Chapter Text
Without any obstruction of closed gates or problems with it being much too late entering the oasis was notably easier than going anywhere else up till now.
While this could be because it’s walking in a straight line without literally anything standing in the way to even trip over it was much more likely the fact nothing was actively awaiting them in the oasis and nothing there needed to be checked with any urgency.
The sparkling water in its center rippled with the breeze, the greenery surrounding it being likely one of the only patches of grass in the dunes not actively maintained by monsters.
The expected houses were right outside of the gate, but seeing them in what felt like real life was a little jarring.
The most obvious change to the environment was the amount of houses.
The game had well… a pathetic amount of houses if Nex had to personally supply that information, but looking at it now it seemed like an actual living space beyond a cool little hub for you to sit without being jumped by the thirtieth monster encounter in the area.
Nex looked up at the swaying clothes, she can’t say if they are the same ones from the game or not. It could be. Or it couldn’t be.
“Who do you want to talk to?”
Fortune teller, sand guy of which Nex doesn’t remember the deal of, Red, the person who sells you stuff at the cafe… too many people…
Merlind was pretty amazed at the difference between the game and what it looks like in person, it actually feels like it has life in it instead of being a set piece where you walk around for a bit and then forget about it the moment you enter the wild east.
“Well uhhh… what about the flower girls? I think I remember reading something about one of them being friends with Chujin, so I feel like that would be a good start on learning what we were like.” he answered, his eyes looking around in an attempt to find where the staircase leading to the hut where you find one of the flower girls.
But the problem was, Oasis Valley was so much more different in person. He had no idea where to start looking, he couldn't tell which parts led where.
“You know where we should go? I haven't the slightest clue what direction to pick, this place is way different.” he noted, looking back at Nex and then remembering something.
“Wait, no. You're absolutely horrid with directions, I'll just pick a random direction and we'll probably make more progress.” he didn't let them answer, simply walking in one straight line and hoping it's the right one.
“That’s mean. Even if it’s true.”
Nex sighed and tried to give the impression of squinting.
“I actually do know something this time, there’s a flower patch right outside of the valley literally on the in-game path here. I’m not that bad that I get lost walking in a fenced off area you know.”
Nex watched as Merlind walked away but made no move to follow him.
“You’re going to get lost doing that. It’s literally the straight path after the welcome sign, it’s impossible to go the wrong way.”
They had to wonder how little faith Merlind had in her to decide getting lost is better than listening to a shred of advice from her.
She let out a heavy sigh before deciding to follow him.
“If we get lost. I’m blaming you. We both know I can’t retrace my steps for shit.”
Says the local idiot that got lost on the same path they take to go home for over six hours.
“You do realize if we went through that route, there is a decent chance we would enter a fight with one of the flower girls? We have no idea how to do that stuff.” he pointed out, continuing to walk while looking around for anything that resembles a flower girl.
“I would prefer that I get lost than possibly get hurt, you do you but I will pick the safe route.” he told his companion.
Jeez, this place really is much larger in person ain't it? He was surprised at how difficult it was to find any kind of notable landmark from the game.
He felt like he was making progress, but he couldn't be too sure.
Nex hummed slightly.
“If you put it like that it sounds like much less of a pleasant idea. Besides, if I go off alone I’m never making it back.”
Who needs a sense of direction when you got a cool hat?
If Nex was honest she already didn’t know what direction they went into, but what she did know is that one building in the not so far off distance stood out.
All the houses seemed to be made out of sand bricks, like trying to adhere to a theme.
Though it was most likely just the most convenient and easy to reach material and at some point anyone that didn’t use it stood out too much.
In a sea of yellows and bricks there was one (1) white building, it had tiles in front of what could be assumed to be the door in a checkered black and white pattern a bit covered in sand.
The tables in front of it actually had monsters sipping drinks and conversing with each other.
Ew a cafe, public spaces were horrible.
. . .
Oh wait, wasn't there a cafe in the game?
Nex pointed at the building.
“Big white structure spotted, stands out like a sore thumb. Let’s go in and see if we can find them.”
