Chapter Text
Naily stumbled blindly through… wherever she was, with her eyes screwed shut as she tried to walk. A hard surface hit her face and she staggered back with a grunt.
"Whoops, not that way, sorry!" She heard Bracelety's apologetic voice. A hand nudged Naily and steered her in another direction. "I meant over here!"
For some reason, Bracelety insisted that Naily kept her eyes closed for a 'surprise' she had. The fangirl had approached her earlier in the day and excitedly chattered on about it, a complete 180 from her almost dazed behaviour a day ago, Naily observed. When she tried asking Bracelety about it she deflected and claimed she had just felt a bit funny.
Naily didn't believe her. She suspected that Ice Cube's behaviour must've struck Bracelety harder than expected if she had spent a full day in her room, but Naily decided not to pry any further.
As she took another cautious step forward, her foot suddenly touched something cold and wet. Naily quickly lifted her foot back up with a squeak. "What was that!? Why is it cold?"
"Oh, that's because we're in the tundra!"
"WHAT!?"
There was a giggle. "Nah, I'm kidding, it's just a stream."
Naily huffed. She couldn't glare at Bracelety with her eyes closed so she hoped that her grumbling would get the message across.
"Hey, you can't be the only jokester around here!" There was a trace of amusement in Bracelety's voice. Then hands began to gently nudge Naily forward again, into the stream. "Just cross this, and we'll be close."
The water only went up to Naily's ankles, but it was still enough to make her shiver ever so slightly. She could feel the bumpy texture of pebbles shifting beneath her as she trudged through the stream, her footsteps combined with Bracelety's making a light splashing sound.
When they emerged on the other side, Naily could feel soft grass again, but that familiarity quickly evaporated as she realised they were slowly walking up. Must be a hill of some sort.
"Okay, this is officially weird," Naily commented dubiously. "You better not strand us in the middle of nowhere!"
This time, Bracelety didn't answer. The ground evened out into a flat surface shortly after Naily spoke and they both stopped. Naily could practically sense the other's excitement.
"Okay, open your eyes!"
When Naily obeyed, she saw lush grass rolling out into a wide meadow. It was green instead of yellow, suggesting that this area was far enough from the Showgrounds that it hadn't been affected by Two's power. Big patches of colourful flowers were scattered around, definitely more appealing than the trash-filled field.
"Woah, this looks epic!" Naily breathed out. Some of Bracelety's excitement was rubbing off on her. "Have you been keeping this a secret the entire time?"
"Nope!" Bracelety bounced until she stood beside Naily, her eyes shining. "I found this while on a walk yesterday!"
Yesterday? Naily squinted, studying her closely. Bracelety hadn't locked herself up in her room after all, at least not for a whole day. But she hadn't seen her at all. Had Bracelety deliberately avoided people?
"The flowers here look really pretty," Bracelety continued, staring admiringly at the plants. "So, I thought; maybe if I decorated my signs with them… Ice Cube wouldn't feel scared again!"
Naily furrowed her brows. She highly doubted that Bracelety's simple plan would go as smoothly as she thought. But the cyan contestant looked so hopeful that Naily couldn't bring herself to say otherwise.
"Your signs would definitely look flashier," Naily commented, careful to keep her tone casual. "But what's that gotta do with me?"
"Well, ah-" Bracelety lowered her head. She looked shy again, her hands coming together to fidget. When she spoke again her voice was a low mumble.
"I thought… since- you've done a lot for me and all, I should do something for you as well.. a-and I thought you'd like this flower field!"
Naily blinked. She had never thought about Bracelety 'owing' her anything, even if the gesture was sweet. She just liked seeing her happy.
"I do like it!" Naily confirmed with a grin. "But you don't need to worry over doing something for me. Your company is enough."
Bracelety's head snapped back up, her eyes widening. Then her surprise melted away into a small, sheepish smile. "Sorry! I guess I'm not used to this friend thing yet."
