entropy.

(Hey man! been a hot minute but happy to see you more active again!)

Sneakers with lines drawn on the toe like cat paws kick a pebble down the road. The wearer hasn't been walking in them long; the sharpie hasn't started fading yet. And yet the wearer feels exhausted.
Ink didn't recall when the road began. Coulda been 15 minutes ago, or a year. It hadn't exactly been keeping track. At some point, it spotted something on the horizon, and suddenly it found the energy to sprint.
"Hello!!" it yelled, cat paw shoes pounding the dry ground in a desperate need to look at something, anything, other than sky and road. "Hello person!!!"

Trav: do as you wish.

It nodded.
[A hooded guy gave me this. He's called The Traveler. I'll just write Trav from here on out. For my hand's sake.]
"Hope that's cool with you." It said as if it hadn't already written it down in pen.

Trav: trav...... I like it.

That managed to bring the stupid grin back. "Good! Good good!!" it bounced in place for a moment before finally getting to its feet, shutting the notebook. "Well, now that's settled, if I'm stuck here forever I may as well make the best of it." It sniffled. "Nice to know there's always someone friendly somewhere. Assuming there's other people here besides you and I. I should probably be moving again."
It brushed the dust off its shorts and tucked the notebook and pen into one of the pockets. Utility.
"If you'd like to..." it trailed off, opening its mouth before it thought to.

Trav: I'm afraid these old bones aren't able to travel this path anymore. but thank you, for letting me see a new person on this hellish plane.

"Oh. Yeah." Bones for sure. Still as chilling as the thought was, it did get to Ink a bit. This man had been here for who knows how long. it hadn't seen a single person in its time. It doubted the traveler had seen many more. It wasn't exactly a happy life either of them had head of them. Or behind them for that matter.
"Thank you, Trav. For just being here. I needed something other than a path." It swallowed down the lump in its throat. It hadn't even meant to offer. It had no reason to get choked up. "If it's possible, maybe I'll come back for you? I don't know how the mechanics of trying to go backwards would work, but... I'll try at least." It smiled.

Trav: ....... just.... promise you'll try and remember me. *they pull down their hood. you saw right, by now they're just bones. with no skin on them, it reeks of decay. maybe more people are at the end of the path and that's what the mass version of smell originates?*

They let out a long sigh. Somehow it was less frightening. The frog was already boiling. What use was it to jump out of the pot now? At least it wasn't boiling alone.
"I have your name written down, don't I?" It patted the pocket holding the notebook. "And besides, I doubt I would anyways. I don't think I'd let myself. But just in case."
It bend down, grabbed a pebble off the ground, and tucked it into another pocket. "A souvenir. So I don't. Because where else would I have just picked up a random rock if I emptied my pockets before I ended up here, right?"

Trav: and maybe.... I know I left more books along the road, please find them... maybe you'll find my name one day.

"Maybe. I'll keep my eye out." They dipped their head. "Goodbye for now, Trav."

It took much more effort to turn away from the sorry cloaked skeleton. A look into the future. Time may not wear away their shoes, but flesh only lasted so long. And they were made of it. For sure.
And with that, sneakers with lines drawn on the toe like cat paws set out again, this time the pebble they'd be kicking down the road bouncing around in the wearer's pocket. Though rest was short and bittersweet, it had renewed its energy. It had a goal now. And a place to come back to should it ever need.

And should it waste away too, it had two names in its other pocket, chosen by their respective owners. And it was going to write a story. And collect its chapters bit by bit.

Trav: goodbye...... *before you know it the old skeleton is gone*
(this is the end of this part, but you can explore the road a bit more, it will give hints to the next couple parts)

(short and sweet! That was really neat and I'm excited for the next few parts. This is such a cool concept)

(also expect a couple notes from trav to be hidden. some lore in them)

(Yippee!!!)

(so give me like 30 minutes and the second part will be up)

👍

(it is done)

(then i shall see you there o7)

???: hello. *they sit by the road, reading an untitled book*
(thinking of making a liminal series)

(oooh, sounds interesting)

Ink skidded to a stop, panting to catch its breath. "Yeah hi." it gasped. "One second." After about thirty of those, it looked up, grinning as friendly as it could manage in its awkwardness. "Who are you?"

???: I am many things, but I assume you mean my name. I go by the traveler.

The Traveler? Well, that was less like a name, more like a title. It got Ink wondering what their fancy title would be. I took them half a moment longer than usual to respond thanks to this. They gave up wondering and decided their name worked fine. "Well I go by Ink and it's sooooo good to see someone." It spoke like it should be talking fast, but was stuck in slow motion.