Video game logic, obnoxious building means you gotta go in. Well. Or design logic to attract customers or the eyes to a specific place.
“Isn't that the cafe? I was never a fan of coffee but it would be nice to get a look at the cafe in person.” Merlind didn't really know what people got in cafes other than coffee, probably because he doesn't go to cafes and just drinks water and only water.
The closer the two got, the more the building stood out. He didn't really like it because it didn't fit the theme of the place, it just registered as being obnoxious in his mind.
“Wasn't the manager in this place horrible to deal with? Gotta feel bad for the employees.” he remembered something from Ceroba's flavor texts about her working at a Cafe, and this was the only cafe in the dunes that he knew of.
The doors open with little force, allowing them into the cool inside of the building. He wasn't bothered too much by the heat since he lived in a desert, but just because he's used to it doesn't mean that it doesn't suck.
The inside was incredibly shiny where there was stone, with the planks making the other portion of the floor looking brand-new.
Damn, the employees must be worked to the bone in here. Sucks to be them, but he isn't here for that.
When Nex picked up on the distinct coffee smell of someone not airing out an area after brewing one to many cups their nose immediately started to hurt.
Even if it was nice inside, the stench reminds them of their old kitchen early in the morning when everyone but them was trying to get morning caffeine.
Vile. Disgusting.
“Tea is much better than coffee. I don’t know how some people tolerate the taste.”
Nex made note of the fact there were a few more tables inside for people to sit at, capitalism is winning. Especially because the game zone seems much smaller in comparison now.
There could’ve at least been a pinball game, shame. Shame. No culture.
There didn’t seem to be anyone interesting in here, maybe she should’ve actually made an attempt to memorize more of the enemy designs other than the ones that annoyed her.
There was only one table with a singular person seated at it though.
Nex poked Merlind’s shoulder before pointing.
“I think that’s one of the flower girls.”
A lone almost completely white figure with a pink strap around her hat that matched her gloves and semi-apron sat at the table.
“Do you remember her name? I don’t.”
Something flower. Probably. Never have faith in the undertale naming system.
“I know there are three of them, Violetta, Pedla and Rosa. I do not remember what their appearances are so we are just guessing which one it is.” he answered, not feeling too confident as he looked at the girl sitting on the table enjoying a cup of something he doesn't care enough to know about.
He took a closer look at her, trying to scrutinize which one she is. She didn't seem to be all that shy, so he doubted she's Violetta. But that's the only thing he can gleam since Pedla and Rosa didn't have any kind of defining feature that you can tell at first glance.
“Definitely not Violetta now that I'm looking at her, you want to give talking to her a shot?” he asked Nex, thinking maybe they would know more about talking to women than him.
“Talk to her?”
Nex was inclined to raise an eyebrow, conversations sucked so why should they try? Is what they’d think if they were a coward.
“Yeah sure I can give it a go.”
Nex walked over to the flower girl’s table, they felt only slightly nervous as she did so.
Reminding herself the floral monster was ‘just a video character so how bad could it really go?’ No matter how mean it sounded helped.
Besides, caring about social intersections requires energy. And that’s not something Nex had a lot of now.
Kiyomi stopped right next to the monster of which she did not remember the name.
“Hey, Flower girl.”
They made sure she knew they were talking to her… even if they were standing right next to her. Wait. Actually what should they say?
“Got any flowers?”
Perfect question. A+ in social interaction skills if it was graded.
Merlind's face went pale. He should not have trusted Nex, they are so screwed.
The flower girl looked at Nex for a second before bursting out into a very loud laughter that everyone can hear in the cafe.
“That… Might possibly be the worst thing you could have said.” she told Nex, mock-wiping away a tear from her eye.
“And definitely not what I would expect from you, I thought you would find more in common with Violetta. But I gotta say, can't say that I don't find your newfound boldness cute, even if it does make you say dumb stuff.” she guffawed, giving the small fox a coy smile.
“Sit, and your brother can as well. You two do realize that you stick out like a sore thumb right? You don't exactly blend in and were very obviously looking at me, I was waiting for one of you to make the move.” she laughed, waving Merlind to come over and sit with her alongside Nex.
