Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 The waves are calm, almost tranquil. The chirping of cicadas echoed throughout the sandy evening, the waves calmly crashing against the sand. The day was like any other, and Carolina decided to stay outside for a while longer to ease her mind. She was a bit uneasy throughout the whole day, mainly from past thoughts. Her mom and dad were arguing earlier, and that already added onto the amount of stress her mind had, and she just needed to calm down.

 For some reason, the breeze felt a bit cooler than normal. It felt like a forest breeze in the afternoon. She could hear the footsteps of other people behind and in front of her, some splashing in the water. Few people were playing on the sand and in the water, but it was fine to Carolina. It was mainly children outside anyways, and they were always loud. Children in the water, children on land; it was the same old thing every day.

 How funny it was that fate decided to change everything, and introduce something, or.. someone, that would change her life forever.

 It was just a normal day, Carolina was just sitting on the beach, admiring the sea and life within, when she suddenly felt a shift in the breeze where she was sitting. It felt...peaceful, in a way. It didn't seem threatening, like poppies in a field.

"Hello!" A voice said. It sounded around her age, feminine. "I saw you were sitting alone here, and I just wanted to know if anything was wrong?" Concern? That was new to Carolina. "Hello. Yes, I'm doing fine. My parents were arguing and I wanted to clear my mind from stress." She was being entirely truthful, yet she felt like something was missing.

"Are you sure? Do you want me to sit with you?" When she turned to look at who was talking to her, she was met with a girl, about ten years old. She had white, curly and tuffed hair, and a striking white mask, covering her entire face, with two black holes presumably used to see. She wore a white sweater adorned with stars, the same for her pants, and tiny little...hooves? 

"If you want. I'm out her of my own volition anyway. Probably not going back in until the late night." Something about the girl in front of Carolina made her feel a bit happy inside. It was nice to talk to people, and it seemed this mystery girl wanted the same. "Perfect! Much has been going on around the coast here.. So many new friends I've made! And yet most of them were the same, but you are the most interesting one I've met! A standout among..."

 While the white girl trailed on, Carolina took in the sight she was blessed with. A nice and pleasant girl who decided to take time out of her day to talk to her? She had never struck a conversation with anyone during this long trip, so this was a surprise for her, to say the least. The breeze of the evening wind died down a bit, which made Carolina realize it was evening. Already?

"Oh, have I been talking for too long? I apologize! So so sorry!!" The white girl seemed genuine, almost sounding sad in a way. "It's fine, don't worry. I usually stay out this long. My parents won't care; they just want me back in the house when I'm done." Despite it sounding like a lie, it was true; they really didn't mind it if she stayed out. They only want to make sure she comes back. 

"Is that so? Well.. If you want me to accompany you back to your house for safety, I can do that! We can talk more if you want as well!" The fact that someone would want to do this with her, walking down back to her house.. It felt nice. Felt peaceful. "Sure, I don't mind."

"Yay! Well," Suddenly, She hoisted the brunette up onto her feet, grasping onto her hand with a soft press. "If you're ready, let's run!" And suddenly, they were suddenly picking up the pace, their feet getting sandier by the minute. The breeze was picking up due to their speed, and she almost missed the beach house she was residing in. "Here it is. You can stop now." The pace at which they stopped almost tumbled them both over, but they remained standing regardless. "Thanks, by the way."

"You're welcome! But, I have something to ask you. What is your name?" That was something she wasn't expected to be asked at all. She never really got asked her name much. 

"..Carolina. Carolina Mach. But, you can call me Carol. What's yours?" The returned question lit up the white girl's covered face. "..Dreamer!" Dreamer? Guess it's just a nickname. "I hope to see you again soon!"

"..Same here."

Chapter Text

 This time, Carolina was on her back porch step, watching the waves like last time. Ever since that encounter, she's felt a lingering want to see that white girl again. Dreamer was her name. Dreamer looked pretty in her eyes, something out of a movie. It was a blessing fate let them meet.

