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It’s cold, dark, and there’s an echo of distant sobs. Your heels click loudly on the stone floors, bouncing off the walls and back into your ears, rhythmic and persistent like the ticking of a clock.
Not enough time. Too much time. Endless time.
The House shifts and changes around you, the Sadnesses all run away.
You’re alone.
They’ve all left you behind.
Sick of you, tired of your manipulation and sick desperation.
Even Loop has turned their back, stopped taking your calls.
Without you there to protect them, they fall.
Mira is felled by a Sadness, her lifeless corpse hits the floor.
You smell burnt sugar, but you can’t loop back.
Odile is frozen by a tear, face forever twisted in horror.
There’s a tug on your stomach, but you can’t loop back.
Isa is crushed by a boulder, gone in an instant.
You can’t loop back!!!
Loop takes your knife by force to use on themself, bleeding out on the grass.
YOU CAN’T LOOP BACK.
A hand squeezing tight—
You awaken to the sound of your own screaming, gasping for breath and sweating profusely.
The last remnants of your dream fade from your vision as your surroundings come into view.
You look to your left, you look to your right.
…
You’re alone.
It’s well past morning, and the bed next to yours is empty. Who were you sharing a room with, Isa or Loop?
You’re still panting hard, heart racing. Doesn’t someone usually come to check on you? Didn’t you just scream?
…
Then that’s it, isn’t it?
No, it’s not–
They’re finally done with you.
They’re not–!
They’ve had enough of your weakness. Enough of you holding them back.
That’s not true–!!
They left you behind.
Just like you deserve.
You try to block out the voice, gripping your hair to the point of pain. You can’t make it stop. You need someone to– Where are they? Why aren’t they coming??
You shakily make the call craft sign with your hand… Then shakily put your hand back down.
You curl into a ball, and sob yourself back to sleep.
~
~
~
There’s a knock on the door.
“Siffrin?” Mira. “Are you awake yet? Lunch is almost ready.”
Why is she bothering with you?
“…Sif?”
Why do you insist on bothering her?
“I have gifts for you! From the farmer’s market. Since you couldn’t go with us… But I wanted to make sure you didn’t feel left out… Even though you were, uh, left out. Sorry.”
You manage to croak out, “Farmer’s market?”
“Yeah, um. Loop said they left you a note?”
Glancing around the room, your eyes land on a very conspicuous piece of folded paper on the nightstand, labeled, ‘STARDUST!’
You unfold the note to read:
‘You probably won’t remember this, but I asked you earlier if you wanted to go to the farmer’s market with us. You were nodding off as I spoke, so I let you go back to sleep.
‘I tried!! No one can say I didn’t try!!!
‘If you wake up before we get back, give me a call so you can come meet up with us.
‘Or you could just get some more beauty sleep. You’re in desperate need of it.
‘~Loop’
Oh… So they weren’t ignoring you…
“Siffrin… Are you okay?”
You shake your head in an attempt to clear it, “Yeah, I was just reading the note,” You sit up, groggy, “Did you say lunch?”
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
You manage to drag yourself into the common room after tossing your cloak on over your sleepwear. You know you look like garbage. You feel like garbage, so it’s fitting.
Mira is excitedly leading you toward where she’s put her shopping bags, when you’re intercepted by Isa.
“Sif, can we talk?”
This can’t be good.
He’s going to ask you to leave, isn’t he?
Isa leads you to a corner to speak in private, squeezing his bicep in discomfort. “The innkeeper said that they thought they heard a scream earlier, and I thought that maybe…”
The way you flinch and duck your face into your collar, gives Isa all the confirmation he needs.
He looks pained, “Oh Sif, I’m so sorry we weren’t here for you.” He goes in to hug you, but you jump back like startled prey. He jerks back, rescinding the hug.
Why are you like this?!?
He rubs his arm, “How are you doing now? Is there anything I can–”
“I’m fine!” You school your expression into something more chipper. “It was just a dream! And now it’s time for lunch!”
He narrows his eyes, not buying it. “Sif–”
Bonnie shouts, “LUNCH!!!” from the kitchen.
You skip off before Isa has a chance to confront you again.
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
The second you sit down at the table Mira begins bombarding you with gifts.
“These hair clips have sparkles on them that kind of look like stars? I don’t know if the hair in your face is on purpose, but–”
Is it weird that you find receiving gifts to be kind of… Stressful? You’re not entirely sure how people want you to react to them. And it’s weird to see the kind of things people think you’ll enjoy.
“They had these little fried yam things, I don’t know if that still counts as potato-”
What does it say about you that everyone mostly gives you food? And what does it say about you that you’re far more comfortable with single-use or temporary gifts than you are with gifts you’ll have to keep with you… Presumably forever?
“Oh! And look at all the different kinds of tea I found! Maybe later we could–”
You’re incredibly touched that anyone would bother to give you something, that anyone would even think of you when you’re not with them. You just don’t know…
You don’t know how you’re supposed to feel.
You smile and nod, and thank Mira heartily for everything she hands you.
Isa and Loop are giving you looks while you do so, Isa bemused and Loop thoroughly unimpressed.
That probably means you’re doing this wrong…
After lunch, Mira stands to address the table, “So! We’re going to the festival tonight, right?!” Everyone gives varying levels of assent.
You must look more bewildered than usual, because Isa turns to you and says, “We found out at the farmer’s market that the town is having their annual harvest festival this week! You in?”
“Oh, um, yeah sure.” Act normal. You smile. “Sounds like fun!”
Isa doesn’t look like he buys it. Swing and a miss.
Loop bounces in their seat, head sparking in excitement, “Ooh! Wait! It’s a ~Special Occasion~! That means we can dress up!!!”
Odile looks unamused.
Mira looks uncomfortable.
Bonnie looks quizzical.
Pétra rolls her eyes.
Isabeau’s face lights up, and he pumps his fist in the air, “Yes!!! I have just the outfit for this!!” He points sternly to the rest of the group. “I’m new to embroidery, so no one is allowed to make fun of me.”
Mira looks scandalized, “We would never?!”
Bonnie smirks, “I woulda.”
Loop whips around to look at you, “Stardust!! Your wardrobe is hot garbage!” Ouch?? “Which means we have to go shopping!!” What?!