“I'm Rosa if you couldn't tell, don't expect any flowers from me without proving yourselves.” she introduced herself, a wry smile on her face.
Kiyomi felt a mixture of horror and acceptance, in a way this could’ve been much worse of an interaction.
But that didn’t mean this wasn’t equally as bad, what’s done is done. This is this and that is that.
Despite whatever inner turmoil they might be experiencing they ended up just taking a seat with a slight nod.
“Thank you. I don’t know if you know my name but it’s.. Kiyomi.”
Saying that felt wrong but it would be rude not to check after she shared her own name right.
What they also had to do was clear their name a little, there’s a million different things they could’ve said that would be worse.
“Wouldn’t the worst thing to say be an unfiltered insult?”
There’s no denying that they stand out though, Kiyomi is pretty sure the ketsukanes are the only ones that looked even vaguely like foxes in the dunes let alone anyone in the common undertale areas you go through that wear the style of clothes they do. At the very least for now Kiyomi would ignore being called cute, because getting annoyed over that would be childish.
“I mean, saying that you also want her and her family dead would also be very awful.” Merlind replied, sitting down beside Kiyomi with his feet dangling in the air.
“Me- my name is Soji, pleasure to meet you.” he introduced himself as well, since everyone else has.
“I already know who you two are, silly, I'm acquainted with your father. And I meant that it would the worst thing to say in the context of trying to start and continue a conversation.” she did find the children's thoughts about what would have been worse funny, even if one was more extreme than the other.
“And here I thought you two wouldn't get the confidence to talk to me until you're teenagers, do try not to disappoint.” she playfully warned, twirling around a flower in her hand.
Merlind looked over at Nex, were they supposed to not be confident? Damn, they screwed up already.
“Also, your staffs don't make you stand out any less. What are you even doing lugging those around like that?” she asked, looking at the staffs that the two had brought with them but completely forgot they actually had.
“You could also start and continue a conversation with either topic.”
Luckily for Kiyomi. She was bad at holding a socially considered normal conversation no matter her age. This isn’t her insulting herself, this is being self aware.
“It looked cool so I brought it with me.”
Kid logic was stupid 8/10 times so it wasn’t hard to say something that’s mildly believable anyways.
Well damn, Nex hadn’t actually thought this far when it came to having a conversation. What would they have a conversation about? Probably not flowers.
“How do you know our father?”
Reasonable question formulated. Reasonable answer likely not expected.
“Isn't it obvious? Loverboy wanted to give something to a girl he liked, so he thought of flowers to give her, the rest is history.” she answered, finding the question endearing with how the children wanted to know more about their parents.
Soji sighed internally, he did not need that image of Chujin and Ceroba in his mind. He tried his best to think of a conversation topic, but found it hard to think about what to say considering that there really wasn't much information about the flower girls.
“How uh… How are your sisters?” it's the polite the thing to say, right?
“Pedla's still way too happy in my opinion, why can't she just fake her happiness like me? And Violetta is… I dunno, still not doing much with herself.” she answered, looking annoyed at the thought of her family.
Ah right, she does consider her sisters to be very annoying. Soji should have thought better than to ask about that, now he doesn't know what to say.
“I guess I get that.”
Nex was very much reminded of her brother and father, many days she’d rather punt them then hold a conversation longer than three minutes with them.
“Relatives can work on your nerves pretty easily.”
Kiyomi glanced at Soji for a moment.
Whoops.
“No offense to you.”
They seriously doubt they’ll get the urge to strangle him unless something really annoying comes to be.
“Did you meet your mother's side of the family? Real pieces of work they are, or were. Not sure how much they changed in all honesty.” she lifted an eyebrow at Kiyomi. She knew that Kanako wouldn't be the kind to really get on someone's nerves, so that was the only other option.
Ceroba’s side of the family? What is this? Some kind of foreshadowing in the middle of a regular conversation.
“Uh- yeah. Something like that, I can't say I committed it to memory very well.”
Quick more conversation topics. Lock in lock in lock in lock in-
“At least it’s fun to beat your family in games?”
