Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

She spotted him at the market.

Or he spotted her.

Or maybe it was more of a 'they spotted each other' situation? She doesn't know. All she knows was that it came at a complete shock, that the man who aided her on her journey could actually exist outside of that ethereal forest.

Alta had just come from her judo training class, still sweating off the last of the exertion in a black tank top. It wasn't as if she really needed anything. It was more of a silly habit that she had gotten into early on after signing up for it. Head to class, kick some butt, sweat it off at the market by looking at some silly wares. She wasn't complaining about it though, it was this place that led her to the duo pluffin companions that were currently waiting for her at home. Plus, if the stalls were laid out just right, Alta could buy some fruit from her first stall, and enjoy a lazy zigzag as she ate and glanced at the items.

Like today.

It was sunny, the marketplace a dusty creature that constantly blew off it's never-ending excess of dust all over everyone who dared stomp on it. That, with the sun beating down, made it a miserable dwelling if you strayed away from the safety of a stall covering for too long.

Despite all that (or maybe because of it? People could be masochists in the strangest ways, Alta was learning) The place was bustling, noise everywhere, a person passing into Alta as she demanded two bitterloupes. The shopkeeper quickly gave them to her, quietly accepting the money except for an uttered, "Have a good day, Miss."

The phrase hit something in Alta's mind, a fondness that surfaced but was not placed. The way many of her memories from that time tended to pass through her. She didn't repress them (god, does she know how little good that tended to do her) but as she settled more and more into her current life, they didn't play on loop as loudly as they used to. Instead, they were simply little notes that would strike Alta in a familiar way, without specific memories or people coming to mind.

Just feelings.

A smile graced Alta's features as she bit into one of the bitterloupes. That was a good fruit stall, the ripe fruit's strong bitter taste assaulting her tongue. Her (co-worker, colleague, companion? Person who ran the place and thus let Alta into it with no trouble even though what Alta wanted out of the class was different than what was originally offered?-)

Whatever. Jan tended to make fun of Alta for eating bitterloupes without the customary serving of weyling syrup drizzled on top. "No tastes-buds!" she would quip, "You lost them all the first time you ate a bitterloupe like that!!" depending on how Alta felt, she would usually think to shoot back with a simple "Yeah," or a "Yeah, I exchanged my taste-buds for the ability to kick your ass in front of your class all the time. No big loss on my part, though it sucks for you."

...Okay, She never once felt in the mood for the first response. Jan would squawk, and attempt a rebuttal of one of the few times Alta had simply graced her with a victory. Alta would say as much and they would squabble and bicker until another one of Jan's co-workers (usually Leon) told them to shut up.

Jan was good company though. She had made room for Alta to join her class as a half-committed team member after her first class there. She was smart and had a good head. Even if her skill level was lower than Alta's, she was still a fierce opponent.

Alta finished her bitterloupe and pocketed the second one, opting it for breakfast tomorrow. The afternoon sun was still high and she wanted a better look around at everything. She spotted a bin of things to rifle through, the items so low priced that they sat further away from the stall owner, out under the beating sun. Seemed like the perfect place to find entertaining junk.

Few others were looking through them, their place in the sun making them a trial for only the worthy to endure. Alta quickly secured herself as one of them as she marched up to a bin, digging through its loot. She pulled out what looked like a pluffin-sized kazoo. Would one of her pluffins like something like this? Then she grimaced. Would she want one of her pluffins to like something like this? She dropped it quickly and kept looking. A hat without a top. Useless, for a day like this. Or any day, really. Was it actually made like that, or did someone just think they could trick a person into thinking it was high fashion by putting a price tag on it?

Oh god, what if it was high fashion?! Alta dropped it faster that the kazoo and started to rummage quicker.

"Come on, come on," she muttered to herself. Surely something here was worth it.

"Ooooo~~~ Darling, come look at this!!" Obviously those words weren't directed at her, but curiosity still made Alta look up. At one of the other bargain bins at the end, a taller woman was smiling, holding something out to someone. Alta traced her eyes along her arms to see.

!!

Shock gripped her mind, as if she couldn't place it, couldn't believe what she was seeing. Their time together existed in a forest, so it felt as if that was the only place it could exist. To see him here felt like a breach of some, oh, she didn't know! Some rule she had probably made up for whatever reason. She wasn't sure what she had in her hand, but she could feel her grip tightening. The thing probably would have broke if he didn't make eye contact with her.

"Miss Alta!" Boro bellowed with shock and, more importantly, delight.

"Uh, hey. Boro. Yeah, hi Boro," she said with grace. Boro clapped his hands excitedly.

"It has been a long time, but Boro is glad to see you still remember him." Boro gave her a grin and she rolled her eyes.

"Well, you're kind of hard to forget," Alta replied. A weirdo who rarely took anything personally, liked being bored, and thought gossipy shows were the best thing around, along with literally everything else in this world.

"Oh? How so?" Boro leaned forward, his warm, brown eyes sparkling especially in the summer light, and Alta couldn't imagine any other response than to tease him.

"You're so strange I've had to make it my life's work to convince others you're not a cryptid."

"Well I wouldn't rule that out," Boro laughed, "I do live in a magical forest after all."

Alta stared, taking him in, something about this still feeling off-kilter. Boro smiled, ever patient as Alta opened her mouth.

"So, um, what are you doing here-"

"Boro, sugarplum, who is this lovely girl?!" The taller lady who had been gesturing for Boro earlier had stepped to her side, peering at Alta through her pink framed glasses with warm eyes.

Alta felt herself start to swelter under their gazes. Maybe those with a warm gaze were liable to gain the ability to put actual heat into their eyes on a day like this? Yeah that sounded plausible, totally real. What would be the other option, that it was nerves-

"Sylvia! This is Alta, I'm sure you remember her from our tea party stories," Boro said with a gesture and Sylvia beamed.

"My, my, darling! I've heard so much about you, how are you?!"

"Fine," Alta gave a strangled smile as she lifted her hand, meaning for a handshake, but Sylvia leaned in and gave her a firm hug. Alta stood, shell-shocked. Sylvia's warmth felt comforting, even in the midst of the hot weather, and she smelled nice, soft. Floral-y and vaguely like azzy fruit, Alta would swear.

Sylvia smiled as she stepped back, "Sorry sweetie, but I'm a hugger. Especially for a girl like you, Boro has told me so much about you I feel like we're already well-acquainted!"

In response to this all Alta could think to say was, "I see how you're Boro's best friend."

Sylvia let out a charmed laugh, "Oh sweetheart, trust me you haven't seen nothing yet!"

Alta could believe that.

"So, what are you two doing here? Don't you have to manage the tea shop and you manage the... plants?" Alta scratched her head, she didn't really know what exactly Sylvia did besides work with plants.

"This is one of Boro's many self-promised visits with Sylvia. She being ready to having a vacation here and I being very willing to join."