Isa immediately hops on board. “Ooh, that’d be so fun! Can I come?” Et tu, Isa?
Loop nods. “Of course! We’ll need the whole fashion squad to make over this walking disaster.” They pat your head condescendingly as you glare.
Mira pouts. “Am I not part of the fashion squad?” Not unless you want to wear a dress that looks identical to all of hers…
Loop clasps their hands by their face. “Why, Housemaiden! You have the most important role in all of fashion squad!” Their face turns grave. “But I warn you, if you take on this quest, you may not survive.”
She clenches her fists, determined. “I’m up to the task!!”
“Please do something with Stardust’s hair,” they say flatly.
Mira’s eyes start glittering. “Really?” She looks at you, pleading. “Siffrin… Can I?”
You wince. Do you really have a choice? You guess… It is nice when she brushes it for you. “Have at it.”
She squeals in delight. At least she’s happy–
Suddenly you’re being yanked from your seat by an overzealous star.
“No time to waste!” They pull you along with Isa in tow. “Come on, losers, we’re going shopping!!”
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
You’re standing in a changing stall in only your underwear, glaring at the pile of clothing in front of you.
All of it looked awful on you. You look awful. You can barely face the mirror.
Disgusting.
Your self flagellation is cut short by a raucous round of applause outside your stall. You hear Isa say, “Ooh, aah~ So chic!!”
You toss on your cloak and poke out your head to see what all the hubbub is about.
Loop is strutting around and posing in a flashy new outfit, a sleeveless turtleneck with a loose-fitting blazer. They do a little twirl and turn to face you, “Check it out, Stardust! The essential nonbinary fit: Blazer” — they push each sleeve up to their elbow — “with the sleeves pushed up.” They strike a pose.
You chuckle, and Isa claps even harder.
Loop points dramatically at Isa. “Fighter! Now it’s your turn!!”
Isa jolts. “M-me?”
“Yeah man.” They point their thumb at the changing stalls. “Go put on the thing you made.” Their eyes narrow with mischief. “I know you brought it~”
“Oh…” Isa fidgets. “Put it on… Right now?”
Loop rolls their eyes. “No, next week. Yes, now! We wanna see it!”
Isa shuffles back and forth. “Um! Okay, lemme just…” He picks up a garment off a nearby bench. “Sif, I saw this and thought you might like it? You said it’s been a while since you’ve worn a dress, and, well…” He hands you a dress. “I think this would look good on you.”
O-oh??
Loop nods. “Agreed, it’s basically the perfect Stardust dress.”
You hold it close to your chest. “Okay… I’ll try it on.”
The two of them beam at you. You feel your ears burn.
“Alright!” Loop shoves Isa toward a stall. “Everybody else, go change!” They smile smugly. “Because I’m already perfect~!”
Both you and Isa giggle as you go to your stalls. You shut the door behind you, and stare at the dress in your hands. It’s a lighter shade, soft… Linen? You shrug off your cloak and pull the dress over your head, static electricity making your hair stick to your face.
You look yourself over in the mirror. The dress is simple, long sleeves that balloon at the ends, a boat neck, cinched at the waist, and an A-line skirt that falls just below your knees. No frills, no bells and whistles…
But the cut suits you, and the shape is pretty, and the shade compliments your skin tone. The fabric is soft, and the skirt swishes pleasantly against your legs.
This is the perfect Sta– Siffrin dress. And it does look good on you.
You smile. It’s nice… Being able to look in the mirror and… Like what you see.
“Fit check!!” Loop shouts.
You take a deep breath, and exit the stall.
Loop takes one look at you and their eyes light up, “Yes!! What did we tell you? It’s the perfect dress!!” They look you up and down. “Give us a twirl~”
You do a pirouette, and Loop jumps up and down, clapping excitedly.
They nod. “That’s two out of the three of us looking gorgeous.”
You blush.
“Fighter! Your turn!!”
“Uh-um!” You hear shuffling from Isa’s stall. “Don’t expect anything flashy!”
Loop huffs. “Good! That’s kind of my thing~” A few extra sparks fly off of their head.
Isa chuckles nervously as he steps out of his stall. He’s wearing a dark lace-up doublet, sleeveless and form-fitting, over a darkless long-sleeved shirt with ruffles at the wrists. All of the hems on the doublet are lined with intricate embroidered patterns, sewn with small amounts of foil thread that catch the light as he moves.
You and Loop stand in awe of how far Isa’s abilities have advanced. He actually made this?!
He must have misinterpreted your silence, because he starts to shrink in on himself and stutters out, “I think I’m just gonna wear something else–”
Both you and Loop jump in to shout:
“No no no no no!!!”
“Don’t you dare!!”
Isa flinches at the outburst.
You step up to him. “Isa, this is so pretty. I didn’t know you could make something like this.” You step around him to admire the piece from different angles.
Loop takes the hem of the doublet in their hands to inspect. “Didn’t you say you were new to embroidery? Because clearly you took to it like a duck to water.”
You both step back to take him all in again. You giggle. “Isaaaa!”
His lips twitch with the beginnings of a smile. “Siiiiif?”
“Isaaaaa!!
“Siiiiiiiiff!”
“ISAAAAAA!!!”
“SIIIIIIFFFF!!!”
“Loop.” Loop says flatly.
You turn to see Loop looking at the two of you with a blank expression.
The both of you respond. “LOOOOOOOP!!!”
Their eyes crescent with a snort.
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
When you get back to the inn, everyone rushes forward to compliment your dress, and how it looks on you. Your face is on fire.
Thankfully Mira pulls you away to the quiet safety of her room. You take a deep breath. Much better.
“So, Siffrin, is the offer still open…?” She fiddles with her fingers. “To do your hair?”
Oh, that’s right. “Um, yeah, sure.”
Her eyes sparkle. “Great! I’ve already got a chair set up!”
A chair?
She leads you to the bathroom, where there’s a chair backed up against the lip of the sink with a towel folded over where the two meet. “You’re going to lean your head back here so I can wash your hair.”
“W-wash?” You thought she was just going to brush it? Maybe stick in a few hairclips??
