An Interview With Auburn (With some bonus lore)

“You… Want to know about me? Why?”

Auburn mumbled tiredly as a makeshift microphone was shoved into his face, at least that’s what he believes it is. He doesn’t fully trust the other Luminite to be honest with any information no matter how basic it might be. His ears lowered while he stepped backwards, the other Luminite only walking closer into his personal space

“Yes yes! Since I’m gonna be following about… Iiiiiii wanna know as much as I can!~”

The chipper, static filled voice never failed to grate the others ears yet by some miracle he let Blank stick around. Auburn assumes it’s some sense of pity as they’ve already mentioned others back away from them, but it could also be thanks to a sense of loneliness. It’s been a while since he’s spoken to anybody, let alone another Luminite. Maybe that’s why he’s let Blank stick around- Gives his life some excitement

“Here! I even gave you a lil’ sheet if you reeeeeally need it

A sheet of paper with hastily scribbled prompts was quickly shoved into Auburn’s face, making the Lumi flinch and step back. He took the sheet and gave it a quick read over, noting the sheer amount of spelling mistakes. He glanced up at Blank, thought it over then sighed

“...Sure, I’ll do it. Don’t have much else to do anyways”

“YES!! You’ll not regret it!”

The other Lumi beamed before picking the mic back up and holding it towards Auburn

“Right! Go on and say whatever you want!”

“What is this even for anyways?”

“...Personal project”

The taller Lumi groaned then shook his head. He’s already said he did it and he’s certain if he backs out now… Blank is only going to get more persistent. Auburn glanced down at the chicken scratch notes and

“Okay… About me… Let’s see”

Auburn slowly sat himself down and started his… Speech? That’s what it feels like to him at least

“Well there isn’t really much to know. I’m just some guy who wanders space and… Collects stuff”

“Oh! What kind of stuff?”

“...Trinkets? I dunno- Anything I think looks nice”

Blank groaned rather dramatically

“Auburn PLEASE. I cannot believe the big, scary Luminite is trying to be as boring as possible!”

“It’s not boring to me…”

He mumbled, shifting about on the spot while glancing off. It’s true he’s been seen as someone to be feared but he never understood why. When he asked nobody gave a straight answer, not even Blank could. It frustrated him to know the fear he gave people despite not knowing why 

Strangely enough when he tried to think of anything he did to deserve this reputation, it gave him a headache. It didn’t help that his memory was fuzzy

Blank noticed Auburn’s weary state and sighed, shaking its head and flicking its tail

“Okaaayyyy… Moving on- How about some basic stuff? Y’know, likes, dislikes, literally anything that isn’t hard to think of”

“I.. Think I can do that, yeah”

The gruff Luminite nodded before reaching up to adjust his hat. Blank let out a sigh of relief as they started floating about. Auburn continued

“Well I like trying out new things, mostly the delicacies each planet has. It’s nice to see how different they all are from one another. There’s also the whole ‘collecting stuff’ thing but I’ve already mentioned it… Dislikes however?”

He tilted his head to the side as he thought. Not much really bothered him but he at least gave it some thought

“There's this odd feeling fabric I found and it sticks in my mind as the worst thing I’ve felt. I also really don’t like bright lights, I’ve always preferred darker places”

“You’re being boring again”

Auburn paused at that then narrowed his eyes. He’s been giving Blank exactly what it wants but apparently it's not enough

“Alright, he’s another dislike for you”

He glanced up at the floating Lumi and locked eyes with them

“I don’t like loud, chaos causing Luminites. The kind who don’t like things any other way than their own and don’t stop bothering others”

“...Okay, was that really necessary???”

Auburn chuckled at Blank’s disbelief then shook his head

“I’ve been giving you what you asked for, what else can I say?”

The Lumi rolled their eyes before coming up with one last question

“Well… Since you’ve been so nice to me and answering my questions… How about this one!”

They grinned as they floated down onto the ground and bopped Auburn on the head

“How about that hat? Why do you care for that thing so much?”

That gave him pause. His hat. The most prized possession Auburn has out of all the stuff he’s collected. It’s not even the most interesting hat he’s found yet he wears it like he was born with it. It feels a little embarrassing to him to hold onto such an object and even asking about it made him feel all awkward. Auburn shifted around once again before hiding his eyes behind his hair

“...ᴵ ʲᵘˢᵗ ˡᶦᵏᵉ ᶦᵗ ”

“What’d ya say-”

“I just like it okay?!”

He sat upright making the other Luminite back off. Auburn quickly noticed their hesitation and slowly laid back down, his ears drooping and his face showing nothing but guilt. Ah, that… Might be why some of the others don’t really like him

“...Sorry, I don’t know what came over me”

“Yeaahh… I’ll uh- I’ll leave you be to cool off… I think”

Blank stepped away before deciding to float off, leaving Auburn by his lonesome once again. The Luminite sighed and rested his head on the ground below, closing his eyes and sighing

“Well that went great…”

----------------------------------------------------------

Rough paws touched the ground of yet another desolate planet. Not another creature in sight and it’s clear nothing has been here in a long time. That didn’t stop Auburn however as he trudged along, walking aimlessly down the gravelly paths to find… Anything, really. Anything was better than his old planet. The battered and ragged Luminite kept walking along, tail dragging along the dirt while the antimatter surrounding it whipped around until he wandered into what looked like a small town

“Oh… There really was civilization once… Cool”

A husky voice muttered as he walked towards one of the toppled houses, mostly out of curiosity on what it would even have. What did the creatures from this world live like? Was it like his own? Auburn let out a low growl as his head throbbed when trying to think back. His memories of his world blurring together making it hard to tell things between each other. He shook his head to try to focus on the present for once, glancing around the destroyed room and sighing when he realised nothing good was around. Just as quick as he entered he left to check the other buildings

This kept up until he came across a house that was half standing. Assuming at least something would be in there Auburn walked through and started exploring. It looked to be a normal home based on what he saw in the other buildings but thankfully for him this one was surprisingly intact. The carefully carved furniture looked like it was about to collapse any second and layers upon layers of dust covered the walls, but it was much better than the other places. That made the Luminite smile slightly

He then decided to head to the upper floor since the ceiling hadn’t caved in yet and he had yet to see what it was like upstairs. When Auburn touched the floor however it creaked and he immediately realised he should be careful. With slow steps he explored the room until he found something peculiar on one of the drawers

A hat. A simple, dusty hat

The Luminite blinked before slowly approaching it. Compared to the rest of the buildings here it looked out of place, yet the amount of dust made Auburn believe it was just as old as the rest of the stuff in here. When he went to pick it up the flooring caved under him, sending the beast crashing down to the floor below with a loud yelp. As he shakily got himself to his feet he glanced around to see the damage, although something else caught his eye. Auburn noticed his reflection in a broken mirror by the wall… With the hat now sitting lopsided on his head. He assumed the thing fell when he did, only falling onto his head by sheer miracle, but the thought that the hat itself chose him was a fun idea

And that thought made him smile

“...I think I’ll take this with me”