"And what a good choice that was, honey! Now we got to meet your good friend." Sylvia wiped her forehead, sweat starting to pool up on it. "Whew, let's get out of the sun and start jazzing things up! Alta baby, you don't have anything to attend to, do you?"

Alta decided not to comment on the fact that being out in the sun with a sweater, as Sylvia was now, tended to make it harder to cool down. What she really needed to focus on was declining these two. But as Alta looked at the two of them, their wide grins and hopeful eyes, she found her resolve wavering.

Would it really be so bad to join them? Just for the day, then they'd all be on their separate ways. She shrugged, trying her best at nonchalant.

"Well, as long as I'm not intruding..."

"Watch out! It's gonna be a dozy of a bowl!" Sylvia proclaimed, her throw decimating half the pins. Boro gave a clap from her side, picking up his vibrant blue bowling ball and switching sides with her.

"Well tossed! Unfortunately, I will be taking all attention away from this with my next toss."

Alta also clapped from her seat on a table and chair near the food court. She had opted against playing, claiming she was more interested in watching. Which wasn't wrong! She just...

Alta inwardly grimaced. She had tried it, once. A wayside flyer that had been haphazardly taped on the usual pillars that existed just for flyers to have a place to be. Those strange pings of fond memories coloring her thoughts when she saw anything associated to bowling. It formed a mix of curiosity and warmth that served as the catalyst for her joining a bowling night.

She didn't like it. Not much of a thrill of interest. It made her proud that she could toss the heavy ball with ease, line up shots if she really put her mind towards it, but...

It lacked anything she liked about fighting.

Collective screams had Alta tuning back in. Boro had done wonderful, eight pins down with his most recent toss. Sylvia had gone up and hugged Boro tightly, him laughing as she started swinging him around.

...Or doing her best to anyway, the difference in weight between them made it hard for Sylvia to properly handle Boro around with her current stance.

"Alta dear, you gotta take a shot! There's nothing better than this," Sylvia called out to her.

"I sincerely doubt that," Alta said, but stood up all the same. She may not want to play, but she decided to tag along, the least she could do was play nice rather than to bog down the evening.

She took the bowling ball Sylvia passed to her, fingers inserting themselves into the hole almost on instinct. She took a deep breath in, eyes narrowing.

With patience, and perfection was within reach.

She let the ball glide gently from her hand, and it went drifting off into the center. Six falling immediately, and one of the fallen knocking over another.

Seven, in total.

A resounding applause sounded from her two spectators and Alta un-hunched herself.

"Not the greatest release," she scowled, shaking her hands. Sylvia let out a gasp and was upon Alta in a second. Alta blinked, how the hell did she get so close so fast?!

"Darling," Sylvia began solemnly, her soft, warm wrinkled hands grasping Alta's.

"That," she let her words linger in the air, "Was the most..." Again, "Kick-butt..." Alta raised her brows, how much longer was she going to keep her gimmick up?

"DAMN THROW I'VE SEEN THIS EVENING!!"

Dear god, what evening of eccentric people did she sign herself up for?

"Boro agrees quite greatly. Miss Alta succeeds again with her laser-pointed efforts." Boro smiled at Alta's and Sylvia's joined hands and Alta shrugs, the attention making her feel wayside again.

"I've been bowling a few years back, I studied up on it, watched opponents, that sort of thing." Alta finally slid her grasp away from Sylvia's, noticing the calluses on the tips of her fingers.

Huh. Girl was tougher than she thought.

Boro clapped delightedly, "Amazing!" he cheered, "Please have another go!"

Alta scowled, "Wouldn't that mess up the scores? And no thanks, it didn't really stick for me."

Sylvia laughed, "Oh hun, we had our competitive play a hangout or two back. We needed to make this casual. For our sanity and the safety of those around us."

...Yeah, she could see that being a thing for these two.

Still, Alta gravitated back towards her spot at the table. "I'll just watch," she called. "Put on a good show or whatever for me."

Boro, clapped a hand on Sylvia's shoulders and leaned in, words surprisingly quiet for someone so boisterous. So quiet, Alta couldn't make them out. Suspicious.

Sylvia nodded solemnly and the pair of them started to walk towards Alta. Twins of mischief. No good.

Alta put on her fiercest resting face. "What is it?" She demanded. Perhaps they would ask her to bowl again, or maybe even inquire her on what was wrong, why she agreed to joining if she was just going to watch sourly-

Without warning the pair of them split up, and lifted Alta by either side of her armpits. Their much taller heights easily taking Alta off the ground. She felt a mad blush work it's way up her face, she didn't wear her boots today! Uhg, now she looked especially short and small.

"What! Are you doing!" she gritted out, yanking her arms. Not with enough strength to break out of their grasp, but enough so the two of them knew this was *not* approved.

"Why Miss Alta, we're off to our next destination!" Boro said cheerily, as if this was a perfectly respectable way of transporting someone. Especially a warrior!

"And the reason I can't walk there?" she growled and Sylvia jostled her good-naturedly

"Cuz it's a surprise sweetheart!" Alta considered breaking out of their grasps and making a run for it. She could kick their solar plexus', drop into a roll and be on the move before they even knew what hit em.

...Back alone at home. Wondering just what else the two were getting themselves into, trying to desperately convince herself she didn't care because she had her two pluffins with her.

Alta slumped in their holds. Straining would simply make the pressure on her pits worse.

"The real reason you didn't tell me was because you knew I wouldn't come willingly!" Alta rounded on Boro, because of the mischief twins, he really should have known better.

Or rather he did know better! But thought this was a good case of ask for forgiveness, not permission. Boro gave her a wide-eyed look, somehow peering up at her with a bowed head, adding to his pity factor.

"Miss, you were saying you wanted to tag along with us, and this is what Sylvia and I had always been planning to do after bowling!"

"Could have warned me," Alta groaned, forehead resting in her hand. "I don't do," she gestured the area vaguely with her other hand, "This."

'This' being a dance club.

"Then now's a good time to try." Sylvia placed her hands on Alta's shoulders, her bare skin again picking up on all the intricacies of Sylvia's hands. "Everyone here is just looking for a good time and its a wonderful way to burn off energy. You ever been to one?"

Alta tossed her head over her shoulder with a flat look. Sylvia squeezed her shoulders in return, "All the more reason why you should try it, darling! I think this is your jazz."

"I..." Alta faltered. How did you convey to people that it didn't matter if it was or wasn't your thing, you just weren't interested in making a fool out of yourself in front of the few people you knew. And how that fact made you feel even more foolish, as if the reason you didn't all know each other was because you had foolishly burned yourself out.

Sylvia released Alta and gave Boro a nod. "The dance floor calls me!" she laments with a bow.

"I will be dancing over there," she pointed an elegant finger with a flourish in some direction, "But slowly making my way back here to invite others." She winked at Alta and melted into the crowd with a holler. Definitely the kind of person who thrived here.