Mira falters, “Oh! Yes, I thought… You knew? Oh, Change, is this too much? If you’re not comfortable, we can–”
“Wait!” Too loud! “I-I mean…” It does sound nice… But can you really allow yourself to be so greedy? “If… You want to… It’s okay.” You go to tuck your face into a cloak you aren’t wearing.
“I really do.” Her smile is soft and reassuring.
You sit down and lean your head back against the lip of the sink.
…It’s… Really uncomfortable. You grimace.
Mira looks sympathetic as she turns on the faucet. “Yeah… Sorry.” She adjusts the temperature. “Hopefully the washing will feel nice enough to make up for it.”
Your stomach twists in shame. She wants you to feel nice?
She picks up a glass and fills it from the faucet. “Let me know if this is too hot, “ She starts soaking your hair by pouring over it with the glass.
You sigh. It’s perfect. Your eyes flutter shut, just barely catching a fond smile that spreads across Mira’s face.
After soaking your hair, she puts the glass aside so she can start working in some shampoo. It smells good, like flowers. You try your hardest to suppress a groan as she massages your scalp. Don’t be weird!
It’s so nice, you feel like you're floating.
Mira rinses out your hair. You start to get up but she stops you. “We still have to do the conditioner.”
You sit back down. “Conditioner?”
She tuts. “Do you– Are you surprised or unfamiliar?”
“Both?”
She tilts her head to the side, “You knew how to style my hair, but you don’t know– Oh!” She covers her mouth with her hand, “Did you maybe… forget?”
“...How would I know if I did?” You’re genuinely asking.
She shakes her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to, um…” She squeezes some conditioner into her palm. “I’ll just remind you, then! Conditioner nourishes your hair, keeps it healthy.”
This does sound familiar… “Hair has health?”
She giggles. “Yup! And I’m an excellent healer!”
She works the conditioner into your hair and you sigh. This one smells kind of fruity. You allow yourself to bask in this moment, this closeness. It was freely given, after all. Happily given, requested, even!
It’s…
Nice.
Mira rinses the conditioner out of your hair, then squeezes the water out. She turns off the faucet, then runs her fingers through your hair to detangle it. “Don’t move. I don’t want to get your new dress wet.” She goes to grab a towel– no, a shirt? And starts to dry your hair with a scrunching motion. “Your curls are so pretty,” She says wistfully. “You should really take better care of them.”
You flush in shame. “I’m sorry.”
She looks confused. “You don’t… Have to be? I wasn’t blaming you for anything.” She wrings out as much water as she can before helping you sit up. Ow, your neck hurts. “Sorry,” she says, and sets down the shirt so she can start massaging your neck.
It’s so nice… She’s so nice. “Why are you being so nice to me…?”
“Oh, Siffrin.” She leans down to give you a hug, then pulls back to look you in the eye, beaming at you. “Because I love you, silly!”
You feel your throat tighten. “Y-yeah. Me too.”
She rifles through her pockets, pulling out a few of those sparkly hairclips she bought at the market. “Is it okay if I add a few of these? I think it’d look really cute.”
A smirk slides across your face. “If you say it’s cute, then I hair not disagree!”
She tries her hardest to stifle her giggles.
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
When you reenter the common room, you’re once again subjected to the terrifying ordeal of being perceived.
“Sif!” Isa’s eyes are gleaming. “Your hair!!”
You see Loop give Mira a high five as she giggles.
Bonnie scampers up. “Can I sproing the curl?!”
What? “Uh, sure.”
They gently pull on one of your curls and let it go. “Sproing!”
You laugh, pulling a few curls yourself. “Sproing!”
Odile looks over the group. “Is everyone ready to leave?”
Everyone gives their confirmations, and you nod, feeling your curls bounce with it. Hehe.
She heads out the door. “Then leave we shall.”
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
The festival encompasses the town’s main square, and stretches all the way down the main walkway, splitting off down a few larger streets. Lanterns and crafted lights litter the trees all around you, as well as the canopies of the numerous booths that line each street. The crowd is a little bigger than you’d like, but you’re trying not to let yourself get too stressed about it.
There’s music from a band playing nearby, and there are various performers stationed in nearly every corner. Dancers, jugglers, someone doing a comedy routine with their parrot. You stop to watch that one for a few minutes — they’re pretty funny!
You feel a tiny hand grip your arm tightly. “FRIN!!!” Bonnie looks up at you with wide eyes.
Did something happen?! Oh Stars, are they okay?! “Yes?!”
“They’ve got a big shark that you can win at the game booths. You’ve gotta win it for me!!!”
Phew. “Oh! Alright, show me the way!”
The shark in question is twice Bonnie’s size, and likely filled with sawdust instead of stuffing. But! You have to win it for them! You must!!
There’s a game where you use a little hose to shoot water into a hole to fill up a balloon faster than the other three people playing alongside you. You keep shooting it a little too far to the left, then a little too far to the right. Blinding–
POP!! Water gushes to the ground as the balloon next to yours bursts.
“I won!” Bonnie throws their fists in the air. “...Wait, did you let me win?”
Your ego wants to say yes. “I guess I’m just bad at this game…” Your smile is strained.
The person running the booth gives Bonnie a small toy fish, saying that if they get a lot of little prizes, they can trade them in for bigger ones.
Bonnie tucks the fish away in one of your too-small dress pockets. “Next booth!”
The next booth is a ring-toss game. You and Bonnie toss rings to try and get them to land on the pegs. Bonnie manages to get three out of five!
You miss every single one…
You’re… You’re literally level 99?! You can dispatch any Sadness with a single swing. You could fell an entire forest in minutes! You can run so fast that you may as well have teleported!
Why can’t you win a blinding carnival game?!
Bonnie shoves another fish in your pocket.
Next is a game where you use a slingshot to knock over little ducks. This one goes a little better. As long as you manage to catch the edge, the strength of your shot has the ammo moving fast enough to knock it over.
You manage to do this… three times!
Out of ten.
Bonnie gets an impressive seven — really?! — and shoves another two fish in your pocket.
You’re absolutely livid by the time you make it to the next booth. It’s a fishing game. You use a little poi made with a thin piece of paper to scoop goldfish into a bowl. You can keep scooping until the paper tears or disintegrates.
