, Avi glared at Sunny and barked:

"It's your fault!!"

Sunny blinked. "What?! What the hell did I do?"

"It's because of you that my coffee spilled! You picked up the call!"

He stared at her, stunned.

This brat...

Just seconds ago, he had been missing her, and now he was already regretting every ounce of that misplaced sentiment. This rude, egotistical, chaos-gremlin of a girl who had the personality of an inflated balloon… truly unforgettable.

Sighing, Sunny turned to Jet and greeted her politely.

"Hello, Master Jet. I hope she hasn't troubled you too much…"

"Trouble? Who are you talking about, huh? If anything, you are the trouble here! Me and Big Sis were having so much fun—"

Avi immediately interrupted, shooting Jet a look that said don't you dare agree with him. Jet only smiled and nodded at Sunny, cool and unbothered.

"Oh?" Sunny raised an eyebrow. "What fun did you have? For that matter, I had a lot of fun myself…"

Avi's eyes narrowed. "What fun?"

Sunny leaned back on his bed, balancing the communicator on his knee. "Yeah. I met two people today — twins, actually. Jack and Jill."

There was a beat of silence.

Then Avi's lips curled into an incredulous smirk.

"Jack and Jill? You're joking."

"I wish I was," Sunny muttered. "They even waited for me to comment on it. Apparently it's a thing… some rhyme?"

Avi burst into laughter, the earlier scowl forgotten. Jet chuckled softly behind her.

"So you finally meet civilized people," Avi said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, "and your first instinct is to disappoint them?"

Sunny shrugged. "I did better than that. I told them they should be the ones making fun of my name."

Jet raised an eyebrow, amused. "You didn't tell them the full thing, did you?"

"Of course I did. 'Sunless.' Courtesy of my poetically deranged mother."

Avi snorted and rolled over onto her side, still grinning. But then, her expression shifted — just a little.

"So… you had fun, huh?"

Sunny tilted his head. "I guess. Why?"

"I knew it!" Avi pointed at the screen in mock outrage. "You forgot about me!"

Sunny rolled his eyes. "You disappeared without saying goodbye. You should've given me your communicator ID."

Jet interjected, her tone calm and diplomatic. "She didn't want to distract you. I insisted on letting you both rest and adapt before making contact. This call was technically not supposed to happen yet."

Avi huffed. "Well, too bad. I got bored."

"Glad to know you missed me out of sheer desperation," Sunny replied dryly.

"I didn't miss you. I missed the punching bag I use to keep my temper in check."

Jet raised her mug in mock toast. "He really is good for that."

Sunny groaned. "Wonderful. Emotional furniture, that's me."

Avi leaned in closer to the screen, eyes gleaming. "You miss me too, huh?"

He opened his mouth.

Paused.

Then sighed. "...Yeah. Maybe a little."

Jet's eyes flicked to him, thoughtful, but she didn't say anything.

Avi blinked. Her smug expression faltered for just a second, she didn't expect him to agree, Sunny didn't as well but his flaw made him say the truth— then she leaned back and smirked, satisfied.

"Well. Good. You better. I'm unforgettable."

"Like a stubborn weed in a flowerbed," Sunny muttered under his breath.

"I heard that!"

He waved lazily. "Echo in the communicator. Can't help it."

There was a small moment of quiet, before Avi's expression shifted again — softer this time.

"You doing okay, though? Really?"

Sunny hesitated… then gave a small nod.

"I'm surviving."

Jet gave a small, approving smile. "That's all that matters right now."

The mood stayed light for a while as they exchanged news — about food, roommates, and how Jet had somehow managed to mute all her communicator notifications permanently unless she gave them specific verbal permission.

Then Avi rolled her eyes dramatically and groaned.

"You think Jack and Jill were bad? You won't believe the government staff they assigned us."

"Oh?"

"They treated me like I was some precious, delicate object — and then,you know walking out when a few old men calling themselves monks or something tried to touch me for good luck or shit, big sis scared them off."

Jet sipped her drink without commenting.

Sunny blinked. "Touch you? For good luck?!"

"Yeah, apparently some crazed holy idiots think that if they touch me, i will be blessed for life, they had this hungry gaze you know, wanna know what happened after??" Avi scoffed. "Idiots."

"What happened after?"

Avi's grin turned feral. "I kicked one of them in the nuts."

Sunny stared. "...Of course you did."

Jet just smiled, entirely unfazed.

"That's my Avi," Sunny muttered. "Graceful as ever."

"I am grace incarnate."

He laughed — genuinely — and for a moment, it felt like everything might just be okay.

Eventually, the call ended, fading into a gentle silence.

Sunny stared at the black screen in his hand.

Then smiled.

He was still exhausted.

Still burdened.

Still unsure of what the next day would bring.

But at least now, he didn't feel alone.