That’s not a viable conversation topic but okay.
That’s the best this table is getting out of Kiyomi.
“Not really, Pedla is way too much of a good sport to give a reaction while Violetta just acts pathetic whenever she loses, it's not really satisfying.” she complained.
“What about just having fun with them? Just doing stuff with them?” Soji asked, since the family can't be that dysfunctional.
“I guess it's fun, just letting go of our responsibilities for a second and being children again.” she chuckled, twirling the flower in her hand to look at its crimson petals.
“Aren't you too young to be asking questions about other people's family troubles? Go, be a kid.” she told them, ending the conversation.
“Isn’t it kind of rude to think children don’t have responsibilities?”
Kiyomi cocked her head to the side a little, guess the neglect in what can stress me worry a child stretches over different realities.
“Whatever, ignore me. It’s rude to pry anyways. Have a good day.”
Kiyomi dismounted the chair, it wasn’t very comfortable to sit in anyways…
She took a moment to glance at Soji before not very subtly starting to walk over to the checkered floor of the game zone.
She needs to try at least once.
That dumb mew mew kissy cutie game.
They wanted to know if they’d be just as bad as in the actual game at it.
Soji stood up from the seat and followed behind them, confused for a moment on where they're going before his eyes settled on the arcade machine.
“Seriously?” he stared at them with half-lidded eyes.
And like confirmation, the machine emitted a sound of “mew mew love blaster!” as it started, he tried to give Nex his most disappointed stare.
Nex ignored him for the most part, placing their paws on the controls preparing to shoot the invaders.
They made a mental note not to forget their staff when they left.
Nex had to admit the game looked not as good as in the game, also seriously? Dark colored enemies on a dark background? Who decided THAT was a good idea? The people wanting to make their silly retro game harder to play?
Shame on them.
It wasn’t very surprising that Nex didn’t even come close to fighting the final boss in the game.
Even after three attempts.
Curses. Their skill issue remains in place. When will they start winning?
With a heavy and saddened sigh she turned away from the machine and took a few steps off before quickly returning to get her staff.
“Okay… let’s go and see if we can bother Starlo. Or whatever we’re supposed to be calling him.”
They started to march out of the cafe, taking the lead for a moment as the blast of heat from the dunes’ environment hit them the second they stepped outside.
Hm.
Agony.
“Doesn't this just feel like we're delaying the inevitable? We're definitely gonna have to go back to the estate, and deal with whatever news gets dropped on us about our souls.” Merlind commented, looking around at the houses in an attempt to memorize the layout.
“What will we even do when we meet with Starlo? I can't really think of much activity for us to do with him, or what he would come up. Although, this is probably because we don't really spend more than an hour or two with him.” Merlind rambled, rubbing his chin like a Greek philosopher pondering the most thoughtful of ideas.
He wondered if they were close to the big judgement hall-esque building, he didn't have any idea how to know though. At least he knew that there wasn't much between the wild east and oasis valley besides a decently long walk.
“Okay Aristocles or whatever, first of all, I highly doubt communication is anywhere near close enough for Ceroba to know anything more about our condition than just earlier this morning.”
Nex pointed a finger at Merlind as if that would make their point of estimation any more reliable.
“Second of all. He’ll distract us, I know business is important at all, but we can at least learn something about ourselves or our past while we don’t have to worry about possibly dying. Yet.”
Nex pointed in the opposite direction of the cafe next.
“Besides the tunnel should be that way if my memory serves me correctly, how hard can it be to get there and what else are we going to do with our time?”
“Fair enough, I did suggest we go through this. But it was mostly an escape from having to deal with anything, but now the only thing I can think of is what will happen when we get back to the estate. Not really the most pleasant thought process.” he replied, following the very slightly shorter fox.
“Are we sure we know that this is the right way? We have no idea how much of the area has changed from the ingame area.” he asked, anxious about whether they're just going to end up wandering around without making any progress.
“Escapism isn’t always the worst thing.”
Nex shrugged.
“Sometimes reality gets too heavy to deal with at the moment, resting is important right?”
Sometimes you gotta be a little ignorant to stay sane. Such is the price for persevering.