This is easy! You’re the stealthiest rogue in all of Vaugarde! The fish will never even see you coming!
Except your hands are still shaking in fury, so your paper breaks before you can even catch a single fish. UGH!!
You look over at Bonnie, expecting to find their bowl teeming with fish, only to see them looking forlorn as they keep scaring the fish away with their poi.
You move over to them. “Can I help?”
They huff. “Stupid fish… I don’t know what I’m doing wrong…” Their paper falls apart in the water.
You gesture to the person running the booth. “Two more poi, please.” And you pay them in exchange.
You sidle yourself and your bowl closer to Bonnie, and take your time to teach them the methods and techniques needed to catch the fish. By the time your poi have broken, the two of you have a respectable five fish each. You’re given a handful of fake fish for your efforts, and try your hardest to tuck all of them into your woefully small pockets. You wind up shoving a few down the front of your dress. Bonnie giggles at your ‘fish boobs.’
As the two make your way back to the prize booth, Bonnie stops to very pointedly make eye contact with you, say, “I’m going to hug you now,” and then barrel into you to squeeze you tight. The hug is warm, but their hands are cold and damp from scooping goldfish. “Thank you, Frin!! That was really fun!!”
You hug back. “It was? But I suck at all the games…”
They giggle. “Yeah, you do,” Ouch. “But it was fun!” They look up at you, smiling wide. “And I like playing with you.”
Oh… You feel pressure behind your eyes, and your breath hitches as your lip starts to wobble. You hug them tighter.
When you go back to the prize booth to trade in all your fish, the vendor tells you that you have maybe a fifth of what it would take to win the big shark. UUUGH. You’ll be here all night!!
…Not that you’d mind, really. You love spending time with Bonbon.
The vendor tilts their head. “Buuuuut…” They dip below the booth and shuffle around, coming back with a much smaller version of the shark, about as big as Bonnie’s torso. “You were only a few short of winning this guy! I’ll tweak the rules and let you have ‘em. After all, most of our games are geared toward depth perception.” She looks at you. “Otherwise you would have totally won all of them.”
…Depth perception? Does that mean…?
You suck at these games because you’re missing a blinding eye?!!!
The vendor winces. “Sorry.”
Ha. HAHAHA!! You WOULD have won them all! You would have tossed rings and shot ducks with expert precision, if you weren’t HANDICAPPED!!
You feel simultaneously better and worse.
Especially since you couldn’t get Bonnie the shark they want–
“It’s amazing!!!” They hug the shark tight, then shove it in your face, doing a monster voice. “Ararawr nom nom snarf I’m gonna eat your face off!!!”
You giggle. “Not my face!!!”
They rub the shark all over your face while you cringe and yell. “No! Aaagh! It hurts!! My face!!!”
The two of you are laughing uproariously now. You catch sight of something further away. “Well, since I don’t have a face, I’ll just have to paint on a new one!!”
Bonnie looks confused.
You kneel down and pick them up, then maneuver them so they can sit on your shoulders. “See the painter? And the kid getting a butterfly on their cheek?”
Bonnie leans forward, and you readjust your balance. “Oh! Face painting!! Let’s get our faces painted!!! Wait, hold on…” You see the shark toy moving above your head, and hear Bonnie going. “Om snarf yum num num!!!” And then. “Okay! I made room for a new face!”
You laugh joyfully as you weave your way through the crowd.
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
Bonnie is now making dual roaring noises with their shark in hand and their face painted like a tiger.
You very politely don’t point out that sharks don’t actually roar.
…How do you know that? Hm.
You’d asked for the face painter to paint glittery stars all over your face, and Bonnie told you you looked like you had chicken pox. You pout. You think it looks cute!
Someone comes up to the two of you, and suddenly a delicious smell hits your nose as something is shoved into your face.
You hear Pétra say, “Have a kebab. You haven’t eaten since lunch.”
Oh! A kebab! You carefully take the stick from her hand and eat the entire thing at a ravenous speed. Yum…
You look up to see Pétra giving you a strange look. Wait… That was weird! You’re being weird! Eat like a person, not a feral animal!!
She chuckles. “I’m glad I brought you three. You look like you needed that.” She hands you two more skewers.
Your eyes go wide. “For me?”
“Yup!” She grins. O-oh…
“RAAAAAAGH!!!” Bonnie jumps out from where they’d been hiding behind you. “I demand meat! I will feast on your flesh!!”
Pétra jumps, then laughs. “Two vicious predators! I don’t stand a chance!!” She ruffles Bonnie’s hair. “How about a jambon-beurre instead?”
“Can Mordrette have one too?” They hold up their shark.
Pétra pats the shark on the head. “‘Mordrette’ can have a bite of yours.”
Bonnie sighs. “Oh-kayyyy…” They mumble, “But don’t blame me when you get your face eaten off.”
She chuckles, then turns to look at you, “Hey! I think Dile was looking for you? Something about the town hall?”
Odile was looking for you?? “Was she really?”
She snorts. “You’re surprised?”
You choose not to answer that.
“Last I saw her she was on her way to visit the tarot reader.” She nods toward something over your shoulder. “See that little tent with the sun and moon on it?”
You turn around. “Yeah.”
“You should probably go save the poor gal before Dile convinces her to change careers.”
That does sound like something she’d do. You look at Pétra and salute. “I’ll do my best.”
She claps your shoulder. “See you for the fireworks, yeah?”
You nod, munching on your second kebab.
Bonnie holds their shark up to you. “Say goodbye to Mordrette!”
You pat the shark on the head. “See you later, Mordrette.”
Bonnie makes eye contact, then moves in to hug you tightly. “Thank you, Frin.”
You hug them back. “Any time, Bonbon.”
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
You start in on your last kebab as you step through a beaded door to enter “The Oracle’s Tent.” Immediately the heavy scents of incense and sage bombard your senses, causing you to flinch and scrunch up your nose. Ew, it’s making your kebab taste weird…
You take another bite.
Odile is indeed seated across from a very stressed looking woman who is sweating and stuttering as she shuffles her cards.
Odile raises a brow, “Fascinating. How did you know that my wife left me for my best ox? You truly are psychic.”