Trav: I assume you've been wandering this dead road for a while.

Ink shrugged. "I haven't been keeping track. Feels like it though. But what about you? How are you alive out here in that big dark hood. Looks like it'd be boiling in there!" Its eyes widened and it leaned in. The creature behaved as though it were acting in a play, dramatic and exaggerated.

Trav: that does not matter. but look around us, isn't it beautiful? the stench of decay.

The creature's nose wrinkled. It had gotten used to the stench such that it hardly noticed it anymore. But with the reminder, it suddenly wasn't quite so easy to ignore.
"Yeah, it's pretty nice I guess." A bit monotonous after looking at it for who knows how long. But how rude would it be? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

Trav: have you noticed the slight changes in the road? the further you are the colder it gets, the more cracks appear in the road, the stench grows. it makes you wonder what lies at the end.

"IIII~... suppose..." It drawled, glancing back over its shoulder. It all looked like the same old road to them. Perhaps it had been so gradual it hadn't even noticed the change. Something about a frog in a pot of warm water.

Trav: do you even remember when or how you got here? or why you came here?

"I..." Its awkward grin dropped. "I don't... Well-" It stumbled over the words. "I don't know why that's relevant!" Ink yelped defensively.

Trav: hah, then I doubt you know the way out. if you go to the left or right you'd expect miles of grass. but no, it all leads back to this cursed road.

"...How? That's not how that works." Its head tilted.

???: I know. that's the beauty of it. we're stuck here. we aren't allowed to leave, death isn't an option.

"It's not?" A mix of confusion and almost disappointment. "I mean, not that I'd try, but..." A sudden grip of existential dread twisted Ink's stomach; it had one of those it was pretty sure. Where the heck was it. When did it get here? That. That wasn't how places worked.
It peered down at the sharpie marks on its shoes. Still fresh. Undamaged. It couldn't have been long. It looked back down the road again. It looked endless. In both directions. "I uh... bluh..." It forgot how to say whatever it was it planned to.

Trav: *they hand her a blank book and a pen* write in this to help remember anything you find a long the way. it will help with the memory loss.

~Where am I? WHERE AM I? HOW????? HOW ARE YOU NOT QUESTIONING THIS, HOODIE MAN~ The mind's thoughts were as comically exaggerated as the body's movements.
It took the book and pen hesitantly. "Memory loss?" It supposed in a place you can't leave, that'd be inevitable. It fiddled anxiously with the pen, twiddling it between fingers stained with various colors of marker ink. "So uh... I just write everything I know? I wouldn't know where to start."

Trav: then make new knowledge to know.

"How do I... do that? What more is there to know?" The creature sat itself down on the dusty ground, head hung as it flipped through the blank pages of the notebook. It drew a small frowny cat face on the top of the first page.

*it

Trav: maybe everything you do know. like your name. your outfit.

"Sure. Yeah I can do that." It nodded, breathing in and filling up the lungs it was pretty sure it had.

[My name is Ink Summers. I chose the first one. I'm pretty proud of it.]
it scribbled down awkwardly, gripping the pen just a bit wrong. It hadn't held one in a while.
[I'm wearing one of my favorite outfits. The textures are nice. Orange flannel, white shirt, brown cargo shorts. You can store a lot in those pockets did you know. Recently emptied out all the rocks but now I think I shoulda kept them.]
It seemed to settle into the rather mundane task. Its tensed shoulders loosened up a bit, it quit looking so grim, heck even its head stopped screeching melodramatically.
[My shoes are my favorite. Custom design I did. They're all swirly and colorful and I drew these lines on the toe to look like cat paws. I guess its nice that they don't seem to fade here.]

Trav: *they are suddenly behind it and reading the book*

Ink's shoulders stiffen again. "Y-yeah?" It blinked up at the Traveler.

Trav: *you can faintly see through the hood it wears*

Ink leaned in just a bit, squinting slightly. Trying to get a better look without being obvious.

Trav: *their face...... is that a skull?*

It froze up for a moment. It tried its hardest not to let the disturbance cross its face, though it could feel itself flinch. It tried its best to act natural, shaking its head and turning back to the notebook. "Yeah I uh, used to collect rocks and stuff but. Guess there's plenty of those here, yeah?"

Trav: I suppose so.

"Yeah." It swallowed hard. It could do that. "So uh. What now? Just start listing things off? Should I mention you?" Somehow it doubted it would forget the man so quickly.