Boro came to Alta's side, smiling in the direction Sylvia had taken off. Sylvia was also definitely the kind of person Boro would be best friends with. Without Sylvia as connective tissue, Alta felt... weird. Untethered. Uncertain on how to proceed, as if this was a case of trying to figure out which approach to use in the midst of battle rather than just conversations with...

"Boro also wishes to join," Alta snapped out of her thoughts and shrugged. She gestured towards the dance floor with a lazy hand. "Be my guest, I'll be over here, somewhere. Maybe get harassed into doing a line dance." Boro laughed. "Yes, those group are being ubiquitous at dance crowds, do be quite careful!" And off he went, pulsing crowd and dim lights swallowing him up quickly.

Alta was alone.

Not that she cared.

Not.

One.

Bit.

She heard screeches and looked to her left. A gaggle of teenage girls, shrieking with delight and schadenfreude at one of their friends who had spilled a drink on herself. The perpetrator laughed, wiping down her sodden shirt with a hand and flicking the droplets at her spectating friends. They shriek again, joy-filled echos as they run away, the crowd absorbing them quickly.

Alta harrumphed. She never experienced anything like this in her teenage years. Not that she wanted to, god no, but with her family always moving, she never even had the option to get close enough to anyone to be invited to something like. Back when she had the spirited power of youth to make every single encounter of the evening delightful.

...But more than that, it would have been a different experience to have a gaggle, wouldn't it? The secure feeling of nothing being able to bog you down because you had-

"Here you are darling! A lovely drink for the equally lovely you!!"

A gaudy glass of some red liquid entered Alta's view. It was decorated with a paper umbrella already reaching the end of it's lifespan as the liquid slowly subsumed it.

Alta raised her eyebrows and snatched the cup away from Sylvia.

"What's in it?" she asked, taking a wary sniff. Something about it felt familiar, but she just couldn't place it down.

"Something that would be a lot more fun if you drank it blindly," Sylvia said loftily, a hand coming up to shape her Afro back in place from all her earlier dancing. (Not that there was much need, in Alta's opinion, it was still perfectly shaped.) When Alta's face sharpened into a glare, her hand fell down and she used both to grasp Alta's free hand.

"Listen darling," Sylvia said. She was leaning into Alta's space, trying to make herself heard over the noise of the party. With her standing this close, the glare of her pink framed glasses were reduced, letting Alta see her eyes in their entire sincerity.

"I could tell you what's in the drink, and you can decline and still stand off to the side here. I could tell you what's in the drink and you can still dance with me, maybe feel it a bit and decide it's not your thing but hey, at you least you gave it a good ole' try, right?"

Sylvia's eyes then sharpened, a knife pointed right at Alta's heart.

"But I could not say a thing. You could just go with the flow of the evening, the flow of life and drink this! Have a healthy surprise that might be fun. You could hate it, you could love it, but you wouldn't get this factor if I tell you what's in it."

Sylvia finally stepped back, her soft yet worn hands letting go of Alta's.

"If you ask me what's in this drink again, I'll tell you."

A part of Alta almost wants to snark that this was stupid, she could know what's in the drink and still enjoy it!

...But another part of her understood. Seeing Sylvia's sincerity made her realize that much in the way Boro made tea for troubled people, Sylvia was trying to make a surprise for her.

Relinquish Control.

Let this uptight part of her trust Sylvia enough to at least make some show of fun.

She wanted to avoid bogging down the evening, right? Well if she wasn't going to dance, this was as good a way as any.

Alta held eye contact as she chugged the thing down. It tasted as gaudy as it looked, definitely a drink for a night of fun.

...Is what she wants to think, if Sylvia's expression hadn't changed from content to alarmed.

"What?" Alta asked. Woah, wait, was it just her or were her words slurring? Then she giggled, who cared if they were! She was still being understood.

Hah! That sounded like something Boro would say.

"I gotta admit, I wasn't expecting you to down the whole thing in one gulp." Sylvia tilted her head as if the different angle would change the scene she was looking at.

Alta couldn't help but to laugh, a raw, raucous noise.

"Might have been a bit too much for one go," Sylvia said, almost to herself, "We can sit down for a bit and let you get settled in-"

Alta gasped.

"NoOo," she said, her voice possibly cracking a bit. "I am not bogging down this evening. We!" She hooked her arm around Sylvia's and tugged her. "Are dancing." She turned to Sylvia and extended a hand very much so gracefully and not at all like the drink was screwing with her sense of perception.

"My lady," she said smoothly. Sylvia accepted her hand and not a second later Alta pulled her in close, twirling her.

"My, my!" Sylvia cackled, "You have some wicked dance moves upon you. You must come here often." They started to pantomime a waltz, a less refined, more jazzy and discotheque version of the waltz. Alta hummed in response, the heavy beat of the club doing something to her. It just hit this part of her brain, the rhythm, reminding her of everything that she loved about fighting.

She spotted a familiar face as she's about to let Sylvia out for another twirl.

"Boroooo~" She called out and twirled Sylvia in his direction, letting go of her. Boro caught her perfectly and Alta smiled. Should they try out trio dancing?

"Miss Alta is in a good mood," Boro greeted them, seeming exerted yet not at all disheveled. Figures he would have infinite energy for dancing.

"Duh," Alta replied, "Because I'm dancing! Come on!" She dragged Boro out to the dance floor and starts jazzing it up.

Was it good? Who cared, she was having fun! And she kept bumping into people but she kept dancing and Boro was watching and he had a dorky good-natured smile on his face and the evening was perfect.

Alta whistled as she walked ahead, Boro and Sylvia conversing behind her. They were leaving relatively late, much later than Alta would ever allow herself to stay up, but in some ways it felt too early for the night to end. As guests of her town, Alta invited the two of them to stay at her place, crash even if they wanted to.

Or at least she wanted them to crash. She hadn't quite worked up the nerve to ask them to yet.

"Okay shhhh, everyone be quiet, this is my apartment." The two piped down quickly as Alta fumbled with the keys.

No wait, she wasn't a fumbler, she never fumbled with anything! No, no, she was just...um... Enjoying the presence of Boro and Sylvia staring at her as she missed the keyhole by five centimeters again. Yeah, that was it.

"Good golly, what was in that drink?" Alta finally stepped back and dropped the keys into Boro's palm, crashing into Sylvia and immediately liquefying. Bones, what were those? No, she was just gonna be supported by Sylvia for now. Yeah, that sounded good.

"Oogh," Alta said, very dignified.

"Boro is sorry, Miss. When I was asking the barkeeper to be making the drink, I did not think it would be so strong." Alta waved a hand at Boro's apologies as he opened the door.

"S'fine," Alta mumbled as Sylvia dragged her inside. "Hold up, Sylvia gave me that drink though."

"Boro was the one who suggested getting you something to drink in the first place." Sylvia immediately deposited Alta on the couch, heading towards the kitchen, where Boro currently roamed. "Hah! Maybe he thought the drink was for you, Boro."

