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Pushing past the moss that marked the entrance to Setsuna's clearing, Arthur Pencilgon breathed out a sigh as the sounds of the forest faded out behind her. Crossing this boundary always seemed to instil a strange sort of calm upon her—as if she was now free to relax, free to let loose in a way that she was not afforded in the world outside this sanctuary. Stepping into the clearing proper, into the field of spider lilies, the woman she had come for met her gaze almost immediately. She smiled warmly, having clearly expected her appearance as night fell.
"You've come again, Arthur," she greeted, clasping her hands together and watching Arthur expectantly.
With a small wave, Arthur responded cheerily, "Hey, Setsuna! How've you been?"
"Much the same," Setsuna replied wistfully, then continued, "I'm glad to see you again. Even though you don't need to, every month, you…" Setsuna's smile broke into a small, almost shy grin. "You don't know what that means to me."
For a moment, Arthur's eyes widened, and she found herself unsure what to say. Composing herself, she responded, "That's good to hear." Her voice dropping lower, as if she was embarrassed, she added, "And sure, even if I don't need to visit, I want to. There's nothing wrong with that…"
Setsuna laughed, soft but genuine. "Of course not!"
Wordlessly, the two sat down together at the base of the cherry tree in the centre of the clearing, shoulders almost touching but not quite.
"Is there anything in particular that you'd like to talk about today?" Setsuna asked softly, turning to look at Arthur with an inquisitive smile.
Arthur stretched her arms above her head, then let them fall into her lap. "Hmm…" She shifted in place and closed her eyes. "Nothing much, really. I've had a long day, so I kind of just want to rest a bit."
"So you are quite a busy person, Arthur. I'd asked you before, but you never gave me a straight answer."
"Didn't I?" Arthur asked, cracking an eye open.
Looking off into the distance, Setsuna replied, "No… As I remember, you've only ever told me vague things about your coworkers, and nothing about yourself!" She laughed softly again.
Arthur frowned, then sighed and leaned forward, shifting to face Setsuna. "Sorry, Setsuna. I didn't mean to do that."
"Oh, it's fine." Setsuna waved her hand dismissively. "I can understand not wanting to talk about such things. You're here to get away from it all, after all…"
"If—If it's you asking, though, I wouldn't mind telling you more," Arthur said abruptly, surprising even herself.
"Really?"
"Yes. Of course!" Arthur nodded resolutely.
"Then, I'm all ears."
With another nod, Arthur sat back against the trunk of the tree once more and took a moment to gather her thoughts. It wouldn't do to simply talk about her life as Towa Amane, after all—she needed to translate it into a form that Setsuna, as an NPC, would be able to meaningfully engage with.
"I work with people a lot. Some of them are easier to work with than others. Most of my headaches are because of that second camp, of course. Not scheduling or planning things right, asking me to do work that I didn't agree to… I've got an endless list of complaints about the whole lot of those idiots. But I have to put up a pleasant face for them, because I have an image to maintain… Maybe you get that, too?"
Setsuna hummed contemplatively. "I would say I do, yes."
"Even so, I'm glad for the friends I've made. Some of them even introduced me to this place… And by extension, to you. How could I not be grateful for that? Not that I can tell them…" Arthur felt her face flush as she said the words, and was surprised to see that Setsuna seemed embarrassed by them as well, though she did not say anything when Arthur paused.
"Today, well…" With a sigh, Arthur recalled the annoyances she'd been saddled with during the day. "There was a scheduling conflict. One of the people that I needed to finish a job with had apparently also accepted a job somewhere else, so I and all of my coworkers were forced to sit around and wait for him. When we finally wrapped that up, I was roped into helping a junior prepare for a job of her own, because apparently her manager hadn't even thought to find someone who could do that…" Arthur took a deep breath, then let it out in a drawn-out sigh. "It was a very busy day, and I hated every minute of it. And to top it all off, before I came here, I had the misfortune of running into a well-armed party who were out for my blood. I dealt with them, of course, but it was… Not what I needed at the moment."
"What did you need, then?" Setsuna asked.
Arthur felt her face flush again. "Your company, of course."
The two fell silent for a time, then Setsuna shuffled closer to Arthur, pressing their shoulders together and—
Arthur blinked, then nearly jolted straight to her feet. "Wait, Setsuna—"
"Huh?"
"You—I felt that? You just touched me!" Arthur exclaimed, confusion in her voice.
Setsuna's eyes went wide, and then she smiled, as if she was amused by Arthur's panic. "I suppose I did."
Arthur sank back down, feeling strangely placated by Setsuna's unshaken demeanour at what should've been impossible. Setsuna retook her place, leaning against her shoulder.
"Could you always do that?" Arthur asked quietly. "I mean—We tried before, didn't we? And your hand went right through mine."
Setsuna snickered, her hand finding its way to Arthur's, fingers lacing in between hers and holding on tightly. "Well, I decided long ago not to question the reasons for such things… To simply accept them as they are. I mean…" She lifted their hands up. "Do we really need to know the reason for this? It's much better to simply enjoy it, I think."
With a sigh, Arthur relaxed, leaning against the newfound solidity of her friend's shoulder. "I guess you're right about that."
A comfortable, if not excited silence filled the space between them.
"…I'm glad," Setsuna said under her breath.
"Hm?"
She cleared her throat and repeated, more loudly, "I'm really glad. I'm glad that you told me more about yourself, Arthur. I'm glad that somehow, we can hold hands like this…" She turned and flashed her a wide smile. "I'm glad that you decided to visit today, despite everything that happened. After all, this has turned out to be one of the more exciting nights that we've had in a while, hasn't it? Even though you said you only wanted to relax."
Arthur returned her smile sheepishly, then brought her gaze skyward. "I wouldn't think to miss one of these nights. Honestly, I wish there were more of them…"
With a soft laugh, Setsuna sympathised, "I think I can say that that's my wish, too. Spending these evenings with you, it's…" She trailed off, lips pressing together into a thin, wistful smile. "Well, the night is still young. We can enjoy each other's company as long as you like, okay?"
Arthur laughed softly in turn and closed her eyes, leaning a little further against Setsuna. "I think I'll take you up on that offer, then."
She squeezed Setsuna's hand gently, and she squeezed back.