"Oh! Carol!" And speak of the devil, it seems the woman of the hour arrived. Dreamer had been walking along the beachside, skipping in the water until she spotted the brunette girl on the steps. "I never expected to see you out here! How's it been?" Her tone was bright and cheerful, like a lamb doing its signature noise. Dreamer reminded Carol of a lamb a bit, with her white coloration and all.

"Oh, I'm doing fine. I've just been sitting out here looking towards the horizon for a while... Been thinking." The way the white girls hair flowed in the wind was like clouds passing by in the sky. Ethereal, in a way. "Say, I'm going to that one megamall down the road, my parents are allowing me to. I wouldn't ask this with anyone else, but, do you want to come with me and buy stuff with me?" With her question, she extended her arm out in a comforting way.

"Really? You'd want me to go with you..?" Her confusion sounded genuine. Had she never been shopping before or something? "Well, I'd love to! I've never really been away from the beachside during the time I've been here, but.. It'd be nice to go somewhere new for once!" Her happiness made Carolina smile a small bit. Her happiness is the treasure she never knew she liked.

"My parents gave me... about 150? 200? I think it was 200. Anyways, that should be enough to keep us occupied. That mall accepts physical cash, so we don't need to worry." She dug into her pocket and flaunted many bills. Showoff, much. "That's amazing! We can buy whatever we want!" She giggled a lot after that, barely containing it. "Hey, no, we're spending wisely. If I'm feeling it, we can do some mischief." She gave a small smirk after saying that.

"Hehe, well, are you ready to go?" She took her extended hand, fingers entwined. 

"Sure am."

"This place is huge!" And Dreamer wasn't lying. The megamall was very huge due to its construction. Carolina's parents actually had a hand in the architecture of the mall, being some of the shop spaces. "It was a planned building a few years ago. My parents always come here for business reasons, but sometimes take me to have fun. But now, we're having fun on our own, and I know where we are going first."

"Oh? Where are we goi- Woah!" Suddenly, they were both running. Carolina took the lead in bringing Dreamer to every store she liked, trying on many slip-in dresses and clip-on dresses, some of which the girls bought, mostly for themselves. They also bought a lot more stuff, such as plushies and gifts. 

"This was so much more fun than I thought it'd be!" Dreamer's happiness couldn't be contained behind those words. It was a like a beam of light had hit her, and radiated her words with a positive glow. "I'm glad. Do you want to stop by the food court? That can be our final stop before we go back." Since they were already near the food court, Carolina was already walking there. 

"Well.. that's fine! I've.. been craving some food since I saw the food court!" She sounded unsure, but decided to agree with her idea after a bit of consideration. "You can go order anything! I'm not picky!" With her confirmation, Carolina went towards the counter to order.

 Dreamer took in the sight of Carolina while she was at the counter. Her medium-length brunette hair swayed with every tilt of her head, dark-tan skin adorned with patches of freckles here and there, and perfect blue eyes every time she looked at her friend. She was lucky that she was the first person she talked to when she walked on the beach that day.

 She was too deep in admiring her friend that she didn't even realize she came back with the food. "Got ourselves fries and a hot dog for myself, with free drinks as well, since I had a coupon for it. Hope you enjoy it!" She sounded so happy, so.. pure. When Carolina looked away to check for how much money she had left, Dreamer quickly snapped her fingers, whisking away the fries into an unknown place. "Wow, you ate that quickly? Didn't know you were the quick eating type." She sounded pretty amazed in her tone.

"Well, like I said, I'm not picky. I see you're done too!" Pointing towards her hand, it had no hot dog in it. "Let's go back now!" Taking a grip on Carolina's hand, they ran out of the megamall, running past the baseball fields, the skate parks, the ice cream shops, and many more places they could go to sometime else. The sights they both took in were like a child's first memory.

"We're back!" Dreamer stopped in her tracks in front of the beach house. "I hope to see you again soon! Thanks for taking me with you!" Her goodbye was so pure and innocent, it made Carolina's heart melt a little.

"I hope to see you again too."