"But Boro had even specified it was for his friend-" Boro broke off and let out the loudest gasp known to man.

That perked Alta up, "What?!"

"There's a-!" Was he in danger? She flailed blindly, grabbing whatever was in reach to chase off an intruder. A pillow? Yeah, she could make that work. She vaulted off the couch, instinct making her stick the landing, albeit sloppily. She raised the pillow high, ready to chuck it...

...At the scene of Boro petting one of her pluffins.

She couldn't help it, she chucked the pillow at Boro. It bounced off him harmlessly and he laughed.

"I was not expecting to see these faces today! How ever did you find them?"

Alta leaned against the doorway of the kitchen hall, the adrenaline rush making her feel woozy. She gratefully takes the glass of water Sylvia was getting for her and drinks from it before replying.

"It was luck really, I guess, for me and the pluffins. That marketplace we were at earlier, I was browsing there and bumped into a guy. He was holding this cage and it was covered despite the heat, and he made the oddest noise when I crashed into him. I tried to help him up but he looked so guilty and just raced off."

Alta paused, Sylvia was at the counter, petting her other pluffin that was resting on the counter-top. It made a small content noise and Alta smiled.

"Anyone who's been near pluffins knows exactly what they sound like. It's so distinct. That odd noise wasn't him but one of the pluffins.

"So I tracked the guy down. Followed him to his evil lair or whatever. It turns out they were smuggling pluffins for pillow research."

"Hold on," Sylvia adjusted her glasses, "Did you just say 'pillow research?' "

Alta nodded, "Believe me, I thought it was weird too. Apparently there's a demand market for pillows that feel like you're sleeping on an exotic bird. So they thought to just put an indestructible bird in the pillow. Everyone wins, I guess."

"Not the pluffins, " Boro lamented, snuggling the pluffin closer to him as if to ward off the threat from the memories.

Alta grinned, this was the good part.

"I thought the same thing. So I confronted them, then and there."

"No!" Sylvia and Boro gasped.

"Yes!" Alta smirked. "They thought I was just someone from the competition and tried to put some muscle on me." Alta stretched one of her shoulders, the muscle rippling beautifully. Her grin definitely border on manic when she added, "They didn't know they were going up against one of the best arena fighters of the time."

Sylvia leaned forward, eyes strangely a lit, "How much butt did you kick?!"

"All of it," Alta said.

And then some. Including the janitor. Which probably wasn't necessary and had made Alta feel a bit bad, but that was neither here nor there.

"But yeah I contacted one of the wildlife specialists organizations here." Alta grimaced, "They took forever and just kept sending letters instead of making a meeting with me!"

Boro shook his head, "Yes, it can be a travesty how much those people despise a good in-person meeting."

Alta scowled, the memory irking her more than she thought it would. "You're telling me," she said. "During the 1000 or so years it took for them to respond, I took care of the pluffins. Fed them tea, played with them, just... enjoyed their company." Alta quieted down, as she remembered the evening she had finally gotten the letter she had been waiting for since the whole debacle began. The organization would finally be coming tomorrow and taking the pluffins away. As she sat on her couch reading the letter, petting one of her pluffins while the other ran amok taking every trinket it could find and stashing it underneath the fridge that she would definitely need to clean later, it filled her with nothing but sorrow. She had taken it for granted, the moments with these two, how coming back from classes or training with a pair of pluffins to excitedly greet her home made her feel at ease... God it made her feel *wanted*.

Alta cleared her throat, remembering her audience. "Uh, yeah. The person who came on by admitted they didn't really have a plan for these pluffins, just maybe stick them in a cage similar to the ones I found them in. I lost it on that worker, started telling them that it was no way to treat pluffins."

"Indeed," Boro agreed, his hold on the pluffin more of a hug as he shielded it away from the terrible memories, making Alta smile again.

"I had just gone into my third tangent of proper pluffin care when the worker just said I should take care of them. They'd approve the paperwork, maybe send someone once in a while to make sure everything was good and 'I can tell you three are really bonded to each other so please stop screaming at me.'"

Sylvia let out a howl, "Oh, the pluffins were screaming too?!"

"Yup." Alta nodded. "Apparently that's flock behavior, mimicking the leader's actions, so they only do that to creatures they feel really bonded too. The worker used that as the official third point as to why they couldn't go back to the wild. They were too domesticated and relied on me now."

"How lovely," Boro smiled, "It was indeed fate that the three of you met then!"

"Yeah," Alta reached out and pet the sleepy pluffin on the counter, "It was."

"Well, what are their names darling?"

Silence.

Alta waved a hesitant hand over the dark red pluffin snoozing on the counter. "Vreetle," she said. Then pointed a finger to the bright blue one currently biting at Boro's hand playfully, "Chip Chip."

There was silence again, the only sound Chip Chip's beak snapping open and close repeatedly around Boro's fingers.

"You just made those names up on the spot, didn't you?" Sylvia looked at Alta over her glasses, "Based on the last thing they drank?"

Alta flushed, "Well actually I named them after their favorite teas to drink, which happened to be the last tea both of them drank." She crossed her arms and looked away, feeling suddenly lucid again for the first time since the night club, "Plus I've never had to name them before. I don't really talk about them with anyone else and they know who I'm referring to if I catch them doing something bad."

Via her affection nicknames of 'Shithead' and 'Fuck it all'. But they really didn't need to know that.

Or anything at all! What was she doing prancing around and entertaining them with personal stories for? Nope, no no no no nope.

"Bedtime," Alta announced, unleaning from the wall and immediately crashing back into it. Right. This was juiced up Alta.

"I can help you to your room darling," Sylvia gave her a smile and latched onto her arm. Alta decided to allow it.

"No, no, one of you should take my bed!" Alta exclaimed as Sylvia tugged her out of the kitchen. "Then I could set up the couch for the other one of you."

"And where would you sleep?" Sylvia asked, looping an arm around Alta and slowly guiding her to the living room. Alta thought about it heavily.

"The floor," she announced after much thought. Sylvia laughed, "Me and Boro can just share the bed, you should take the couch. Maybe take an extra blanket so you're a lot cozier."

Oh. Of course they could share the bed together, they were close like that. Though Alta doesn't think she has any extra blankets. She broke off from Sylvia and went to her drawer where she kept old clothes for workout. She dug around and pulled out a blanket from god knows when.

Huh, she didn't even think she had an extra blanket. She took a sniff and frowned. Musty, definitely has not been used since she first stuffed it away.

Well, it wasn't like she had anything else. She came back towards Sylvia and spread the blanket over the couch. (It was kinda scratchy and Alta didn't tend to get cold easily anyways)

"It gets pretty hot in here with weather like this, so it's best to sleep without a blanket for the time being," she advised. Sylvia nodded and sat down, patting the empty space on the couch next to her.

