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"Another dead end, Kris. Let's go back." Noelle says, frustration heavy in her voice, already turning back to where they came from.
The city was full of these paths that led to nowhere, at best holding some item she or Kris could use for an edge while battling or to heal their wounds afterwards. She was used to following behind Kris as they led her out of them by this point. However, when she noticed Kris wasn't with her, she went back to look for them. She noticed them crouching besides something she couldn't quite make out, shovelling it into their mouth.
"Kris? What are you do... ewwww! Is that... moss?!" Noelle shrieked in disgust.
She knew some animals and monsters ate moss, but was sure humans weren't supposed to. Besides, it was terribly unhygienic, just growing in a grimy alleyway next to some bins. But despite all that, Kris seemed to be... into it? They looked to be savouring the moss as if it were an expensive meal from a high-class restaurant. They said nothing in response to her screams, merely scooching over to make some space, inviting her to join in.
"Me? You want me to eat...that? Come on Kris, this is too far, even for you, fahahaha!"
Noelle tried to laugh off the invitation, certain it was some prank they were pulling. They weren't REALLY trying to get her to eat the moss...right? Kris stopped their feast, turning to look at her. Despite being covered by a mop of hair, she could see the blazing red eyes staring at her, deadly serious, a hint of confusion on them. Oh no. They WERE serious. They explained how good it really was, how healthily and nutritious it was, and how it wouldn't hurt to try a bit. Susie didn't seem to mind when she tried it, they added.
"S-Susie? Tried it?" Noelle stood, shocked.
Surely they were lying, right? Just trying to get her to eat the moss, and laugh at her horrified face, as they had many times in the past after similar pranks. They of all people knew how best to manipulate her. And yet... thinking about it, Susie did always have a taste for unusual things, like pencils and chalk. Her eating moss wasn't far-fetched at all. And if so... it couldn't be THAT bad, right? Even if it was a prank, she was aware Kris knew her boundaries well enough to never hurt her with them. Even the most terrifying or disgusting pranks from their childhood never resulted in Noelle getting hurt (Kris was a different matter though). That thought settled it.
She sighed, realising what she was about to do.
“Fine, I’ll try it.” Kris responded with a little smile, and a double thumbs up. “But! If I spit up moss all over my clothes, you’re paying to get them cleaned, fahaha!”
She could hardly believe what she was agreeing to do, or what she was saying. There was no chance they could get her clothes cleaned here, wherever “here” was, and if Susie or Berdly saw her covered in moss, they would never let her hear the end of it. But such rash actions weren’t unprecedented - she did have a tendency of following Kris into stupid situations in the past, and figured it was worth trying out to experience it, if just the once. She approached Kris and the moss patch with some hesitation, and crouched besides them. Taking a closer look at the moss, it was oddly well kept and clean, for where it was. It was a vibrant green, and was completely spotless, as if it were recently washed. And it seemed to be…sparkling? It seemed far more enticing than it did from a distance. Her remaining doubts seemed to melt away.
That settled it. She put her hands on a part of the patch Kris hadn’t yet gotten to, and, at their insistence, tore a sizable chunk from it. It came off very easily, as if it were made of air. She felt a little weird, holding moss in her hands with dubious intent, but she put her feelings aside as she closed her eyes and moved her hand closer to her face, until it was right in front of it. The smell was subtle, but notably earthy. She began to shake a little, her second thoughts regarding this madness slowly returning. Before she could start questioning what she was doing in earnest, Kris gave her one last bout of encouragement, steeling her will and causing her to stuff it in her mouth before she could stop herself.
Whatever she was expecting, this wasn’t it. While at first she tasted nothing, once she started chewing on it, the flavour came out. It was almost like a salad, but spicier and herbal. The texture was rough, but not unpleasantly so, and it didn’t feel difficult to chew through. It didn’t compare to her favourite salads, but it was far from bad, she thought to herself. After swallowing, she opened her eyes, to see Kris grinning more than she had seen in years, a pride in their eyes.
“It wasn’t so bad at all, actually. I can see why the two of you like this stuff.” She responded to Kris inquiring about how it was, taking some of the moss she had left in her hand and popping it in her mouth.
As they continued to stand there, eating away at the moss patch in silence, Noelle was reminded of their childhoods together once more. Kris often dared her to eat some really horrible things, like snails, worms and other insects (much to Dess’ annoyance) but every once in a while, they showed her something quite nice, like mushrooms or wild fruits. They hadn’t done anything like this in years now, but Noelle’s heart hoped that they would again, in some way. While she certainly didn’t miss the grizzly insects, she did miss the emotions and feelings associated with them. And most of all, she missed Kris. She felt like telling them this, in some way, but figured that could wait until after the human was finished with their gourmet meal.
These past few hours, as scary as they had been, had been some of the best of Noelle’s life in recent memory, and that was certainly down to Kris being there with her. The electricity prank and the mice would have been far scarier, and much less funny if it wasn’t Kris who pranked her with them. She wasn’t sure what Queen wanted from her, and that worried her more than anything, but being around Kris made her feel much more at ease, knowing they would keep her safe…
A hand shook her shoulder, and she turned to see Kris staring at her, trying and failing to hide the worry in their expression. They had finished the moss a while ago, it seemed, nothing left but a few patches too close to the ground to safely eat. She must have been too lost in thought to notice them staring at her for who knows how long.
“I-I’m fine, Krismas! I was just…thinking some things over. Let’s go already, we need to find the others!” She tried to ease their concern for her, and it seemed to have worked. That, or they were caught off guard by her use of that childhood nickname, for the first time in years, that it caused the worry to morph into deep contemplation. All Kris could offer was a nod of understanding.
“Maybe they’re also thinking about what we did years ago… How things were back then…” Noelle thought to herself as they got up from their positions by the moss. As they ventured back from the dank alleyway into the city, with its flashing lights, blaring noises and eccentric inhabitants, neither noticed that they were walking just a bit closer together than when they came in…