“That’s not–! I said that the eight of cups in this context may refer to someone in your past–!”
“Do the cards say if my husband plans to do the same? I’m starting to run out of oxen.”
You stifle a snicker.
The tarot reader tries to steady her breathing, then flips a card onto the table — the five of swords. “You’re, um! Perhaps not being honest with yourself — or with me — and whatever victory you think you’ll gain will be hollow, and… Hurtful…”
You finish your food and walk up to the two of them. “Hear that, Odile? Bullying people is just gonna make you feel bad later.”
Odile tips her head back to smirk at you. “Is it not my duty to reveal a con artist for what they are?”
The tarot reader looks at you with pleading eyes.
You reach into your pocket to put a few coins on the table, then look at Odile. “Didn’t you just tell me the other day how you were sick of people thinking you aren’t fun?” You raise an eyebrow. “Tarot is fun.” You turn to the reader. “Right?”
The reader nods. “Mostly people just want to hear that everything’s going to be okay… It helps them to know that there are things they can look forward to.”
Odile sighs dramatically. “Well. While I wouldn't call that a victory, I do feel quite hollow.” She grimaces. “I apologize for my behavior.”
You exhale, relieved. “Yes, we’re very sorry for any trouble we’ve caused, and we’ll be leaving now.”
As the two of you go to leave, the tarot reader tosses another card onto the table — the six of pentacles. She makes eye contact with you. “Try to give yourself the same grace you give to others.”
You nod as you exit the tent.
Hmm.
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
Odile has her arms crossed as the two of you walk through the crowd. “I must apologize for my actions back there. I have a… history, with false psychics. But that's no excuse.”
You shrug, tossing your used skewers in a nearby garbage can. “Water under the bridge.” The tarot reader is probably used to that sort of thing…
The two of you come to a stop where a line has formed in front of the doors of the town hall.
You rise up on your tip-toes, trying to see past the crowd. “So what’s going on in here?”
“Some sort of exhibit that details the history of the festival.” She looks at you with a wry smile. “Ready to learn about even more Vaugardian oddities?”
You smile back. “With the utmost expert on the subject? I can think of nothing better.”
The two of you take a deep breath together, clearing the earlier tension before entering the building.
You meander through the lobby, inspecting each painting, reading each plaque. Like most harvest celebrations, it started as a way to thank the Change God for a plentiful harvest, and to ask that They bless them again in the coming year.
“Again?” Odile narrows her eyes at the plaque you’re reading. “As in, the same blessing every year?”
“Hey, yeah. They’re throwing a party to beg their god not to Change anything.”
She shakes her head. “I suppose the celebration is more on-theme after poorer harvests.”
You look over the moving paintings of prosperous farms and children playing in piles of fallen leaves. “It’s kind of… impossible to apply the Change belief to every aspect of life, isn’t it?”
“And yet they insist that they can and have.” She sighs. “I’m glad that Mirabelle finally recognises the hypocrisy.”
“Me too…” You tilt your head at a painting of two gaunt farmers with completely expressionless faces. The painting is animated, yet the figures are standing stock-still. “...Vaugarde is so weird.”
She nods in solidarity. “Vaugarde is very weird.”
The two of you continue further into the building to find — ooh! “Jack-o-lanterns!” You bounce on the balls of your feet.
On tables everywhere in the room are large pumpkins with beautifully ornate art carved into the rinds and small candles flickering on the inside.
Odile looks quizzical. “I’m not familiar.”
Ooh! You get to teach Odile a thing! “They’re not usually like this. They usually just have wonky faces. They’re meant to be weird and spooky to ward off evil spirits, but I think it’s mostly just for fun.”
These ones don’t look like they were fun to make. They all look like they must have taken hours.
…Wait. You love spending hours on carving! Should you start working with pumpkins??
Odile leans down to inspect a pumpkin with a hyperrealistic face etched into it. “Y’know, Siffrin, perhaps you should try your hand at making one of these…” Ha, great minds! Except that your mind is decidedly not great…
“I’m awful at carving when I don’t use Wish Craft…” And you have the scars to prove it.
She gives you a wry look. “Have you perhaps considered practicing?”
You pout. “Ew.”
That earns you a chuckle. Yes!! The coveted Odile chuckle!! “Then how about finding a hobby that you might enjoy practicing?”
You shake your head. “Nope!” You smile. “I’ll only carve and I’ll be bad at it forever!”
She smirks. “If you insist.”
You walk into the next room, where there are a variety of fruits and vegetables on display that have won awards this week.
You closely inspect what is apparently a first place carrot. “How does someone choose the ‘best’ vegetable?”
“Shade, texture, shape, weight…” She looks at you with an intense expression. “And how easily it could be used as a murder weapon.”
You stand there for a moment, slack-jawed… W-wait, that was a joke! Odile made a joke!! This is the part where you laugh, idiot!!! But it would be weird to laugh now?? It’s been too–
“I think maybe my delivery was a little too dry…”
“No, I liked it!” You really did. You’re just bad at figuring out when she is and isn’t joking. You’ve gotten so used to being clued in by Isa’s laughter…
She walks past you and ruffles your hair. “There’s a well established way that we let others know when we’ve enjoyed their joke.”
You huff. “I was just slow on the uptake!”
“Oh? I thought you were more quick-witted than that. Or were you pulling a fast one on me?”
…What?
“Perhaps we should vege-table this discussion for later.”
…
You burst out laughing. “Pfffft!! Vege-table!” You have to hold onto your sides as you cackle, almost doubled over.
Odile chuckles. “Of course you would enjoy a joke that corny.”
Corny! That pushes a few more giggles out of you.
She shakes her head. “This is too easy, I don’t know why I carrot all.”
“Okay, okay! That’s enough…” Ow ow ow!
She puts a hand on your shoulder in support as your laughter finally calms down. Phwoo!
You’re gulping down air. “How are you so good at puns??”
She smiles fondly. “I learned from the best.”
You look away, avoiding eye contact as you feel your ears burning. You cannot handle compliments!!
Just as you’re about to exit the room, Odile stops you, “Hold on.” She walks away, grabs something off a table, then walks back. “I’m going to put something on your shirt.” She takes the cloth of your dress in hand and pins a prize ribbon to it.
