Nar Yakushi

Among the alleyways of Ponyville, a single blue door, marked with a glowing white star opens. From the threshold of white light beyond, Nar steps out onto the streets of Ponyville. Jeez. It’s hot out tonight. It’s gonna feel nice to get home, and cool off. After getting his bearings, Nar begins his trudge home. From the looks of things, it’s pretty late at night, as Nar doesn’t see a single soul on his walk home. Arriving home, Nar reaches into his pack to look for his keys. It takes him far too long to remember that he doesn’t HAVE his keys right now. Right… he gave the spares to Autumn, and Asuka. At least his parents’ house is only two houses down. Approaching his parents’ house, Nar’s brain goes into auto pilot. It recalls his teenage years, coming back home from school. Wordlessly, Nar uncovers the stone hiding the spare key, and uses it to unlock the front door. Opening the door, Nar begins to take off his shoes. He calls out with a tired “Tadaima.” His head looking down to focus on taking off his shoes. Kisho is wrapping up his meal prep for the coming week. His wife, Betty is in the living room, watching her favorite soap opera before bed. While in the middle of cleaning up, Kisho hears the front door open, and a low voice call out. His wife lets out a shocked wail, then goes silent. His mind begins to race. Did someone just break in? Maybe the voice he heard was from the TV, and Betty was just reacting to something on it? Did she fall, and get hurt? Kisho hurries out of the kitchen to find Betty with her face buried in their son’s chest. She sobs uncontrollably, while Nar simply stands there, looking mildly confused. He looks so… haggard. He’s sporting a few new scars, and bruises too. Oh Nar… What have you been through this past month? Kisho allows the scene to play out for a few moments longer. It's only when Nar finally looks up from his mother that Kisho speaks.  "Welcome home, my son. I'm overjoyed to see you alive, and well." He smiles a pleasant smile, not even trying to stop the few tears that roll down his cheeks. This seems to finally get the gears turning in Nar's head. "Oh. Yeah. I'm... Sorry I was gone so long. It's a long story." Finally, Betty releases Nar from her grip, only to launch into a motherly tirade of questions. She asks about how he feels, if he's hurt, if he knows where he is, if he knows how long he's been gone. All questions of love, and concern, but Kisho can see that Nar is in no condition to be answering these questions right now. Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, Kisho steps in. "Now, honey. Nar looks quite tired. Perhaps we should wait until he has had proper rest before we ask him about what happened." At this, Betty nods, and steps back to give her son some breathing room. "You're right. I'll go get the guest bedroom ready." With that, she hurries upstairs, leaving father, and son alone. The sound of a grumbling stomach reaches Kisho's ears. "Are you hungry?" He's already heading to the kitchen when he asks the question. Nar doesn't need to answer. Given Nar's appearance, his father doesn't think he'd be able to stomach a large meal at the moment. Something simple that can be saved for later should do the trick. As Nar takes a seat at the dining room table, Kisho sets to work on making him a simple dinner of rice, and miso soup. Partway through cooking, Betty rejoins the two to sit at the table with her son. It's quite clear she would love to bombard him with information about what's happened since he went missing, but she manages to hold herself back for now. Once dinner is ready, Kisho sets the food before his son. Nar picks up the chopsticks provided, and gives an exhausted "Itadakemasu" before he begins to eat. Notably, he's eating much slower than he usually would. Taking small sips of his soup, where he would normally gulp it down, and not practically inhaling his rice. It's... sad, in a way. Seeing his son without the energy, and vigor he's known for. Nar is not one to let his exhaustion show. So for him to be so visibly drained... Kisho can't begin to imagine what he went through while he was missing. The thought crosses his mind to send a text in the family group chat to let everyone know Nar is back, safe, and sound. Though, he'll probably ask that Nar be allowed to rest for the night. They can all meet up tomorrow for breakfast, if Nar is feeling okay. After dinner, Nar is lead upstairs, and shown to the guest bedroom. As much as he wants to just pass out immediately, he knows he hasn't showered in weeks, and his clothes are absolutely filthy. Once his parents are back downstairs, Nar slips out of his ragged clothes, and makes his way to the bathroom for a nice shower. The feel of hot water against his skin/fur almost seems to melt all the aches, and pains he's been feeling away. His muscles finally begin to relax, and his mind begins to blank. For the first 5 minutes, Nar simply stands under the water, letting it wash over him. It's not until he begins to feel himself overheating that he remembers to actually clean himself.  The feeling of being clean is something Nar had almost forgotten. Being able to rub his arm, and not feel all the built up dirt, and grime feels strange. It's almost unnatural in a way. He has to remind himself that being clean is actually the norm, and not the other way around. When he steps out of the shower, he dries himself off, and stops at the mirror to get a look at himself. Damn. That scar near his left eye kinda gives him a 'handsome rogue' look. Maybe he should start playing into it a little more. Autumn might like that. Hmmm... Nah. The vacation dad look suits me better. I don't have the personality to match the whole 'handsome rogue' look. With his body clean, mind blank, and energy spent, Nar shuffles back to the guest bedroom. He barely manages to get the door closed behind him before he flops onto the bed for a well deserved night's rest. Oh mattress and pillows. How I missed you. 