Chapter Text

"You look different today!" The voice startled Carolina, only to turn into ease when she realized it was her friend, Dreamer. "You have a bathing suit on? Are you planning to go in the water? It's pretty warm, after all!" While Carolina had intended to just do what adults call 'sunbathing,' lying out on the towel in the hot sun, the arrival of Dreamer had shifted her mind into making a different plan. 

"Do you really want to do that with me? We've only known each other for two weeks at best.." Despite her tone of voice, it was true. They had only known each other for two and a half weeks! Now she wants to go in the water together? "What if I accidentally hurt you? What if you drown and I can't do anything about it? What if-" Her mouth, and..lips, were silenced by a white finger pressing against them, tainting her face with a faint red.

"I know how to swim a little bit. My.. My parents taught me when I was.. five!" That's a pretty young age to be taught how to swim. "Regardless, when we're done, we'll be going back up to the surface! We can check out all the fishies while we are under the water!" Seeing the coral reefs had been one of Carolina's dream as a young one.. What harm is there now when there was a pretty girl she could swim with and take in the sights with?

"Well, if you're here, then I guess there's no harm in going for a swim, so why not? But.. where's your bathing suit?" Her sudden question made Dreamer flinch a tiny bit. "Oh, I actually forgot! Be right back!" She took off running, presumably toward the beach house she was staying at to get one.

 It had been a while, 10 minutes at best, when Dreamer came back. "Carol~! Sorry I took long!" She was wearing a bathing suits with a star pattern on it. "You must really like stars, huh?" If her mouth was able to be seen, she would be giving a bright smile. "I've always associated myself with the stars! They are a joy to look at. But in my eyes, you're the center star that I look at!" The compliment drop made Carolina's face heat up a bit.

"Ahahaha, thanks... You're too nice!" Her embarrassment couldn't be hidden; that compliment really blew her away. "Well, if you're ready.." Suddenly, the white lamb grasped her hand tightly. "We're going in now!" Without a second warning, Dreamer pulled the both of them into the water. It took a bit, but because their hands were entwined with each other, they were able to keep swimming, taking in the sights of the ocean.

 The coral reefs were a beauty among the ocean floor. The colorful corals, the species of fish, and the amount of kelp surrounding them was a blessing to them both as they kept swimming around the reefs. Everything was a beauty, so much that it made Carolina almost pass out from exhaustion and from pure bliss.

 It wasn't till a few minutes later that she finally regained consciousness, Dreamer panting and pacing, obviously worried, only to notice Carolina opening her eyes slowly. "Carol! Oh my stars.. You passed out after looking at some coral! I was so scared that I had to swim you back up to shore and drag you back to your beach house! Are you okay now-" Her sentence was cut off when Carolina spat out a lot of water from both her mouth and nostrils. "...Yeah. I'm fine now."

"That scared me a bit! You really need to make sure you don't get into trouble most times.." Her tone sounded sad, almost depressed at best. "If you want, I can.. what do you call it, 'sleep over' at your house?" Carolina was internally confused. Did she not know what a sleepover was? 

"Sure, my parents won't mind either since they usually argue. Do you want to come in now?"

"..Sure!"

Chapter Text

"Your house is huge, Carol!" Huge was an understatement. Because her parents were wealthy, they had the biggest beach house out of the whole of Cataracta de Paenitentia. Five stories of the mansion, complete with many rooms, bedroom and bathroom and kitchen alike. "It kinda makes me jealous, Carol! Why can't you share with meee!!" She tried to play-hit Carolina, only to be stopped with her hands being grabbed by the wrists.

"We can play once we get to my room. We have to get to it first. Just keep following me, keep holding my hand." Keep holding her hand? While she didn't think that was weird, the way she said it... It sounded like she didn't want her to let go of her hand. It made Dreamer heat up a little. Before she even knew it, Carolina made them both come to a stop, and then a turn. 

"Here's my room. Spacious, I know, but that's bound to happen when your parents are pretty wealthy and don't care about rooms much." What surrounded them was a room with two nightstands at each side of a king-sized bed, an wide ottoman at the edge of the bed, two closets, a room to a bathroom, and a TV right in front of the bed, mounted to the wall. "Wow.. it's so... pretty." Dreamer didn't have much words.