"I've heard the stories of people dying from heat exhaustion during this season because of sleeping with blankets on, I'm well aware," Sylvia said as Alta sat down gingerly on the couch. Did she still need something? Alta didn't know what else she could want to talk about... Unless she wanted to talk.

Oh god, did she want to talk?!

"Alta baby," Alta turned towards Sylvia slowly. She wasn't sure if it was the drink, but she felt woozy. Completely sick, if she was being honest.

"Thanks for letting us crash your day," Sylvia gave her a smile, too genuine and soft in this small cramped place that was Alta's home. She raised a hand as she tried to literally wave her off.

"It's no problem, you're guests in my town, this is what I should do," She said, waving more violently than she ought to be. Sylvia gave a shake of her head.

"It's just-"

The waving got more violent.

"-You seemed kinda stressed out. We didn't push you out of your comfort zone tonight, did we?"

The waving stopped. Alta let out a laugh, a dry gasp that was heaved out for too long and didn't get heaved back in at all.

"Whaaa-? I-" She broke away from Sylvia and focused on the floor. Had it always moved in such a swirly pattern.

"I was an intruder who broke into your plans, it shouldn't matter if I was comfortable or not because those were your plans."

"But that's the thing, baby!" Sylvia leaned in and took Alta's hand. Alta jerked her head back to Sylvia and was once again caught in that earnest, warm gaze.

"It may have started off as our hangout," Sylvia gestured towards Boro in the bedroom, "But once you joined it became OUR hangout," now she gestured to Alta as well. "You shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable during our hangout-"

Alta laughed again, something harsh that made it feel like the off-kilter feeling that had been dominating her all evening was finally leaking out.

"Uncomfortable? How I could I not be?!" Alta hissed out. "This was some happy-go-lucky meeting of friends and then some girl Boro met years ago because she was an utter mess crashed the whole thing and stole the evening away."

"Alta hun," Sylvia said calmly, "Maybe we're not friends, but what about Boro? Did you really not want to talk to him again?"

"Of course not!" Alta snapped, the sickness reaching a crescendo as she snapped out a harsh sentence, words that she had felt so strongly finally put to clarity with the madness of the drink mixing into the fierceness of her nausea. And whatever she said must have hit the mark, because Sylvia face had shifted into a stung expression. But Alta could take little pleasure in her victory, as she doubled over and puked all over the floor.

She thinks it's two hours later that she finally sobers up an actual decent amount. Thanks to Sylvia giving her lots of water and a healthy dunk of cold water under the shower. Boro had miraculously slept through all of it, so it was just them as she blearily watched Sylvia clean up the last of the vomit.

"Sorry," Alta said, despite already saying it before when she first vomited. Alta wasn't the kind of person to repeat platitudes. You said it once, and that was good enough. But god if this wasn't all sorts of embarrassing and awful. Having a guest you barely even knew clean up after YOUR bodily fluids and babysat you as you slowly worked your way up to soberness. Yeah, she could bend her rules just a touch.

And really a second sorry was in order anyway. With the way she had run her mouth...

Alta put her head in her hands and groaned. She was never drinking again.

"It's no problem!" Sylvia chirped, somehow jolly despite having a literal puke rag in her hand. "And I created this situation too, deciding a drink would help you feel more relaxed."

"It did," Alta admitted. Way too much in fact. "And um, I was apologizing for the whole argument thing we had." Alta waved her hand around, has a distant memory of doing it like a raving madman while she was drunk and drops it immediately, trying to not let her hands fidget as she continued speaking, "I don't remember much of what I said. Something about bogging down the evening I think? But uh yeah, sorry about that as well."

"...You don't need to apologize for that either," Sylvia said, walking off into the kitchen her back turned to Alta the whole time, expression hidden.

And that was that.

"Morning!!"

"GoOoOoOd Morninggggg~~~!!"

Alta groaned as the two songbirds she had as guests greeted each other like they hadn't seen each other in a year. Uhg, she should be awake before them anyways, why were they up so early-

She sat up, head pounding and recollection of the night before trickling down.

Oh yes. She had been drunk Alta. Who had even carried her curse over to this morning with the fact that she was really about to sleep in past 9.

She groaned and fell back to the pillows, headache blooming beautiful images of bright orange pain. Yeah, she was definitely tacking on five more minutes.

...Which became an hour it seemed, as she woke up to the sound of a paper bag being rustled around her face vigorously.

"Breakfast," Boro chirped, stepping back from his close position so that Alta could sit up without bonking into him. She let out a yawn and stretched her back muscles. Yikes, the couch really did a number on her, even with the surplus pillow cushions her couch already came with.

"Thanks," Alta let out another yawn as she snatched the bag from him. Opening the bag, she was greeted with a familiar sight.

"You two went to Rubs'," Alta said, taking out a warm, buttered biscuit sandwich and biting into it. She couldn't help the pleased noise that escaped from her. This was the kind of food that she favored; rich, warm and greasy without being too unhealthy. It was always a favorite after a workout and she was desperately craving carbs.

"Yes," Boro laughed, "A close-by place you already seem to be very familiar with." Alta nodded, and the two sat in silence, the soft sounds of Boro's unhurried breathing and Alta's chewing being the only things that filled the air.

...And a squeak from her pluffins. Was Chip Chip stealing things to shove under the fridge again? Alta made a mental note to deal with that later. A vague, probably not happening today, later. That was one of the first things that had changed after her time in the forest. It was a hassle, that effervescent part of her heckling Alta every step of the way, but she had settled into the idea, somewhat, that if her plans of what today should be went wayside, then she should give in and see what today could be.

Sometimes it still annoyed her to no end, to have plans of training, muscle building, doing something actually fruitful, only to have it all knocked down by an over-pulled muscle or an emergency visit to the plumbers because a water pipe had broken. But to push through those moments and try to control the day into her idea of what it should have been was usually useless.

...And dare she say it was sometimes even better, to see what the day had in store for her, if she just let go. Infinitely scary, in a way she still couldn't articulate to anyone, not even herself, but rewarding too, as if braving the unknown was enough for life to give her a delightful surprise.

'Wow, way too cheesy.' Alta gave herself a mental shake. Was she especially emotional because she was around Boro? Yeah, she'll say it's Boro's fault she was being all sappy. He probably just emitted this weird aura of, confront your feelings and... have cute thoughts! Or something like that. Ugh. Her thoughts were getting away from her.

"Where's Sylvia?" Alta asked, getting up to wash her hands of the grease from her food and start some semblance of her morning routine.

"Boro doesn't know!" Boro replied cheerfully, and Alta paused from washing her face to squint at Boro from down the hall.

"Don't tell me you lost her," Alta said and Boro let out a belly-shaking laugh.

"Goodness no! Miss Sylvia wants to surprise Boro and sent him off to do his own thing." Alta squinted again, certain that Boro could still feel it even without her directing it in his direction.