"I can tell," Naily teased her lightly. She slowly pushed her way through the grass. It was taller here than back at the Showgrounds, at one point reaching right up to her chin and effectively slowing her down. It didn't help that both her and Bracelety were quite short.
Grass rustled ahead of her. Naily looked up and saw that Bracelety was already a few feet away from her. She opened her mouth to question how that was possible before she noticed that the silicone contestant was jumping through the meadow instead of walking.
Naily snorted in amusement and called after her. "You look like an overcaffeinated deer!"
Bracelety giggled and glanced behind her shoulder, wearing a wide smile on her face. "Try it! It's faster!"
Curious, Naily stopped and crouched down, pushing herself forwards into a jump. It was indeed faster, and definitely more entertaining than sifting through the grass. She attempted to catch up to Bracelety as best as she could, trying to match her short and quick bounces.
Bracelety must've noticed, because with another giggle — more mischievous this time — she changed courses and began to zigzag through the grass until she was out of sight, completely throwing off Naily who stopped in surprise.
Naily narrowed her eyes as she peered through the grass and failed to pinpoint where Bracelety had went. She could faintly hear the cyan contestant, still chuckling to herself somewhere in the distance.
The noise made Naily let out a chuckle of her own. "You're a lousy hider! I can hear you giggling like a little schoolgirl!"
As expected, Bracelety went quiet again. But it was too late, as now Naily had a rough idea of where she had gone. She crouched down and began to slowly stalk forward. She was careful to not rustle the grass if she could help it; not wanting to alert Bracelety that she was actively approaching.
After a long moment of careful walking, Naily could see the cyan top of Bracelety peeking slightly above the blades of grass. She smirked and began to creep towards her.
Fortunately, Bracelety's back was facing Naily. The fangirl poked her head out and looked around, her expression turning puzzled, probably wondering if she had gotten herself lost. Naily took the opportunity to run and tackle her.
"BOO!” Naily's triumphant shout was quickly replaced with a gasp as the ground suddenly dipped beneath them. Both girls squealed as they found themselves rolling down a hill, hitting the ground and occasionally each other. When Naily hit the floor with a grunt, Bracelety ended up landing right on top of her. Thankfully she didn't weigh all that much.
"Ha!" Bracelety placed a hand on Naily's head triumphantly. "Now I nailed you!"
"No fair!" Naily tried to push her legs off the floor and stand up, but Bracelety kept her firmly pinned. "Stealing catchphrases is off-limits!"
"You just made that up," Bracelety pointed out. Her tone held a trace of amusement.
Naily scowled, slightly annoyed that Bracelety was right. With another push, she finally shoved the silicone contestant to the side. She fell on top of her back, pouting, though the corners of her lips threatened to twitch upwards into a smile.
"Then I will steal *your* catchphrase!" Naily retaliated. She glared playfully at the other as she dramatically announced. "Go Ice Cube!"
Bracelety looked delighted to see someone else praise her idol, even if the speech wasn't all that genuine. "I'd gladly let you copy my 'catchphrase' if it means I get to hear that more often."
Naily poked her tongue out in response. She gave her foot a shake to dislodge the stray pieces of grass after their tumble and climbed back up the hill. "Hmph, whatever! Are you gonna go get those flowers or not?"
"I was, before a certain someone pushed me down a hill." Bracelety gave her a teasing glance.
Naily snickered. "I barely even pushed you. It was a tackle."
"That's even worse!"
"I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't decided to hide," Naily retorted. She tried to put on her best grumpy face, but it quickly melted into another grin.
"Then you should keep up next time!" Bracelety shot back. As if to emphasise her words, she ran ahead and back into the long grass of the flower field.
A small flicker of affection passed through Naily as she watched her. She had been worried that after her short-lived reunion with Ice Cube, Bracelety would've acted more withdrawn, but to Naily's relief the fangirl was as mirthful as ever. She just hoped that it was fully real.