"Hehe, you having little words at this moment is pretty cute." A dropped compliment, this time purposeful on Carolina's end. As if Dreamer didn't feel like her body was heating up, that compliment only made the heat go up. Oh Great One, why did I fall in love with you, Carol, the white lamb thought. A truthful thought, but one she wouldn't admit out loud, nonetheless.

"I'll put on something for us to watch. If we fall asleep, then sue us; we probably got bored. Settle in my bed if you want, it's fine-" By that word, Dreamer was already charging for the bed, bringing Carolina with her and flopping the both of them onto it. The sudden rush of adrenaline gave Carolina a small shock, but her friend seemed to be laughing instead of heavily breathing.

"This bed is so soft! It's the perfect size for me and you! If we ever got married, we could share this bed forever!" She didn't mean to let that one slip, but Great One kill her, she wouldn't care. "M-marriage?! I-I mean if it were for pretend I wouldn't mind, haha.." Her friend genuinely sounded nervous at that, even if it was just a slip of the tongue. "Let me just... put on what we could watch, or something to listen to while we talk." Scrambling for the remote, she put on a random television channel as background noise as they continued talking.

 They talked about many things, such as friends, family, favorite movies, food, and more, and all of that made Carolina tired to the point she already got under her blankets, turned off the TV, and was almost shutting her eyelids. When Dreamer took notice of her tiredness, she also climbed into the bed, keeping her distance just to make sure she didn't freak out her friend when she woke up. Her own eyes felt heavy as she listened to the noise of the waves and her friends breathing.

"Take care, sweet dreamer. May your dreams prosper."

 Dreamer was suddenly awoken by the sound of ragged and stressed gasps. Turning over revealed that her friend was shaking and crying in her sleep. It seemed that she was having an unprompted nightmare. "Oh, Carol, Don't worry.." She said quietly, scooting over towards her friends side of the bed, and gently embracing her. It seemed the embrace worked, as she was slowly calming down. At least, that's what she thought, until her eyes opened.

"Dreamer? Why.. are you embracing me?" She sounded genuinely confused, as if she didn't remember that she was shaking in her sleep. "Oh, you were having a nightmare! I was scared that you were gonna be stuck like that, so I decided to embrace you so you wouldn't feel.. alone." She truly wanted her friend to feel safe, even if she wouldn't be able to wake up.

"Dreamer.. You really are a nice friend."

"Am I really a nice friend to you?"

"Yes,"

"And I wouldn't want anyone else to be by my side except you."

Chapter Text

 Things had gotten.. tense, since their last few meetups. Carolina had been involved in more of her family discussions, and Dreamer was in her own little pickle. They were both stressed, relying on each other to give comfort, since they were super close. Their bond had grew over the summer, growing from strangers to best friends. They didn't spend one minute apart, always seen together by other people. Some people didn't see Dreamer, but Carolina didn't care.

 It had been a long while since they met, about a week and three days to be exact. Carolina had three days left during this trip, and it made her worry how her friend hadn't shown up for a while. Where had she gone from meeting at their usual spot? Het emotions were running through her body at a confusingly rapid pace, her stomach in tight knots and heart at a nonstop beating. Where is she?

 They had gone on many adventures. They went to the megamall, swam in the ocean, had a sleepover, went fishing at the nearby docks, played with each other every day, and so much more. But why? Why did her friend leave her for more than a week? It made her heart sink.

 She loved her. She loved Dreamer with her whole heart. Her personality, her face, her everything. She was pretty, she was kind, she was amazing. Nothing else could compare to the beauty she saw in Dreamer. Her radiant glow was unlike anything she had ever seen. The happiness in her voice, the kindness she gave to her, the adventures she accepted with her.. Everything she did, it was all for her. If anything, Dreamer was like a god to her.

 But now, her 'God' was nowhere to be seen. No one was seen. It was almost night, the moon rising beyond the horizon of the ocean. The waves kept coming and going, sliding up to her feet, and retreating back, and repeating. The waves keep pulling and pushing, tossing and turning. Laying down on the towel she had placed down, she had always kept to the right side, always waiting for Dreamer to lay right next to her. She would keep waiting until the end of the world just to see her again.