"Is it really a surprise if she told you about it?" Alta asked in-between brushing her teeth.

"Yes!" Boro enthused, "Because Boro doesn't know what *it* is!"

"Of course you would say that," Alta said, spitting out the paste mixture and washing her face, looking up in the mirror.

Huh. When did she start smiling?

"Boro thinks Miss Alta would agree, given her surprise from Sylvia yesterday."

"That one doesn't count," Alta practiced her scowl in mirror before stepping out of the bathroom and using it on Boro, hands on her hips, "I already knew it was a drink, just not what type it was."

"Ah, So you *knew* about the drink but not *what* the drink was," Boro placed a musing hand on his chin, stroking it thoughtfully, "Strange, I have heard of this exact scenario just moments before,"

"Whatever," Alta felt the smile working up on her face and she crossed her arms, turning away from him, the small expression gracing her features as she says, "Well, what will you be doing in the meantime?"

"Boro thinks he will defer to Miss Alta about what to be indulging in next here. Seeing as this is your hometown."

"Well don't," The words come out fiercer than expected and surprise Alta herself. She clarified, walking down the hallway into her bedroom, "Defer to me or anything like that. Just go do your own thing."

Boro doesn't reply and Alta felt tension drain from her. Right, he would acquiesce. Nothing to get so worked up about here. She bended down to pick up something from the floor, Chip Chip, she internally admonished, and straightened up, turning around-

"Waghh!" Her fist goes flying before she can really stop herself and she gives Boro a thorough smite on his left shoulder.

"I had just wanted to be asking if you were being certain on not joining me today." Boro frowns at Alta petulantly and she sighs, pushing the ice pack further onto Boro's shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry. You just startled me," she admits, taking off the ice pack and peering at the skin on Boro's shoulder. It was already starting to leave a mark. She would probably feel a bit worse about it if there wasn't a slight rush of pride at how solidly she had landed the hit. How long has it been since she threw a punch like that, and to have it bloom so beautifully?

"Well, will you?" Alta gives Boro a flat look at his question.

"There's no way you're still asking me that after I just seriously injured you."

"Not injured, just in immense pain," Boro says, raising his arm to rub at his head, before wincing and aborting the action.

"Either way, why would you want to spend your day with someone like that. Who hurts you when you're just being friendly." Alta bites her lip and takes the ice pack away, switching it out for a less melty one. She see the new one and rummages in the freezer still, looking at the sparkling ice crystals as she waits for Boro's reply.

"Well for one, Boro likes this person's company." She hears him when he gets up this time, standing to the side as he accepts the new ice pack.

"And secondly, I cannot imagine a more joyous way to be spending the day." Boro gives her that smile of his, so bumble-y and carefree and it makes Alta slam the freezer door harder than she ought to.

"Alright," she says, "Let's go out."

Alta doesn't really know where to take Boro, so she just wanders around aimlessly, more than certain that Boro would be content with that.

He is. Somehow he finds something joyous about every single blade of grass. And finds something joyous in every single grass blade.

(So far, in order, he's seen a ladybug, a paperclip, a wad of gum that wasn't chewed but was melted, a paperclip, and another paperclip-)

"Are you just part magnet?" Alta raises her eyebrow at Boro's fourth metallic find.

"But Miss, this is not a paperclip, but a binder clip!" Boro raises the object for Alta to see the oh so obvious difference and she frowns.

"Yeah, big difference," she deadpans and Boro nods vigorously.

"Indeed! I cannot begin to tell you the amount of times I had thought a paperclip sufficient enough to hold a stack of papers, only for it all to explode away from me," Boro sighs sadly, "A tough time, those days are being. Still, these things are always being remarkable finds." Boro slips the object into a shirt pocket and pats it gently. Alta watches, bemused. She really still didn't understand Boro sometimes. Or rather she did, and still couldn't believe someone wanted to exist in the capacity that he did. It was one part enthralling, two parts confusing.

"Does Miss Alta have a favorite find on such walks?" Boro asks as they resume their casual walk down towards god-knows-where-because-Alta-certainly-didn't.

"Your mom," Alta snarks before she really thinks about what she's saying and to who. Boro lets out an overblown gasp and turns to Alta with feigned shock.

"Is that so?!" he cries, "Boro himself has never even seen her! What did you do after finding her?" He looks at her imploringly and Alta shrugs.

"I uh, put her back. In the grass." Boro nods thoughtfully and brings a hand to his chin.

"Interesting. Yes, it is all making sense now."

"...What?" Alta feels like she's walking into a trap, but she's not sure from which direction it lies.

"Well Boro had been wondering, she had been inspecting the grass so closely the last few nightly visits." Boro seems so lost in thought as they walked that Alta went in front of him, confused and interested.

"Wha-... Who??" Alta asks again, giving the ground a quick aside look to make sure she doesn't trip as she does her slow moonwalk in front of Boro. If she had timed it better, she wouldn't have been facing Boro again as he gives her a blinding smile and his answer.

"Your mother. She had seemed so distracted these last few nightly visits, yes, because she was looking for your lost object. It all adds up now, no more confusion the next time she visits."

Boro sidesteps around the halted Alta, her brain processing the roast double time.

It's a minute later that she turns around and looks at Boro's meandering form indignantly.

"Boro!"

She forgets how despite his soft nature, Boro often gives it back as good as he gets it. The rest of the walk was characterized by subterfuge as Alta tries to get Boro back for his earlier roasts. It doesn't really go well for Alta, she knows she tends to be too brash for things like this, but some childish part of her got all giddy as she kept trying to poke at Boro's mental defenses, seeing when he would slip up just enough for Alta to land a solid strike.

A different kind of fight than the ones she was used to, but enthusing all the same.

"Well you know what's usually under there, right?" Alta says, trying to maintain a casual air at her next tangent.

"Hm? Under what, Miss?" Boro replies easily.

"Y'know, under there," Alta stresses. Yup, this is what she has been reduced to. Schoolyard taunts and jibes. It's for a good purpose though! She may be childish for stooping this low, but if Boro falls for it, then he would be the bigger child in the end! Yeah, yeah so it's *totally* justified.

He just has to fall for it first. Easy.

"What is 'under there', Miss?" Boro asks and Alta frowns.

"You don't even know what 'there' I'm talking about," she says and Boro blinks thoughtfully.

"I suppose you are correct! Well where is this 'there' then?"

"What there?" Alta asks loftily.

"That there," Boro says.

"Which there?" Alta tries again.

"Over there!" Boro gestures to some area and Alta moves his hand down.

"No it's not 'over' anything. It's under."

"Under there?" Boro questions.

"Under there," Alta agrees.

There's a moment of silence. Boro turns to Alta.

"So, what is under there?"

"No," Alta drags a slow hand down her face, "It's supposed to be 'under where.'"

"Hm, I don't see what undergarments have to do with anything, Miss Alta."

