Chapter Text
Alicia Gale’s fingers slid along the clear glass, and the smell of red wine filled her room. Beyond the smudged trails she left upon the closed window, the dribbling raindrops painted the world in whimsical, fisheyed fragments. She mused over the fact that she could still hold such a juvenile outlook.
Her marine eyes fogged when taking in the distance. Her voice comes out a muted, longing whisper. “Where are you right now…?”
She mused over the fact that she was capable of such hypocrisy, too.
You always worry. He’ll be fine.
Such simple words to utter… yet so empty. Alicia felt a visceral chill, and it was not from the weather, but from the silence that answered her question. Her wine tasted acrid, and the warmth it brought to her throat was nauseating.
The dark of night parted under the wingbeat of ruffled feathers. A grey beak framed by squinted red eyes tapped at the window.
Alicia blinked to register what was happening, before her eyes lit up. “Mandy!”
She had never unlatched her windows faster. The scavenger bird entered and shook herself dry, and she made not a sound beyond that. Alicia minded neither the dirty claws on her table, nor her beige dress getting drenched; the bird’s belligerence and apathy were all the reminders she needed of him. They were very much alike.
“You must have flown really far… Thank you,” she stroked its feathers, and while it was awkward to her touch, it faithfully offered its right foot. Tied to it was a wooden box containing parchment. Alicia untied the package with care and offered Mandy a smile, “Feel free to stay here a while. At least until the rain stops.”
The scavenger groomed her bony projections and feathers, but promptly shook her head at Alicia’s offer. Through the very window she entered, she departed, leaving a single feather to drift in the rain.
Alicia held the wooden box close to her chest, “Have a safe trip.” She shut the windows quickly before tearing the box open and uncurling the parchment.
A giggle escaped her; she never took him for the type to write with ink on parchment. The dim moonlight peeking through the clouds sufficed when she put her reading glasses on. It had been so long since she had felt this giddy.
“Alicia?”
Alicia’s heart skipped a beat as the door to her room opened. She stuffed the letter back into the box and hid it under the table.
“Alicia! What are you doing in the dark?” It was Cassandra Heartsfelt’s voice, and she sounded indignant. “What is that smell?”
Alicia’s panic only rose when her friend turned on the lights, and Cassandra’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she saw Alicia’s pink sweatshirt and luscious red hair completely drenched.
“What in the world happened here? Did you open the window in the rain or something?”
“Sandra… Hi,” Alicia took a moment to compose herself, smiling sheepishly with a nod. “It was a bad judgment call.”
Sandra walked over to the wardrobe by the queen-sized bed and retrieved a towel. She sighed, “This isn’t like you… Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”
Protests would be useless. Alicia looked resigned to this fact, for her chin rested on her knuckles as Sandra ran the towel gently through her hair.
“Don’t worry about the floor,” Alicia said. “I’ll get Arthur to clean it up.”
Sandra sighed, “I’m more worried about you. Why were you in this dark and smelly room?” She carefully squeezed the water out of Alicia’s hair. “It smells like… like a bird. And something rotting.”
“Does it?” Alicia feigned curiosity. “I don’t smell anything.”
“Probably because you’ve been sitting in it. You’ll catch your death at this rate.”
The redhead shrugged, “I’ve never been great at getting sick either.”
Sandra’s eyes narrowed. “Cut it out. If there’s something you need to talk about, you know you can approach me, right? What’s going on with you?”
“N-Nothing, really. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“You’re as bad as Zack when you try to hide things like this.”
Alicia forced a chuckle, “I hate losing just as much as he does. I guess I’m a little sore from our Chess…”
Sandra surprised Alicia by throwing the towel onto the bed. She strode angrily to the seat across before sitting down. She’d made it a point to bang on the table when she did, and leveled an icy glare at Alicia’s sightline.
“I thought we were friends… Whatever’s going on, at least be honest with me.”
Alicia bit her lip. This was Sandra she was talking to. Someone who keeps up with her own Metagross at logic problems. No amateur acting was going to fool her. A shaky breath escaped Alicia, as the lies about their game of chess came crashing down.
“I…”
When Alicia choked on her words, Sandra’s withering gaze softened. “It’s okay to miss him. I do too.”
Alicia stopped short as Sandra relaxed into her chair, seeming almost annoyed at the simplicity of the matter.
“It’s about my stupid brother, isn’t it?” she cast a frown at the world beyond the glass panes. “We’re both stuck with utter idiots. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
Alicia let out a giggle, “Ace wouldn’t appreciate that comparison.”
“He can come and take it up with me in person,” Sandra huffed, blowing a tuft of her brown hair out of her face.
They both broke the tension with those fleeting moments of laughter they shared. It took some getting used to—for gossip to be so harmless—Alicia revelled in allowing herself that moment to forget it all. The thousand things unfolding in her world… the thousand worries about their friends not returning.
“Thanks, San,” her face loosened into a grin. “I needed that… And I’m sorry.”
Sandra raised a brow, “About?”
“When… When I told you not to worry,” she twiddled her thumbs. “It was really insensitive.”
Hearing the answer, Sandra smiled, placing a hand over Alicia’s across the table. “I told you, I know you were just trying to cheer me up,” she then glanced at her nails, which were chewn unevenly. “I probably needed that too.”
Alicia followed her eyes and nodded with a smirk, “Nails tend to grow inwards if you chew ‘em off. I don’t have the manpower to hold you down while I snip it this time.”
“No need to remind me,” Sandra groaned.
It was so much easier to breathe now. Alicia still felt cold, but drying herself off would suffice as a remedy. She relaxed into her chair too, looking out the window where the rain was finally subsiding.
The pale moon’s shine illuminated the pluvial landscape. The light may have been indifferent, but the beauty it brought to the world… that could never be challenged.
“Mr Arthur prepared dinner,” Sandra said. “It’s your favourite—ramen. Let’s go get some after you’ve dried off.”
Alicia’s face was glowing now, “Yeah, sounds like a plan.”