 Whenever, wherever. she would see her again.

 Footsteps. Footsteps, she heard. The moon was bright and big in the sky, but the only thing Carolina cared about was the footsteps she was hearing. Sitting up and looking towards the sound, she saw a familiar face. That curly, yellow-white hair, the white wooden mask, and the hoofed feet. It was her.

"Dreamer! It's you!" Carolina had swiftly gotten up and ran to her, tightly embracing her. The sheer force of the hug was enough to bring them down to the ground. "Carol! I'm so sorry I haven't been seeing you! There's.. a lot I need to talk about. Just lead me to your towel." She complied with her request, bringing them both back up on their feet and leading back to the towel she was sitting on. 

"Again, I am so, so, so sorry I haven't been seeing you for a bit. A week just flew by.. Well, no matter. I should really get into why I didn't see you for a while." She took a deep breath, shaking a bit as he exhaled. "My.. parents.. you see, they had an argument recently. They were already on the brink of separation, and.. this argument really cemented their break. They're.. separating. And.. my father is taking me." She sounded like she was crying. Her whole body was shaking, and her voice was hiccing. 

 Carolina had wrapped her arms around the white lamb tightly, giving her comfort as she talked. She gently moved her hands up to clasp at her arms. "I understand. It's hard for you to have to go through that, and it's unfortunate that it has come to this. I... I wish I could do something. Take you in, or whatever, I wish I could save you from this.. I.. I don't want to see you go.." Now even she was crying.

"I only wish for you to be safe."

 Those words gave Dreamers' heart a flutter. To be safe? That was.. very kind of her to offer. "You're too kind, Carol, and I mean that. I had the right feeling when I decided to approach you that day. I really don't want to leave you either." Dreamer unhanded herself from Carolina's embrace and began laying down on the towel, facing herself toward the sky, and the moon. Carolina decided to follow in her steps, doing the same thing.

 The sky was really beautiful. The stars were scattered everywhere across the sky, some in the form of constellations, like Leo and Dipper. "Remember what I said about the stars? All of them come and go as they please. Many are born, and many die out. But," She then turned her head toward her friend. "You are a central star, the one I can look at for a looooong time." She giggled at the end of that sentence, making Carolina go red in the face a tiny bit. "And, to add on.." What she would say next would shock Carolina to her core still.

"The moon tonight is beautiful, isn't it, Carol?" 

 That idiom. She's learned about it before. It's a way of professing love. If Dreamer wasn't being serious, she would probably laugh it off. But, she didn't laugh, or give a giggle either. That made Carolina flush even more red in the face.

""Dreamer, did.. did you.." Carolina couldn't believe what was happening. Dreamer might be confessing to her, and she couldn't hide her red face anymore. "Carol.. I've seen your face when we met those times. You really are the nicest friend ever. But, your beauty is unparalleled among the dozens of stars across the sky. You are the singular star I always lay my eyes on. That is what I'm saying, Carol."

 That one compliment sealed the deal for Carolina. She crawled over toward Dreamer, pulling her up and bringing her to the water, at ankle-length. "Carol? What are you doing? You know this isn't ne-" She was completely cut off when.. something pressed against her mask, where her mouth would be. Carol was red in the face, lips against her mask, her hands holding the sides of her face.

 Dreamer was frozen for a bit, processing what was happening, but after a bit, she moved her hands, albeit slowly, with one on Carol's cheek, and the other on her shoulder. She didn't push away, no, she liked the feeling of being kissed, if that was what it was called. Slowly, Carolina pulled off of the mask, her face still a bit red. Carolina looked a bit embarrassed.

"I... I'm sorry, but, I've always wanted to do that, for.. for so long. You don't understand. I've loved you, loved you for a while, Dreamer. You're pretty, you're kind, and you always stuck by me even when I was at my lowest. You are the one who supports me the most, the one who loved me even when vulnerable. You protected me, you gave me space, and you respected me as a human. You didn't treat me as a weird person, and... and I'm.. happy about that. Even if this is the final time we will see each other, I will always be happy I got to do this. I really do love you."