When she pulls away, you tilt the ribbon up to read, ‘Second Place, Best Zucchini in Show.’
Did she steal this??
You frown at her. “Why second?
“Because there’s always room for improvement. Maybe try harder next year.”
You snort.
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
You and Odile part ways, and you regret doing so almost immediately. How are you supposed to find your friends among all these people when you’re so sh–
When everyone is so tall?!
You get a little lost in the crowd, until eventually you hear Isa shout, “Sif! Over here!”
You look toward the sound and see him waving at you overtop the sea of people. Thank the Universe!! You breathe a sigh of relief as you weave through the surrounding horde to reach Isa. Tall and wide, a perfect buffer!
He smiles brightly. “Cute stars! I didn’t know they had a face painter.”
You nod. “Bonbon said they looked like chickenpox.”
His eyes flick over your face. “Adorable chickenpox.” He raises his brows, pointing to your prize ribbon. “And congratulations on second place!”
You giggle. “I’ll just have to photosynthesize harder next year.”
Isa laughs, then he does a little hop. “Oh! I got you something! But I can give it to Mira if you’re not into it…” He pulls out—
“A flower crown!”
“U-um! Yeah! Is that something you’d be interested in?”
Flowers die! So you won’t be expected to carry it with you forever! And it’s pretty!
You nod. “What…” How are people deciding what kinds of gifts to give you?! “What made you think to get it for me?”
Isa smiles tentatively, “Well, there was that time when Bonnie made a daisy chain crown for you. And you always smile when Bonbon gives you something, but that made your face light up.”
When was this?? “You have a good memory…”
Isa gives you A Look.
…Oh. Right.
He has regular memory. You have colander memory.
You tilt your head down a little, putting on a regal affectation. “If you wouldn’t mind doing the honors, good sir~”
Isa responds with his own hoyty-toyty character. “But of course, your highness~” And places the crown on your head.
It’s a little awkward, and poking you in some places. You adjust it to be more comfortable.
“Hold on, can I…?” He hesitates, then goes to touch your hair. You’re proud that you don’t flinch or pull away. He adjusts your hair to accommodate the crown, fixing it to lay nicely again. “There!” He goes back to the voice. “I dub thee monarch of the fairy folk~!”
You smile. “And I dub thee Sir Duke Beau-ington of the magic forest~!”
Isa raises an eyebrow. “Wait, am I a knight and a duke?”
“Is that what ‘sir’ means?”
“In this context, yes.”
You narrow your eyes. “I don’t be-leaf you, bud.”
He chuckles. “I swear it!” He puts a hand to his chin in thought. “Hmm, I guess having two titles will give me bloom to grow.”
You giggle. “You don’t lilac the skills, but thistle really test your petal!”
“Heheha, test my petal?”
You drag your hand down your face, laughing into your palm. “Y’know, like mettle?” Maybe not your best work…
Isa perks up. “Oh! I day-see!”
Day…? Oh, daisy. You scrunch up your nose in distaste, still laughing. “No! Bad! We picked all the best ones and now the field is bare.”
He snorts, then puts on an exaggerated frown. “We plant keep going? Boooo.”
Ha! “Sorry, stems the breaks.”
The two of you continue to laugh until you’re out of breath. You’re positive that if the two of you did an act, you’d give that parrot guy a run for his money.
Isa catches his breath, then slowly exhales. “I was thinking…”
“The air-headed jock was thinking?”
“Yes, hush. They have a haunted house here, and I was wondering if you’d like to check it out with me?”
Haunted? “Like ghosts?” The things that are absolutely not real…
“Well, yeah, but not really? It’s an attraction where you go through this house where everything is scary.”
Then why isn’t it called a scary house? “And that’s… Fun?”
He nods. “Like a horror book, except, y’know, a house.”
Ohhh, now you get it. “That does sound kinda fun. But, Isa…” You squint at him. “You do know that it’s not actually haunted, right?”
“Of course!”
“...Because you know that ghosts aren’t real, right?”
He smiles mischievously. “The science is out.”
You huff. “It isn’t! The science is very much in!!”
He plugs his ears and walks away. “Lalala I can’t hear you over the wailing of dead souls!!”
You run after him, shouting, “ISA!” Your big boy buffer abandoned you! You’re going to get swallowed by the crowd! “Isa, I’m about to be a dead soul if you don’t– Ack!!” You nearly get knocked off your feet by a group of people running past, but instead find yourself stabilized by a large hand on your shoulder.
He came back for you!
Isa’s rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, forgot about-” He holds his hand out flat and lowers it to indicate your height.
You feel your eye twitch. You get it!! YOU’RE SHORT!!!
He recoils back. “Such a scary face!”
Your mouth curls into a sinister smile. “If you think that’s scary, then there’s no way you’ll be able to handle the haunted house~” You fight the urge to put air quotes around ‘haunted’.
Isa puffs up his chest. “Only one way to find out!” He takes your hand, and leads you to the attraction.
He really is a wonderful people-shield. Aah~ Sweet, sweet personal space.
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
You get in line for the haunted house, and Isa holds your hand in a death grip.
You squeeze his hand back. “You gonna be okay big guy? I thought you hated stuff like this?”
“Of course not!” His voice wavers. “I’m a big, strong Defender!!”
You narrow your eyes at him.
“And! I have you to protect me!”
“Awww~” You would lay down your life for him without question, but it’s not likely that you’ll have to here. After all, this is all fake! It’s all in good fun! And you only have to go through it once!!! There’s a spring in your step as the two of you enter the very spooky cobweb-laden doors.
Isa is clinging to your arm as you make your way through the attraction. You have to admit, it’s pretty good. You yourself have mostly been affected by the jumpscares — you’re really glad you don’t have your knife on you — but some of the creepier parts have raised your hackles as well. The fake corpses hanging from the ceiling — one of which turned out to be a real person who pretended to grab at you, yipes! The Crafted spiders scuttling up the walls, the far too realistic zombie makeup. You shiver.