When Naily scaled back onto the crest of the hill, she could see that Bracelety had settled down on a large patch which held smaller tufts of grass, making it easier to actually move and sit. Her eyes were narrowed with concentration as she looked between two flowers.
"Which one would Icy like more…" Bracelety murmured to herself.
Naily sat beside her and got a closer look at the options. One of them had spiked petals with a deep purple colour, and the other had smaller, rounded petals which were a pale yellow.
"Or you could pick the one *you* like," Naily suggested. It was meant to be a simple comment, but Bracelety looked at her with shock.
"Me? But these are for Ice Cube!"
"They'll be in *your* room, won't they?" Naily tilted her head to one side.
Bracelety frowned. She glanced back at the flowers, more firmly as if trying her best to avoid eye contact. "I guess…. but I still wanna pick flowers that Ice Cube would like."
Naily sighed. She was tempted on insisting to Bracelety that she should make her own choices without the influence of her idol, but then she remembered how defensive Bracelety was on that subject and reluctantly decided against it.
"Then you could go for blue? Since Ice Cube is blue," Naily suggested instead.
"Wowee, you're right! That's genius!" Bracelety immediately perked up. She wasted no time and dived back into the tall grass.
Naily chuckled and turned around, running into the grass at the opposite side of the clearing. She toddled through the greenery and looked for any blue flowers that would satisfy Bracelety. She also made sure to pick a hefty amount with different colours just in case the cyan contestant changed her mind.
Naily held her floral bundle carefully in her jaws. She was careful to grab only the stems and keep her tongue far away from it. Not being strongly associated with botanical stuff, Naily wasn't sure if any of these wild flowers were somehow poisonous and she wasn't about to find out.
'Maybe if there was a recovery center nearby…' She giggled at her own silly thought before jumping back into the clearing.
As expected, Bracelety had laid out a large selection of flowers with different shades of blue. She stared at each one meticulously, as if picking out the perfect combination was the most important task in the world. Bracelety separated the plants; making a pile for the ones she would prioritise the most while the rest were moved to the side.
Naily dropped her haul and stepped back, letting Bracelety organise them and add to her piles. The fangirl hesitated when she picked up a green flower. Naily let some of her spirits rise, hoping that Bracelety would be more diverse, but then her hope dropped like a stone when she rejected it.
'Maybe next time…'
Her disappointment didn't last long, however, as she saw Bracelety take out something she hadn't seen in a while. The pink sketchbook.
"You kept it?" Naily murmured without thinking. She felt oddly flattered that Bracelety had kept her gift, especially since the sketchbook was tainted with old age.
"Of course!" Bracelety smiled widely. "I draw in it everyday. Never leave the hotel without it."
Naily could feel herself slowly smiling as well. Some of her earlier affection resurfaced as she watched Bracelety open the sketchbook to an empty page and place her selected flowers onto it, flattening them in order to preserve them for her future craft.
"It's too bad the others will be wasted," Naily remarked as she glanced towards the unused plants.
When Bracelety shut the sketchbook, she followed Naily's gaze towards the stack. She stared at it thoughtfully for a moment. "I might know a good use for them."
Naily raised an eyebrow. She observed silently as Bracelety plucked two pink flowers from the pile. With careful hands, she looped the stem onto the other to tie them together. Then she picked out another flower and slowly added onto the main stem. Before Naily knew it, Bracelety was weaving a flower crown.
"You know how to make flower crowns!?" Naily exclaimed as her eyes widened. "You're full of surprises today!"
Bracelety chuckled, ducking her head bashfully. "Y-yeah… I like doing all sorts of crafts, so I can depict Ice Cube in different ways! But I'm kinda rusty. I haven't done something like this since…"
Her voice trailed off towards the end, and a small frown formed on her face. Naily knew that Bracelety must be thinking of her long years in the EXIT. She felt a prick of sympathy for the fangirl, remembering the time when she had opened up about her experiences in the classroom and how inhumane it had sounded.
Bracelety took a deep breath, and went on quietly. "So yeah, this might not be my best work."