 She then returned her lips back to where she kissed the mask, closing her eyes as well. If Dreamer didn't have her mask on, her face would be very red at the moment, but right now, she can only return the kiss, leaning slightly into it. Though, Carolina quickly pulled away after a few seconds. "Ow.. Sorry, my nose hurts.." Dreamer patted her shoulder. "It's okay! It's no biggie, hehe."

"I'm.. thankful for this, too. You make me feel alive."

"I'm glad, my lamb."

"Even if we don't see each other for a while, will we see each other again, my star?"

"...I'm sure."

"Where are we going, Gramps?"

"It is important, Carolina. You must go through with it."

"..Yes, Gramps."

"Yes, O Great One? How may I be of service?"

“You must feel true freedom! You will learn all about it, it is my last teaching to you, my dreamer.”

“I see… and so I shall!”

Chapter Text

 Who knows how many years it's been.

 The Office is cold. It has always been cold. The red of the sky outside poured through the building in beams of light, dust flying around in the light. Important files were loading on her computer, and papers were scattered all over her desk, the pedestals holding the items that were usually on them. She had unknowingly remembered a few memories from a life she once had, and that made her reminisce for a bit, unknowingly daydreaming. Snapping out of it left her in a state of confusion. What.. were those visions?

 The confusion endured for so long that she didn't even realize she was getting a phone call. Her employer had an assignment for her. "Hello, Carolina. Thank you for receiving. We have an urgent assignment that you must do. Will you be able to do it right now?" Huffing out a breath, she knew what she was in for. "Yes. I'm available." Hopefully it'll be quick enough. "Thank you. I hope you come back in piece." She then hung up the phone. Her employer had already sent the coordinates to where she needed to go, so she already had a general idea.

Hopefully, she'll meet someone.

 The place she arrived to was windy. Windy, and red. The wind made the area feel cold. Cold, and almost empty. The wind kept picking up every step she took, her hair blowing into her face every step. Th red of the sky was getting darker, as if it was reacting to something, or someone. Walking up the beam was getting harder with the wind speeds picking up, and Mach had to ground her steps more harder in order to not fly off the beam.

 While trying hard to keep her balance, a figure had caught her eye. She couldn't fully make it out, but... it looked like they had a beret on their head. A.. way too familiar beret. It.. couldn't be her. "Hey! Can you hear me?" She tried to yell as loud as she can, but the figure didn't seem to move, not even an inch, so she decided to move closer. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" That sentence seemed to make the figure move a bit, seemingly turning around.

"And who must you..." The voice seemed to talk for a bit, but then stopped, as if studying something in the woman.  "..It's you." She recognized her? It's not uncommon that some people she met in her expeditions had recognized her, but... this felt different. More.. threatening, in a way. "You look... different now." The point-out on her appearance made her even more confused. How much did she recognize her?

"How do you know me? You.." Getting even more closer, a white sweater came into view. An all-too-familiar white sweater. That damned sweater. She knew it all too well. She remembered that day. The moon, the waves, the stars. But.. why did she look different? Onyx skin, a taller figure, and.. eyes. Eyes, everywhere. Any wrong word could ruin this moment.

"...My lamb? Is it really you?"

Silence. Loud silence. And then, there was an eruption of scowling laughter. Not from Mach, but... from the figure. "Oh, you still call me by that name? How wretched." The figure fully turned around, her new form was even taller than Mach thought it was. Bigger than her, to be exact. "I recognize you first, you then recognize me after a while, and that nickname is all you can call me?" Her words were so harrowing, it made Mach look away for a while. When she looked back up, the figure was even closer to her now.

"It is your fault, my 'star'. You weren't there." What? What did she mean by that? "I had went through the agonizing pain of hurt, of possession, of hatred. And all I wanted was to be held by the one I loved. The one I treasured. I loved you as much as you loved me. And yet, you were never there for me. You never came to me. I was alone. My pain lasted for years, decades, and yet, I only cried. And it turned me into this. You inadvertently did this. I cannot think of anyone else who could have done this. You. You did this."