You’re trying very hard not to laugh at Isa’s reactions. He yips and yelps at any slight movement, and jumps about a foot in the air when startled. You keep checking in, reminding him that there are emergency exits everywhere. But he keeps insisting he’s having fun, and his smile seems genuine… But maybe that’s just the lighting.
You’re having fun! It’s nice to indulge in the thrill of fear without actually being in any danger.
You used to enjoy doing things for the thrill of it, didn’t you? Jumping headlong into dangerous situations, feeling the rush of adrenaline as you narrowly dodged death and dismemberment. Thinking about it now… You probably weren’t in the best place mentally, were you?
Isa and you are coming up on what feels like the grand finale. You turn a corner into a room filled with fog. Your surroundings are completely obscured, spooky! A deep booming voice says, “Ooh, ooooooh......”
…No.
That’s not…
You freeze from head to toe as the fog clears, revealing an enormous crafted puppet of…
The King.
Static starts to creep into the edges of your vision. You feel your heart beating hard and fast. You feel a tug on your stomach.
“Bright one. ......Do you remember?”
No no no no no no no NO NO NONO–
You can feel Isa pulling you somewhere, he covers your eyes. You can barely move your legs, your whole body feels heavier than lead.
You can’t breathe.
You can’t breathe!
“Sif.”
You can’t breathe you can’t breathe you can’t breathe you can’t breathe–
“You can. You can. Breathe with me. Please?”
The hand on your arm squeezes tighter and you yank yourself away.
“Oh– Okay! Sorry, I, um. Alright. How did it go? Ah! Five things you see.”
You… What?
“Name five things you see.”
Five…
Five things.
You see… Static. Mostly static.
Lights? In the distance.
Your thighs, are you sitting?
How… How many is that?
“Now four things you can hear.”
…Isa.
People. Lots of people.
Your heartbeat.
Your ragged breathing.
“Three things you can feel.”
You try to form words, “M-my… Clothes- dress. Um, my hair.” Your curls brush against your face. “And, uh… Pain. My arm…” You look down to see dark lines where you’ve been clawing at your own arm. “...Oh.”
Isa doesn’t dwell on it. “Two things you can smell.”
“Food. Hair conditioner.”
“One thing you can taste.”
You huff a laugh. “Taste? Uh, kebab?” And blood. You seem to have bitten the inside of your cheek.
You breathe in, and out.
You and Isa take some time to just sit and breathe as the world slowly comes back into focus.
You’re sitting on a bench outside of the haunted house, next to Isa, at the festival. People are bustling all around you. Your arm hurts. Your throat feels tight.
You want to cry, but the tears won’t come.
Isa is saying something… But not to you? You catch the tail end of it.
“Yeah, a bench near the exit. No, not — why would I bring Sif near the candyfloss machine? Maybe have a little more faith in me??”
You look up to see him holding the Call Craft sign to his ear. Calling reinforcements to look after the wounded animal he’s been saddled with.
You want to cry. You want to cry, why can’t you cry?!
Isa hangs up the call with an annoyed sigh, then looks back at you. “Sif? Do you think you can handle hugs yet?”
You nod, and Isa carefully wraps you up into a bear hug.
You feel warm.
Cozy.
Safe.
You breathe, feeling the last of your panic start to ebb.
After a few minutes, you feel someone sit down on the bench at your other side, and reluctantly pull away from Isa to see Loop looking at you with a pained expression.
“Don’t stop on my account. You look like you need it.”
Suddenly you feel tears flooding down your face as you hiccup. “I feel so — *hic* — stupid!!”
Loop scrambles to take your hands in theirs, looking panicked. “W-well!” They force a smile. “Did you do something stupid?”
You nod fervently.
They sigh. “Okay, no you didn’t. I was joking.”
You sob. “I-I’m– I’m s-so–!!” Your breath keeps hitching.
Loop looks over your shoulder at Isa. “No trigger warnings for the haunted house?”
You hear Isa say solemnly. “They had a really realistic puppet of the King…”
Loop’s eyes go wide, and they quickly gather you in their arms. “Oh, Stardust, I’m so sorry…”
You sob harder.
You… Think you understand why Isa called Loop.
They’re the only one you can seem to cry in front of… You don’t know why. Why they seem to hold the key to the floodgates. Maybe it’s because they’ve already seen you at your worst? Maybe it’s because you know you can’t hide from them…
Although you’re glad they weren’t here for your panic attack. They have a habit of making a stressful situation even more stressful.
You wrap your arms around their midsection, still sobbing. You know Loop and Isa are saying something. Likely talking about you like you aren’t here, as they’re wont to do, but you tune them out. It’s incredibly rare that you get a Loop hug, and you’re going to make the most of it.
You sniffle as the tears and hiccups start to die down.
“Well, there goes my nice new blazer…”
You pull back with a hiccup. The glittery paint from your face has smudged all over Loop’s blazer. Which means…
You turn around and sure enough, there’s a large glittery stain on Isa’s doublet. The one he made himself.
“I’m so sorry! Your head flicks back and forth between the two of them, “Oh stars, I’m so sorry!! I didn’t–!” You look at Isa, “Isa… I’m so sorry.”
There’s a beat of silence.
And then the two of them start laughing.
…W-what?
“Sif.” Isa puts a hand on your shoulder. “I crabbing hate this vest.”
You balk, “What — why?!”
He frowns. “It was a first attempt, kind of a rough draft. And I don’t like how it turned out.” He chuckles. “I was gonna throw it out after this, actually.”
You– Well–! You turn to Loop, who’s wearing the biggest smile. “Don’t look at me, I’m genuinely upset! But,” — they boop you on the nose — “it was more than worth it.” Their face shifts to a more earnest expression. “Hey… Stardust?”
“...Yeah?”
“I’m so sorry we weren’t there this morning.”
“...Oh.”
Isa squeezes your shoulder. “I’m sorry too. And I promise it won’t happen again.” Loop nods at this.
You’d just gotten the tears to stop! “You don’t… You shouldn’t have to babysit me. You all deserve to go out and have fun when I’m…” Craft sick. “Unwell.”
Loop tuts, “We could have easily taken shifts.”
Isa nods, “Happily.”
“We messed up.”
“We didn’t realize how long we’d been out.”
There’s a pause.