"It looks really good so far," Naily reassured. She looked at the arrangement of bright colours strung together. Sure, the flowers weren't completely even, but the piece still looked beautiful. An idea suddenly hit her, and she grinned.
"Can you show me how?"
"Show you?" Bracelety looked taken aback.
"Yeah!" Naily's voice grew a bit louder with enthusiasm. She recalled words from earlier. "If I can't be the only jokester around here, then you can't be the only crafter!"
Joy flashed in Bracelety's eyes at the playful statement. She beamed and said excitedly. "Okay! Scoot over here so you can get a better look."
Naily obeyed and sat right beside her, watching closely as she worked. Bracelety had already been weaving slowly, but this time she made sure to go at an almost sluggish pace so that Naily could observe each step carefully, her tongue poking out as she concentrated. It was the most focused Naily had ever seen her.
"You loop one stem onto the other," Bracelety explained, demonstrating the technique gingerly. "Like that. Try it yourself!"
Determined to make a flower crown as good as Bracelety's, Naily picked out two purple flowers and tried to copy. However it proved to be much more challenging with no arms. She held one sprout on each foot and attempted to loop them together like Bracelety had demonstrated. She struggled for a few minutes, and when she finally succeeded it came apart almost instantly.
"Try again," Bracelety urged. She had paused in her own weaving and was watching Naily patiently.
Naily grumbled, slightly embarrassed that Bracelety had stopped to wait for her. She picked them up and tried going slower. But bending the small stems was just too difficult and they fell apart even quicker than the first time.
"This is stupid," Naily muttered sulkily, glaring at the purple flowers.
"C'mon, where's that confidence from earlier?" Bracelety said. "You were doing well!"
"I can't even do the first loop," Naily pointed out.
"If we were good at everything straight away, it wouldn't be as fun or rewarding," Bracelety reasoned. Her tone was… surprisingly earnest.
"I guess so," Naily conceded. "But that doesn't make it anymore pleasant."
"That's what makes it rewarding, silly!" Bracelety gave her a playful wink. She gestured to the flowers. "Go on. We're not leaving this field until you do at least one stem."
Naily cracked a small smile. "I could just run away, you know?"
"Then I'll sit on top of you again," Bracelety responded mischievously. She went back to weaving her flower crown.
Naily observed her, carefully studying the way she looped multiple stems onto one. With furrowed brows, Naily picked her flowers back up and tried again. She stole a final glimpse at Bracelety before gingerly coiling one onto the other. She had only lifted her foot away for half a second and the arrangement broke immediately.
Annoyance pricked at Naily, but she took a deep breath and lifted the flowers back up. When she repeated the process, the plants fell apart yet again.
'Maybe I'm going about it the wrong way…'
She watched Bracelety again, particularly how her fingers worked midair. It was easy for the cyan contestant to weave in that position, but with Naily's limited grip, she found it more uncomfortable and irritating than anything else.
'But who says I have to do it that specific way?'
Intrigued, Naily grabbed the flowers again. But instead of raising them up like Bracelety she tried to intertwine them on the floor. It still took her a few tries, but without the extra effort of keeping the sprouts in the air, Naily found it much easier.
After a few minutes of trial and error she finally looped the stem. Gently, Naily tugged and secured it on.
"I did it!" Naily's voice rose to a higher pitch with excitement.
"You did it!" Bracelety squealed out. She appeared just as happy as Naily felt.
She winced as Bracelety leaped forward and wrapped her arms around her, squeezing Naily tightly. "See? I knew you had it in you!"
"Easy there, you're gonna crush all of my hard work!" Naily laughed. She couldn't hug back, so she settled for nuzzling Bracelety with her cheek instead. "You really think it's *that* good?"
"Of course!" There was a wide grin on Bracelety's face, she looked ready to burst with pride. "Now that you've figured out the first loop, the rest should be easier!"
Bracelety glanced at the enterwined pair of flowers on the floor. "And look at you, figuring out a new method!"