“I’m pretty sure it’s the right way.”
Nex attempted to squint, not that it would help a lot.
“There might be a small cliff in the way, but assuming there are fences installed we only really have to go around it right? If not, we’ll find a sign or something. How hard can it be?”
“It's so much fun leaving reality behind.” he laughed, referencing a song both of them knew.
“Pretty sure there isn't a cliff in the way? It's like a dirt path that turns left after the corridor and we're at the wild east.” he corrected, the road between the two settlements was much shorter and simpler.
All the while, he was looking around in search of something that would resemble the way to go. Then, in his peripheral vision, he saw a staircase.
“Isn't that supposed to lead to the way?” he pointed to the stairs, looking over at Nex with a slightly tilted head. Looks like they won't be as lost as he had feared.
“Maybe there is? I might be mistaking it for something else.”
Nex didn’t particularly care for the details too much as long as they eventually got to their destination.
“Something, something, corridor, path, well, it’s hard to miss.”
Nex’s gaze shifted the moment something was pointed at.
“Hey, you’re right. Good job.”
The words came out a bit dry, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a job well done. Anything is a job well done as long as the final destination is reached when you’re tired.
“Let’s just use it and hope we have the right staircase.”
Nex didn’t hesitate a moment to adjust her path and head down the stairs, though stairs were a rich word.
It was more like a few rocks with sand thrown over it to camouflage it and have the first poor sod that isn’t wearing their glasses face plant into more sand.
Go down too fast and you’ll slip on the evil yellow almost dust, then you’d be hoping it really was a slope if you fall wrong.
A stall at the bottom of the stairs didn’t escape her notice ‘Free hugs’, there wasn’t a spiderweb next to it. Yet.
“Wasn’t that also there during Clover’s journey through the underground. How long do you think that cactus had been… standing there?”
“Cacti can survive on basically nothing for a long time, wouldn't be surprised if that cactus outlived several monsters that used to live here.” he replied, not paying too much attention to the cactus as he went down the horrible excuse of a staircase.
“There were probably cacti that were older than our parents and our parent's parents.” came a sly continuation, it's really amazing how things that do nothing can survive for so long. He stared to the left after having gotten to the bottom and saw the building between the wild east and oasis valley.
“And now we're at the corridor… hall…. Whatever, let's get through and see what awaits us in the wild east.”
“And it’s just been waiting to give out free hugs..?”
Nex questioned, raising an eyebrow.
That’s. Sad.
It almost makes Nex feel bad enough to actually take the cactus up on the offer of a free hug, but unless they’re already hurt, pain creeps them out.
“Reminds me of a very old doormat.”
They turned to stare at the corridor.
“Well, what are we waiting for? A flying pig? We might eventually see one, but let’s not wait that long.”
Nex started walking down the path, there’s very little ways you can get lost on a straight path.
Merlind followed behind, entering the building alongside the clown he is now associated with.
“Doesn't this remind you of the judgement hall? Gives me the kinda vibes that Sans will appear and go “i know what you are, I remember you're genocides” or something.” he joked, doing a decent impression of the comedian skeleton.
“It does have the same dark and mysterious aura, you think the devs did that on purpose or not?” he was genuinely curious on if it was intentional or not, because it's neat either way.
“In a way it does, but it’s also different.”
Nex commented almost absentmindedly as they walked over the red carpet in the well lit corridor.
“I’m sure sans undertale yellow won’t jumpscare us here if it does or doesn’t, but if you want my opinion on this place..”
Nex had to actually take a moment to think about it before replying.
“It reminds me more of a reflection, this is the area in undertale yellow most heavily focused on justice and cowboys, so the transition into it might have purposefully mimicked the judgment hall to give that feeling. To me. It doesn’t feel that ominous, but I only ever went through with Martlet.”
Maybe it’s the difference in companionship? Alone it would be lonely and ominous as the harsh lights filtered through the windows and shadowed your form even more, but with Martler present it feels more like you’ll be facing challenges or judgement with others. That you’re not alone?
“It’s an interesting thing to lament on, but I don’t quite think it’s of that much importance. I appreciate the attention to detail though.”
