[Yeah, this place...has not been kind to him in that regard. It doesn't help that Sparkling can't even see himself, so he doesn't truly know how bad it is. If it's very bad...then nobody has ever really told him, which is perhaps both a kindness and a curse.

To hear that nothing bad is going on back home- or at least worse than the norm- is an immense relief. It was the same with Vampire, if he recalls...and things are a bit different with Caviar and Pure Vanilla due to their unique circumstances, but Mint? Sparkling knows for certain that Mint would be coming from his own home.

To hear that he'd just seen him mere days ago gives Sparkling a strange, disorientated sense that he wasn't expecting. Was it...really him? Or a version of himself from a past time?

It's hard to think about.]

As I mentioned, the magic here is very strong...so strong that it can pluck us from our worlds while those still living in them are none the wiser.

[He looks ahead as the bus stop looms into view.]

Vampire Cookie arrived a few months after I did, and stayed with me a few months after...before going back to Earthbread.

[He refuses to consider the fact he didn't, and went to the Sea of Stars instead.]

At the moment...Captain Caviar Cookie of the Vanilla Republic, as well as Pure Vanilla Cookie, are here with me.