"I just did it on the ground, no biggie." Naily rolled her eyes. With a smug tone, she added. "But I guess I nailed it!"
"You really did!" Bracelety agreed with a chuckle. She turned and picked up her own flower crown, lifting it up so that Naily could see the finished result. It was quite large so it could wrap around the top of Bracelety's hem fully.
"Looks like you're a fan of pink," Naily remarked. The wreath was made entirely with flowers of several pink shades. She made sure to save that information for later when Bracelety insisted on something blue for her idol again.
"Yup!" Bracelety smiled. She placed the crown on top of herself, adjusting it slightly so that it properly fit. The vibrancy of the flowers matched quite well with her cyan colour and made the fangirl look beautiful as a result.
Bracelety then looked over the field, adding more thoughtfully. "Though, my favourite flower is lavender. But none of it grows here."
"Lavender?" Naily tipped her head to the side. It was a rather calm option for someone like Bracelety. "You don't strike me as a lavender person."
"Really?" Bracelety laughed. "You don't seem like a flower person in general!"
"I think I'm warming up to it." Naily shrugged. She reached for another purple flower and carefully weaved in her second loop. Bracelety was right; it was easier now that she had some experience under her belt.
Then she did the third loop, and a fourth and a fifth… it was still tricky performing the action, but Naily found that she was growing more confident as time went by. She understood why Bracelety had looked so concentrated earlier, this was surprisingly engaging work.
Naily caught a glimpse of what the silicone contestant had been doing in the meantime, and saw that she had finished working on a yellow flower crown, entwining both ends together. However, this one was notably smaller than her pink crown.
A small snicker escaped Naily. "Thats not gonna fit you, stupid."
"It's not for me, stupid," Bracelety replied, her tone teasing. Before Naily could answer she tossed the flower crown onto her head.
Naily's eyes widened with awe as she felt the wreath rest on top of her, the petals tickling her forehead just a little. Gratitude mixed with shock swelled inside of her.
"Woah, for real?" She shook her head in order to dislodge the flower crown. Naily took a closer look and stared at the skilfully woven piece.
"Yup!" Bracelety beamed. "Now you can have two crowns!"
"I'm not sure about that," Naily muttered. Comparing it to her purple flower crown, she could see that her own was only halfway finished. The sky above was carrying streaks of yellows and oranges inside of it, signaling that the day was coming to an end. Naily wouldn't have time to finish.
Bracelety nudged her side with her shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself! Today you've come up with your own technique of weaving. I'd say you one-upped me!"
"And you could still use it to decorate the walls in your room," Bracelety suggested as she picked up Naily's half-finished crown, looking at it with genuine admiration in her gaze. "The purples are really pretty. And your first craft is always special."
Naily smiled bashfully. The amount of praise she was receiving made her feel a bit staggered, but also really happy.
"I think I'll hang it up on my door," Naily said. "So everyone can see it when they pass."
"Awww, thats so sweet!" Bracelety grinned. "Displaying your very first flower craft!"
"You're acting as if I'll do this again," Naily rolled her eyes. She threw the yellow flower crown back on top of her head and gingerly picked up the chain that she had made between her teeth.
"You will, won't you?" Bracelety inquired, slowly standing up with her.
Naily glanced at Bracelety, taking in the hope that had appeared in her eyes. Then she looked down at the flower chain she had woven. It was a bit crooked and it had taken longer than she would have preferred, but more importantly it was hers. And Naily had done it with a friend.
'When was the last time I have done something like this? Or when either of us have?'
"…Yeah, I will," Naily assured. When she saw Bracelety's expression light up, she went on playfully. "But next time I will make something better than yours."
Bracelety snorted as they slowly pushed their way through the tall grass. She walked at the front so she could use her arms to brush the strands aside. "That's not the threat you think it is. I *want* you to improve!"
"What if I threaten you with never improving?" Naily joked.
Bracelety looked back at her with a smile. "Then I'll just have to cheer for you as well."