Nex nodded to themself, they will admit they would’ve appreciated more air conditioning in the dunes but it’s the dunes for a reason.
“It looks better than ingame, but that’s no surprise. Makes you wonder how the monsters pulled this off underground where there should’ve been very limited resources.”
“Dude, I was just making a joke. “Haha this place looks like the judgement hall and there's a sans sprite in the files, he's going to get us!” type of thing.” his bewildered reply came out, looking at them with exasperation.
“My first run was vengeance, so maybe that's why it gave me the vibes of the judgement hall. And before you ask why, it's because I wanted to do it without having any actual attachment. And they have magic, they can probably make this kind of stuff with it.” he said as the two finally stepped out of the building and into the dirt path.
“You know, it must get tiring having to clean that red carpet on the ground considering that everyone who goes in stains it with dirt and sand from outside.” he noted the impracticality of people going in with their shoes when all it does is dirties the place.
“Welp, all that's left now is a walk to the wild east.” he proclaimed as they walked, he wasn't sure how long it will be.
“I was also jesting about the sans part, was it not obvious?”
It wasn’t, Nex knew that, but no comment.
“. . . I can’t say it doesn’t make sense.”
Their ear flicked.
“But I just don’t like any genocidal routes, both because they’re hard and I have no reason to go down those routes. Unless it’s to annoy someone I don’t like just to beat them.”
“I’m sure there’s magic for that. If not. I’d be concerned.”
Why not have magic for every little inconvenience, like cleaning a carpet.
Sure it takes away your ability to do something properly later, but that’s why we don’t use cheat codes for everything.
“Just a path forward. Let’s go.”
Nothing more to say or do other than to walk.
And thus they walked, the road seemingly the exact same as the one from the game.
“You think anything here changed? Like it got longer or something was added? What about that crashed carriage that usually sits there? You think it's also going to be crashed as well?” Merlind absentmindedly commented, trying to pass the time as they walked.
“Or do you think we might encounter someone on the way? There is a chance of people coming through for their jobs or something, Dina and that shady doctor work in the wild east.” he continues, he wrings his paws.
“I don’t think it would’ve gotten longer, why would it have gotten longer?”
That implies the path to the wild east was once different and Nex highly doubts anyone would’ve wasted their energy trying to do that.
“Now the carriage, I can believe that might’ve changed. Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to find out why it is there in the first place.”
They honestly forgot that thing even existed, memory really isn’t the most reliable thing. Ever.
She takes a moment to look at Merlind’s gesture.
“It could be so, maybe I’d have a more definitive answer if you didn’t look like you’re planning to rob them.”
“Oasis valley sure as hell changed, so why wouldn't the road which has carriages in it? Also like, why use a carriage if it's basically walking distance? That's a big waste of time.” Merlind commented, shaking his head at Nex.
“And I don't look like I'm planning to rob them, what gave you that idea? I don't think I did anything that made it look like I was planning anything.” he retorted, not looking too pleased at the accusation.
The two have passed by the well at this point, not noticing its presence as they talked.
“Because there’s no real reason to make a settlement far away from the only one in the area with a decent amount of water?”
The simple rule of ‘Let’s not die from dehydration if something goes wrong’ seems like it should’ve been applied in this case.
“Unless you don’t need to drink at all.”
Nex looked down the path ahead, the turn was coming up.
“Maybe the carriage was being used for a stunt. Or wasn’t meant for just the short distance. I would’ve liked to ride in a cowboy carriage even if it wasn’t practical.”
They shrugged. Sounds fun. Easy money scam.
She turned to Merlind and tried to copy what he did.
Wringing your hands together isn’t hard, but maybe Nex had seen too many cartoons and just associated it with villains.
“This. It looks like you’re plotting. It’s not even cold here.”
“Ah yes, ride a carriage for less than like 5 minutes, sounds reasonable.” sarcasm dripped off of every word Merlind said, punctuation how ridiculous it sounds to him.
“It being part of a stunt is plausible, if not a complete assumption with no evidence to back it up.” he replied, looking disappointed that Nex would try to make assumptions instead of guesses.