"No I-" Alta breaks off, realizing her mistake. She huffs and crosses her arms, glaring at Boro.

"You're cruel."

"I haven't the foggiest what you mean, Miss." Boro gives her a cheerful smile and she sighs.

"Yeah yeah, look at you playing Mr. Innocent," Alta brushes past him, mindful of his sore shoulder, "Next you'll be telling me you've forgotten how to spell 'Icup'."

There's no reply, and Alta looks over her shoulder.

Boro is gone.

It is funny, in an ironic sense. After all the grief she had given Boro about 'losing' Sylvia, and now she has actually lost Boro. Wonderful. Alta is certainly laughing right now and not stressing out at all, oh no. God, isn't she suppose to make sure guests in her town are enjoying themselves, and not getting injured or cleaning up after her? She's really scoring it *big* time in terms of hostess vibes. Good job, Alta! Surely no one else in the history of ever has done such a job as you have now-

"It's rude to walk away mid-conversation you know!" Alta growls, marching over to where Boro stood awestruck. He is a mere couple of feet away from where she had left him, just diverted off the sidewalk into the fields proper. Boro nods and glances at Alta's face. Whatever he sees must make him realize how serious she is, because his amazed expression is replaced briefly with guilt.

"Sorry," Boro says, genuine in that heavy way that sometimes feels like too much emotion to be directed at Alta solely. "But Boro has caught a glimpse at something amazing! Won't you join me in seeing it?" He offers her a hand and Alta knows a peace offering when she sees one. She takes it, mind burning at their conjoined hands as Boro leads her away. His hands were warm without being sweaty, and much more calloused than Alta expects.

But is that really surprising? She knows from experience that while weeding, gardening and gathering isn't particularly hard work, it is still something to put effort into. And if anything requires effort and is done enough times, your body would respond in kind by becoming tougher. Cause and effect.

But Boro's warm yet loose grip fills her with a weird sort of dread. She wants to break her hand away, wipe her shirt on it and be rid of this whole interaction. This is too much! She isn't even sure what this is, or what is too much, she just knows that this is too much-

"Here!" Boro lets go of Alta's hand and she surreptitiously wipes it on her shirt, trying to block the whole thing from her mind.

"What?" Alta asks, scanning the area. It's alright, as far as views go. There are sparse trees, so the field's long grass is illuminated by the sun greatly. Birdsong calls out and wild plants with intricate leaves, stems and flowers grow abundantly. Butterflies flutter by to and fro, the sunlight dazzling on their crystalline wings. A view Boro would definitely go crazy for, but is it really one worth giving her a mini-heart attack over?

"Do you see, the nest right over there!" Boro gestures so widely that 'over there' really could be 'under where' for all she cares. She glances around, eyes focusing as she scans each and every point of possible interest.

...Which for someone like Boro, could literally be everything. Well, he had seen it from far away. So, maybe it's a bigger tree or something. She eyes a suspiciously large tree. It's just sitting there, menacingly. Maybe Boro has never felt such malice from a tree. Yeah, that's it. The nest has to be there.

"What? This huge menace of a tree and it's nest of birds? Yeah, we have these all the time here. The birds that is, not the trees. This one's a real nasty guy," Alta gestures at the tree casually and Boro chuckles.

"Indeed! That is quite the foreboding tree, but not what has caught Boro's attention." He gestures again at the open air, "Look!" he says, "They are gathering more air!"

They? Alta squints at the high open air. There are butterflies. A lot of butterflies. An ungodly amount of butterflies.

"Oh."

"Oh indeed, Miss!" The flying insects were all the same species. Tinier than most butterfly species, hard to see if you aren't really looking at them.

"They're alright, I guess," Alta says and Boro rotates her body to face the direction of a non-malicious tree.

"Yes, but see what wonderful time we have caught them at!" There's a trail of butterflies leading over to a much smaller tree than the sinister one. They go up to this thin, ephemeral wasp-looking nest and...Exhale?

"What are they doing?" Alta ventures closer, wondering if the bugs would startle. They don't. In fact, the creatures seem happier with her around, going up to her and sticking their proboscis everywhere. One lands on Alta's nose and she scrunches it. Boro laughs.

"An honor has been bestowed upon you, Miss Alta! It seems they want to use your CO3 to build their nest.

CO2, Alta thinks to correct him, but focuses instead on the last two words of Boro's sentence.

"They're building a nest from my air?" She asks, watching as her nos-y butterfly takes off, flapping it's tiny wings towards the nest.

"Yes, they start off collecting air nearby to shape the outer part of it. Then, they take a person's breath to insulate the inside. A wonderful delight this is! For us to be seeing this in action. I myself have only heard tales of it." Boro claps his hand excitedly.

A weird kind of species that swallows air to make their nest of spun air. Alta isn't one much for bugs, but she has to admit, this definitely takes the cake in terms of unforgettable. Her butterfly finally flaps to the front of the nest (or what Alta assumes is the front anyways, there's not really much to differentiate front from back, or anything from anything else really) and exhales. The inside of the nest changes, from a slight fogged view to a warmly tinted orange.

"Does it always change color?" She asks Boro as her butterfly flaps off and he shrugs.

"Hm, I'm not too sure. Perhaps a person's breath is like being their wallpaper. Yes, that sounds very likely," Boro laughs and Alta sighs good-naturedly.

"Taking my breath, just like that, to use for decoration? Shouldn't I be getting paid for this?"

"My, you sound just like Nana when you talk like that!" Boro exclaims and Alta laughs.

"I guess I do," she says sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "How is she, anyways? Has her business finally put Wanderstop out of commission yet?"

"Not yet!" Boro says cheerfully, "But she still does put up a good try, last I saw."

"Sounds like her," Alta says, watching as more of the butterflies gather up to live in that fragile nest of theirs. They cozy up, snug and content. Alta sighs out, looking at her breath, invisible when it's not being plucked from the air. Weird. It's so weird, that something so insignificant that she did all the time, with practically no input from her, caused comfort and home to these hundreds of insects.

Is it bad? No, but it is *weird*. She's just Alta, and here these insects are, highlighting her breath as if it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

"Well, who are these two lovely beetles I've just encountered!" Sylvia appears from honestly out of nowhere and wraps her arms around Boro in greeting. He looks up at her excitedly

"Miss Sylvia, have you seen the-"

"The bottled-breathe butterflies? Why else do you think I'm here darling!" She laughs and waltz over to Alta, placing her hands on her shoulders.

"What do you think, Alta dear? Aren't these beauties worth it all?"

"Worth what, exactly?" Alta shrugs Sylvia's hands off of her. Leave it to the only other person who would be just as obsessed with these insects to find her way on over here. The more she hangs out with them, the more Alta could see how clearly Boro and Sylvia are best friends.