 What had Dreamer gone through? "Dreamer-" Her mouth was quickly silenced. "Folly. It's.. Folly." Folly? That was what she wanted to be called? She didn't want to argue with her, so she complied. "Folly.. did you.. induce those memories? I reminisced about some earlier, without even knowing. Did you do it?" She nodded. "It was for my own amusement. Seeing you so confused.. it made me laugh." 

 What had happened? She was so pure.. so innocent, back then. But now... something happened, and it turned her into this. A being she couldn't fully describe. Hatred-filled malice, and all the same clothes from that day. What happened to her lamb? The one she loved? If she wanted to, she could hold her face. Hold the face of the one she loved. The one she treasured more than herself. If only she could have been there for her.

 She was so overcome by emotions that she didn't even realize that Folly had raised her arm up, and only noticed when she felt a gashing pain across her face, claw marks adorned on her face, Folly's hands covered in metallic blood. "Hatred ruined the one thing I had, and that hatred corrupted me, corrupted my form. I'm... I'm no longer the one you knew.. I... You had done this to me. You did this.." She sounded so pained, so delusional.. It made Mach feel horrible. Horrible that the one she loved had gone through this agonizing pain.

"Folly.." Her tone sounded so gentle, so.. calm. Folly only perked her head up, seeing Mach wipe away the blood on her face. "I understand you. It's okay to feel frustrated. It's okay to feel like someone you had loved did this to you. It's okay. You can let your emotions out." Mach was super close to her now, her hands in range of her face. She gently placed one of her hands to the side of her face, holding the white mask in a soft motion of acceptance.

"I don't care what happens to me. Like I said, back then, I want you to be safe. And I failed that promise. You have every right to be mad at me. I don't care if I can even die, I don't care if you hate me even after all this, all that I wish is your safety, my lamb." There goes that damned nickname, coming out on a slip. She didn't mean it, but she didn't care. She didn't care if she died at this moment. 

 Suddenly, Folly tilted her visible eye over to her hand, noticing the bracelet on her wrist. The two of them had matching bracelets when they were younger, given and made from Dreamer's wool. She gave the other to Mach before she left. Mach had treasured it, giving it a kiss any time she could. "...That bracelet. You still have it." Mach nodded. She never took it off.

 Suddenly, another eruption of laughter. "Oh, Carol, Your devotion makes me laugh. This... jewelry. I made it for you, before I departed. I knew you cherished it. You gave it a kiss in front of me. You loved it. You still wear it, even now. But," She then showed her arm, the one where hers used to be. Now, it's just a band with no wool. "Mine has withered. Something in me.. told me to not take it off. So, it stayed on. But now, I think why something told me to keep it on." Did she mean that there was still lingering feelings? 

"...Oh, Folly," Now Mach was on the verge of crying. It made Folly shiver a bit. "I know how hurt you are. Your feelings... they are valid. I promise you." He then wrapped her other half in a tight hug, something that shocked Folly. "..You still feel as soft as that day." And that one sentence made Folly think. Was what she was doing really justified? Was she really acting on what was right? Did... did she really need to do this?

 She cried. Her other half was crying too. The warmth shared between them was giving Folly so many second thoughts. How were her feelings still inside her, even after all that happened? The both of them had embraced for minutes, maybe even hours. Their crying had subsided, forming into crying laughter. Their souls had reunited, and were now lying on the ground. Mach had lifted herself up, seemingly looking like she was pinning her down. 

"You still look beautiful, Folly. I wouldn't say that to anyone else but you." Her tears were still falling, dropping onto her mask. "Do you... really have parents?" Folly shook her head. "I thought so. I had a feeling you were something... else. But, that didn't make me stop loving you. In fact, you seemed even more beautiful to me." She pressed her forehead against her mask, closing her eyes in peace. "You were always beautiful, from the day we first met." And as if Folly couldn't be touched in her heart enough..

"...Even if something changes between us, Don't expect me to surprise you."

"I know. I know."

"Would you still love me, even like this?"

"Always."

"...Then I will love you the same."