He looks at the gesture she made and was more confused than he was at the beginning.
“Dude, wringing your hands is a sign nervousness and anxiety. What, you looking at flies rubbing their legs together a lot and started seeing that in it?” he offhandedly joked, not really sure how someone would make that mixup.
Nex wanted to shrug, but she felt like she was doing it too much in one conversation so they restrained themself.
“Who knows, maybe capitalism already got to the underground a long time ago.”
Never put it past companies to try and steal your money, no matter where you are.
“What’s so bad about making assumptions? It makes sense with the feisty-j five and it’s not like you have a better guess.”
Right???
“. . .”
Nex blinked at Merlind, she didn’t know if this was funny or not.
“Sure, I hate flies so much that I want them all demolished and anyone rubbing their hands is pure evil.”
Nex was about to keep walking in a straight line, but barely noticed the just visible enough road curved to the left. Right. No this is probably Left.
There was no carriage in sight, but there was a straight path forward into a town with a substantial amount of western houses of which a few seemed to be barely put together properly and some sort of archway with hay in the not so far off distance.
“Huh, the wild east is closer than I thought. Guess there was no reason for me to be worried about a long walk.” Merlind walked up to take a look at the place, noticing its put-together appearance.
“Y'know, this isn't really what I expected from a western town. I expected something less… cobbled together.” he dryly commented, looking around for any member of a certain five that might be stalking nearby.
“Who do you think we're most likely going to encounter? Ed seems like a hard worker, I feel like he's the kind to get up early.” he looked around in search for a big pink ogre, but sadly didn't find him.
“Huh, nowhere in sight. You think he might be in the bar or in the house where the five sleep? Those are probably where all the members would be if they aren't running around.” he turned to his companion, his head tilted inquisitively.
Nex squinted into the distance.
“I would assume Moray would’ve found us like in the game, but maybe it’s mandated nap time? If we really can’t find them we should ask Dina.”
It’s rude to barge into someone’s home, let alone interrupt them while they’re sleeping.
“Though this place being cobbled together doesn’t surprise me, maybe it really is more of a stage than an actual town.”
If that’s so, that would be kind of sad, but one had to suppose that meant they didn’t bother a lot of people with their games.
The bell pillar came into view along with more of the town, it didn’t look as deserted as in the game, but it definitely didn’t look like a proper place to live either.
“Perhaps this is why it’s close to the oasis? Living here without external help would be hard.”
Merlind nodded, that seemed reasonable.
“I do think that Starlo would make sure that they all have enough so they can be at tiptop shape for their shenanigans, it does make sense.” he agreed, he wasn't really sure where to go in this place.
“This place certainly does have its charm though, it looks like an old town. And it has the barn and the bar, which… Isn't much in terms of entertainment honestly. God, no wonder the people here like the five, they have basically nothing better to do.” he looked around. He didn't feel sick, so he's not going to the clinic. He didn't want to play a basic card matching game, so the barn was off the table. He isn't the kind to drink, nor does he think that Dina would sell him alchohol. So the bar is a no go. He also doubted he could get to go in the barn because it's essentially gambling and he's underage. Wow, this place basically has nothing for children.
“The only things this town has going for it are the five and the corn farm, damn.” he voiced his thoughts about how awful this place was.
“They basically have a monopoly over entertainment. And they’re not even charging for it.”
Nex nodded to themself.
“What’s not to love? It’s either gambling, handling a weapon or a free expensive alcohol addiction.”
The shooting range was small as well, if she remembered correctly there were only three targets to shoot.
They started to head towards the bar, where else would they go? She’s not planning on playing home invader.
Merlind decided to follow her because what the hell, he has nothing better to do.
Pushing the gate to the saloon, which he and Nex have been calling a bar, they enter its interior.
He wondered for a moment how this thing is supposed to be locked, there isn't a place to put a lock nor would that even work. And you can probably jump over it if you're small enough.
Either way, it doesn't matter. Because when they stepped in, they were hit with the smell of alchohol and root beer. This wasn't exactly pleasant to him, especially because this is the first time he even encountered a drop of alchohol.