Then what are you doing here? An insidious part of Alta wonders, Why are you here, interrupting their time together? Didn't you say so yourself earlier, Boro only treats you so kindly because he does so to everyone, he must pity you-

Alta shakes her head, stopping that train of thought. No one pitied her. Ever. She wouldn't even let them. There's nothing about her to be pitied. Why Boro is entertaining himself with her is just another quirk of his. After today, he'd be on his giddy way, glad to have seen Alta again but quickly besotted with other facets of life, and much friendlier, easier to approach people.

"Isn't that right, Alta?!" Alta tunes back in to Sylvia and Boro looking at her expectantly.

Uh.

"Yeah totally," she says dismissively, like it was silly of them to even ask for her input about a conversation she was totally listening to. Sylvia turns to Boro triumphantly.

"See! She already agrees to it. Be ready tomorrow sharp you two, because this is going to be the adventure of a lifetime!!" Sylvia dashes out through the thick grasses, the butterflies that landed on her flitting away quickly, making her look like a forest spirit. The last thing Alta hears her holler out is, "Woah, did anyone else see that super malicious tree??" Alta sighs and turns to Boro.

"What exactly did I just agree to?" Alta asks and Boro shrugs.

"Hm, I'm not quite sure. Only that you have agreed to partake on this adventure with me." Boro smiles, cherub as ever. "It is seeming like a thrilling outing though!"

Alta really doubts this.

She doubts it very much so.

...And as always when it comes to these two, Alta is correct to doubt it.

"I'm sorry, could you explain the surprise again?" Alta stares at Sylvia, who's sipping tea on Alta's couch. Sylvia had made the mad-dash back to Alta's place to unveil the surprise in it's ultimate glory, while Alta and Boro had finished their meandering walk (though finish is a strong word, it never really had an end goal anyways.)

Maybe Alta could use that to her advantage? Hey, the impromptu walk she was taking never really had an ending so she should really be getting back to that infinite jog of hers rather than listen to this inane plan that she is somehow a part of.

Sylvia cackles, "It must really be such a good surprise if it's got you asking thrice! Alright, so this wonderful man just had a birthday pass," Sylvia lays a hand on Boro's forearm, "So of course I got him a birthday present! In the form of these two beauties!" Sylvia gestures to the tickets on the coffee table.

Both of them are all-round exploration tickets. Tickets to leave whatever tiny shell of a town you were from and to explore the larger world. The much, much larger world. To see so much, that the Often Farlands would seem like a next door neighbor compared to the lands you would be visiting with these bad boys.

"Okay," Alta says slowly, "That part I got. Now why is there two tickets again?"

Sylvia smiles, "The other one is for you darling!"

Alta sighs and leaned back in her chair, throwing an arm over her face "Yeah, it's not my birthday. I don't need a ticket."

"But Boro thinks having a companion to explore with him would be much more fun than alone!" Boro pipes in, and Alta removes her arm, staring up at the ceiling. She should have left his ass at the market, pretend she didn't know him at all if this is how he's going to betray her.

"And why isn't it you going with him," Alta raises her head and fixes her gaze on Sylvia. Sylvia sips from her cup of tea again, seemingly unbothered.

"Because I have prior engagements." Sylvia stares wistfully, "If only the new bulbs of Sandium I planted didn't choose this season to go into their berserk mode. You do know what happens if they are left unattended during this time, right? That was the root cause of the tragedy of some local town a few decades back."

She springs back into enthusiasm immediately.

"But that's alright! It can still be a fun experience for Boro, I'll have my fun with my berserk Sandiums, and you'll be there to accompany him!" She smiles at Alta and Alta holds up a hand.

"Hold on, I didn't agree to any of this. How do you know I don't have plans of my own?"

"Do you?" Sylvia asks.

No. "Maybe," Alta says and Boro breaks into the conversation again.

"Miss Alta, do not feel as if you have to drop everything to be joining me on this trip. I will certainly still be having fun exploring these areas with or without company. Though Boro would appreciate it greatly if you came with him, I understand that it is not always so easy to be making these decisions so suddenly." Boro clasps his hands and fixes Alta with that heavy, patient look of his.

"Of course," he laughs, "With this spontaneous gift, we do not have much time for you to make a decision. Still, from now until tomorrow morning when Boro boards the train, I will be more than willing to be accepting your company." Boro bows to Alta, and gets up, presumably to head to bed. He'd be having an early morning tomorrow. Alta waits until he disappears into her room before turning her attention back towards Sylvia.

"Why did you buy two tickets?" She asks again and holds up a hand before Sylvia can reply, "And don't try to tell me it's because you want to give me the option or whatever. You could have waited until I agreed if that's the case."

Sylvia finally puts down her teacup, the china empty. "I wasn't going to," she says calmly. "I'm simply going to say that I think it would be good for you and Boro to have a lighthearted adventure again. When was the last time, when you were at Wanderstop?"

Alta crosses her arms, "I wouldn't say that those were 'lighthearted' times," she mutters and Sylvia leans forward.

"So you didn't have a speck of fun during that time at all, even in midst of everything, that time is only painted in red hot agony?"

If she says yes, she knows it would be a lie. But to say otherwise isn't helping her argument of being staunchly against this adventure for whatever reason.

Gosh, why is she so against this? Anytime her mind tries to actually think of the reason, the feeling just slides away from her like putty. It just feels... Uncomfortable. Like when she first tried to relax for no reason other than 'just because' after she had left Wanderstop. Alta finally breaks her gaze from Sylvia, her arms falling to her sides.

"Boro would have just as much fun without me," she says, something about the words stinging at her and she hears a rustle of fabric from Sylvia. Perhaps a shrug.

"Maybe he would, but it would be an entirely different type of fun. Fun by yourself is so, so different from fun with your friends, especially when it comes to new experiences. Neither of them are bad, per se, but there's a delight in having someone else go through the same motions as you."

Is there? Alta doesn't really know. She doesn't really have anyone she's close to like that, who goes through all the same things she does. And she doesn't consider it a bad thing! She's prickly, and does well by herself anyways. You can't get by in life without others, Alta isn't antisocial and she doesn't strive to be, but something about letting people in closer than the bare minimum makes her skin itch.

There's another rustle of fabric and Alta hears Sylvia's footsteps approach her. She keeps her in view from the corner of her eye as she speaks.

"Alta sweetheart, it's your choice. Neither me or Boro would want you to come along if this is something you aren't comfortable with. But I do want you to think about it, truly think about it beyond your initial discomfort, and to see if this just genuinely disinterests you, or if maybe it's just something a little heavier than you're used to." Sylvia lays a hand on Alta's shoulder and Alta stops looking at her, focusing on the sensation of her worn, wrinkled hands on Alta's bare skin.

"And just because it's heavy doesn't mean it can't be lifted." Sylvia says and Alta murmurs, "It just means you have to adjust to it." Sylvia nods and heads towards the bedroom, leaving Alta alone with her phantom touch on her shoulder.

She doesn't get a wink of sleep that night.