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXstck3A4ko) What has been seen, cannot be unseen. Though the streets of a dead Ponyville are past him now, the memories of it will linger with Nar for the rest of his life.  The Astral Highway System offers no comfort to a weary soul, such as his. It's unfathomable expanses, and those that lurk within offer no solace. Only confusing routes, vast emptiness, crushing loneliness, and an unhealthy dose of paranoia. Nar set out into the AHS in search of a way home, but he knows the chances of finding one are slim. He's far more likely to get lost, and go mad in the depths of this plane than he is to ever see his family again. Yet, he persists. The reality of his situation weighs heavy on his mind, but determination, and a near unshakable conviction to see his loved ones again keep his legs moving, and mind stable.  Three highways. That's how far he's gotten so far. Without a way to tell the time, it's impossible for Nar to know how long he's been in the AHS, or how long he spends in each highway. He tells himself not to think about it. If he starts to worry about time, he'll wear his sanity down sooner, rather than later. He can feel the plane slowly gnawing at the edges of his mind. Nibbling away at his sanity with slow, but steady hunger. A quick meal, bottle of water, or a quick nap help to keep it at bay, but it never goes away completely. The only way to rid oneself of the Astral Highway's hunger, is to leave it entirely. Traveling through a vast, empty expanse, Nar can't help but notice an abundance of ash piles dotting it. Close inspection reveals the piles to be almost identical to the ones he found in the dead streets of Ponyville. Experience tells him to turn back, and find another route. He almost follows through with that plan, when something else catches his eye. Something appears to be laying just beyond one of the piles of ash. Surveying the area, Nar sees no sign of any threats, and moves in to investigate. It's an arm.  The grayish-blue fur is undercut by the cold, pale skin underneath. It appears the arm was ripped off at the elbow, leaving the lower half here, while the upper half continued with whoever it belonged to. Closer inspection reveals the faint traces of dried blood around the arm. As well as a barely perceptible trail that leads further into the highway. Ideas formulate inside Nar's mind, but he opts to push them aside for now. Despite his better judgement, he opts to follow the trail to where it leads. He really should just turn around, and find another route, but curiosity drives him to venture deeper.  Following the trail of dried blood is difficult, given how faded it's become. At times, Nar finds himself having to retrace steps. All the while, he finds himself having to avoid piles of ash littered around the highway. While following the trail, a blur of bright color catches his attention in the corner of his eye. Turning his head to look over, Nar is greeted by a scrap of clothing in bright yellow, as well as a few mangled threads of straw from a hat. He has no doubts of who these are from. Given the arm he saw earlier, Nar is not confident he'll find himself alive, and well at the end of this trail of blood.  The trail of dried blood leads Nar to another door. With great caution, he slowly pulls the door open, and steps into the threshold beyond. Lights impair his vision. A stale, electric buzz fills his ears, and the smell of decay fills his nostrils. Blinking away the spots in his eyes, Nar's vision adjusts to the harsh, sterile lights. Slowly, a large, clinical looking hallway comes into view, with a massive metal door blocking his progress. Approaching the door, Nar finds a folded piece of paper that has been placed atop a floor tile in front of the metal door. As he kneels down to pick it up, the faint sound of something scratching against metal emanates from the metal door. He does not notice.  Rising to his feet, Nar unfolds the paper to see what could be inside. What he finds is some sort of letter.  "Here lie 4 brave souls, who sacrificed themselves to stem the tide of horrors that lie beyond this door.  Three of these souls were some of my closest friends, and colleagues.  Rush Gale. A brave, and competent leader. He received the call for aid shortly after our party had exited subspace after a grueling expedition, and made the decision to assist. Though battered, Rush lead the charge into subspace to assist the adventurer who called for aid. Dawn Glare. A spirited, and tenacious woman with a passion for exploration. When Rush made the decision to render aid, Dawn nearly rushed off to help all on her own.  Igneous. A headstrong dragon with a big heart, and compassion for all. When the call for aid was received, he insisted we focus our efforts on protecting civilians. When we were informed that we would be locked behind the door ahead in order to stem the tide of horrors, he accepted his fate without hesitation.  I do not know the name of the fourth soul who gave their life here, but I know they were brave, and held a great love for the town of Ponyville, and those who inhabit it. He was the first to witness the breach, and called for backup. Though it seems he attempted to locate the source of the breach before help arrived, and as such, was nearly killed before he arrived here. He had locked himself in the control room of the complex beyond these doors, and required our assistance to initiate a lockdown. He was a father, son, brother, and friend to many.  I feel great shame in knowing I was not brave enough to sacrifice myself alongside my friends. I can only hope that one day, someone reads this message, and will remember their names." With great care, Nar folds the paper back up, and gingerly tucks it into his backpack. Silently, he vows to give Rush, Dawn, and Igneous their proper place among the Wall of the Lost when he returns home. For now, though, he needs to find another route. Otherwise, he won't even make it home in the first place.