“Ugh, please tell me I'm not alone in terms of already hating this place.” he groaned, looking at Nex in reassurance over the horrible smell which has no doubt been amplified by their new canine nature.
Dina can be seen behind the counter giving the two an amused look while waiting for customers.
Nex refrained from gagging but her ears definitely fell against her own will, they weren’t unfamiliar with the scent of alcohol but it’s intensity wasn’t pleasant.
“Hate is a very strong word, I’d say it’s closer to loathe.”
They walked towards the bar where Dina stood, taking a moment to lament their height before climbing the nearest object just enough to peek over the counter.
“Hey Dina.”
Nex was too displeased to think too hard about how to start a conversation properly. Or how it was making their mood worse.
“Do you know where Starlo and the rest of the feisty five are?”
They didn’t quite care if they were supposed to call starlo, starlo. Maybe they were, but they wanted out and didn’t want to have to barge into their shared living space to find out if they were collectively sleeping or not.
Merlind stood by the door, not really interested in going deeper since someone already is getting the information they desire and he doesn't want to pointlessly go where the smell is stronger.
“Gotta hand it to ya, you're coming off strong, especially for a first encounter with eachother.” Dina replied to the smaller individual, her amused look not wavering in the slightest.
“If Star and his posse is who you're looking for, then I'm afraid that they're still sleepin’ in their house. It's either that or they're still preparing for somethin’ or another, I haven't seen them yet.” she shrugged, not giving a satisfactory answer to the two kitsunes.
So they don’t actually know each other? Well damn, Nex would’ve assumed otherwise. Did Starlo or other adults talk for them if they ever visited? Whatever.
“Okay, thank you for your input. Have a day.”
Nex turned around and dragged her staff behind her as they walked back to Merlind, placing a paw on his shoulder.
“Let’s go break into their house and see if they’re there. I don’t have the patience for this.”
When push comes to shove, in this situation Nex isn’t going to wait all day to entertain themself and search for a few idiots.
“No? I don't want to commit a crime?” Merlind replied, unsure if he heard Nex correctly.
“Y'know, it's generally considered pretty rude to break into someone's house. How about we *don't* do that.” He turned towards the counter, where Dina was giving the two of them a funny look over their current conversation topic.
“How about we just… Look in through the window or something?” he suggested, trying to convince them to not do the obviously foolish thing. He went and pushed open the door to the saloon so they can get out.
“Fine. Let’s look through the windows. After checking if they locked their doors like responsible adults.” Nex followed Merlind without much resistance, the faster the better.
If they remember correctly, the feisty five’s hide out was the first ugly yellow house they could find after walking past the hospital.
Who in their right mind would paint their house yellow in a desert? The feisty five.
Their aesthetic choices were good and bad at the same time.
Nex quickly powerwalked towards the green-ish door, placing her hand on the doorknob.
There was no lock giving any type of resistance as the door opened up, casting light into the dark room filled with five napping individuals.
Nex tried her very best not to laugh or smile as she slowly turned to Merlind.
Almost as if to say ‘is this real???’.
Merlind facepalmed at this, are they stupid? Even if there are five of them, it still would only take one person killing them in their sleep to deal with them.
“What a bunch of morons.” he whispered, hardly able to believe this foolishness.
He then took the doorknob out of Nex's hand and gently closed the door to make sure no sound was produced, he didn't want to wake them up from their nap afterall.
“Welp, there's nothing for us to do here. How about we head back? We've certainly had our fill of distractions.” he told Nex, not exactly happy about this himself but knowing that this was inevitable.
“Fine. If there’s nothing else to do, then there’s nothing else to do.”
They resisted the urge to reopen the door and throw sand onto the floor, but that would be hater behavior. And they didn’t particularly hate the feisty five.
They shrugged and turned around, assuming Merlind would also start walking back.
It is time to face the storm head on, or just hope you can walk past it and ignore it entirely.
Merlind stared at them for a second before realizing they're already walking away, he sighed as he followed behind them.
If they can weather this winter, then maybe they will be able to estimate the warmth that is to come after it.