Until you find the nerve to ask, “But… you would’ve been there, if you could?” You run your fingers down the scratches on your arm. “You would… want to be there?”
The two of them adamantly agree with such force that it startles you.
Isa pulls you into another hug. “Aways, Sif. I promise.”
Loop gently takes your arm and heals your scratches. “I super promise.”
You feel more tears slide down your face. “Super duper promise?”
They both agree wholeheartedly.
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
After visiting the bathroom to rinse the tears off your face, you walk out feeling a little more human.
Mira has joined the group in your absence, and gives you a gentle hug as you approach them. She smells like plums and popcorn.
You pull back to see Isa frowning at you. What did you do this time??
“Aww, Sif, all your face paint is gone.”
Oh. “Yeah, it was smeared pretty bad, so I just washed it off.”
Loop raises their hand, “Ooh! Ooh! Let’s get it re-done!” They smile playfully. “After all, I haven’t had a special Stardust adventure yet~!”
Mira pouts. “Neither have I!”
“You had your hands all up on their scalp! That counts!”
“No it doesn’t!!”
Loop grabs your hand and starts to pull you away. “Too bad, because it’s my turn!!” They drag you towards the face painter, waving back at Mira and Isa. “Toodles~!”
You chuckle, smiling apologetically and waving as well. “Toodles...”
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
When you sit down in front of the face painter, she’s surprised to see a familiar yet unpainted face.
Loop points at you. “The haunted house made them cry.”
You bristle. “Hey!”
The painter sighs. “Yeah, I think they went way too far by adding in the despot that tried to destroy Vaugarde. You’re not the first face I’ve had to touch up…” They lean in with their brush, and you start to feel the delicate strokes across your face. “I imagine it’s even worse if you’ve actually gone up against him.”
Your eye widens — did she recognize you even without your cloak? “Did the eyepatch give it away?”
“Stardust.” Your eye flicks over to Loop, who just points at their head.
Ah, right. You guess the savior with a star for a head is pretty well known by now.
The painter pulls back from you and looks over at Loop. “If you’d like, after this I can paint your arms?”
“Ooh!” Loop eagerly removes their blazer. “Can you do clouds?”
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
Loop is holding out their arms, admiring the dark clouds painted across them. “It was a dark and stormy night~”
You shiver a little. “A dark, stormy, chilly night.”
"Here.” Loop removes their blazer from where it’s tied around their waist — “Not like I’m using it.” — and throw it over your shoulders.
You push your arms through the sleeves and snuggle in, toasty~
Loop stops walking. “Now how is anybody gonna know about how you swept the competition?” They pull your lapel to get at the ribbon Odile gave you, unpinning it from your dress and moving it to your jacket. “There we go! A prize veggie such as yourself should flaunt your victory, not hide under a bushel! And look,” — they flick the ribbon — “it covers up the stain.”
You huff a laugh, buttoning up the coat to keep in the heat. “But now aren’t you going to be cold…?”
“Stars, you’re right! Give it back!” They go to grab you but you deftly dart away.
“No take-backsies!” You jump away from another grab and slam directly into a passing gentleman, causing him to spill his entire bag of popcorn and a — ooh they have lemonade here? WAIT, OH NO!!
“I’m so sorry!!!” You start to go to pick up the popcorn on the ground before realizing how dumb that is, then settle for frantically waving your hands around, “I’m so so so sorry I can — I can pay for a new one! New ones? I’M SO SOR–”
The man chuckles, waving you off. “It’s fine! These things happen. I’m just glad to see you kids having fun.” And he walks away.
“I’m literally thirty…” You mumble to his retreating back.
You look over at Loop to see them shaking with restrained laughter. As you glare at them, they burst out in a loud cackle, startling several passersby. “You should have seen your face!!!” They’re gasping for breath. “KID!!!” Tears are springing to their eyes as they clutch their sides.
“Kids plural!! That means you too, you blinding lighthouse!”
They feign offense. “Oooh~ Lighthouse? I’m so hurt, Stardust!” They hide their face with cloud-covered arms, glaring through the gap between them. “Why don’t you go crash on the shore!”
Your angry countenance cracks with a snort. Okay, that was pretty good…
They lower their arms. “Made you laugh! That means I’m off the hook!”
“What — no it doesn’t!”
“And you’re…” They move towards you and link your arms together with a hooking motion. “Bwoop~ On the hook! Let’s go find out where that guy got lemonade from!”
You tell yourself you’re just smiling at the prospect of getting lemonade. You are still very mad and definitely not giggling!!
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
You and Loop are standing in a crowd to watch a small comedy troupe performing in the town square. It’s better than you could have imagined — your stomach hurts from laughing! And you’re glad you’ve already finished your lemonade, or else you’re positive it would have come out of your nose. You do still have half a bag of popcorn, which you’ve accidentally inhaled a few times already.
The players take a bow, and you dab your sleeve at the corners of your eyes. Careful to make sure your face paint stays intact.
Loop is similarly wiping at their eyes. “That was fantastic! I really didn’t expect to find Comedia del Arte outside of Poteria.” They turn to you excitedly. “And the translations were so seamless!”
“Right?!” You’re bouncing on your heels. “And the masks were so intricate!”
“And the prat falls looked so real!”
“And their voices were so… So…” You snicker. “So funny!”
Loop laughs. “Couldn’t have said it better myself!”
The two of you take a breath, then snake your way out of the crowd. They take your hand so the two of you don’t get separated.
That's three hands held, linked arms, and a hug. Loop is never this touchy.
When you find yourself in a sparser area, you release their hand with a “Hey.”
They look bemused. “Hey?”
You hug your arms. “I know you’re feeling guilty about this morning, but…” You frown. “You don’t have to do all this…”
They raise a brow. “‘All this’? ‘All this’ what? Having fun? Hanging out?”
You wince.
Loop rolls their eyes. “Being nice to you?”
You nod.
They sigh, loudly and dramatically. “No, I don’t have to. I never have to! I am under literally no obligation to talk to you or spend time with you or even look in your general direction! And yet, here I am! Being nice to you.” They look at you, eyes pleading. “Are you starting to get it yet?”
No. You look at the ground, face heating in embarrassment.
Everyone has been extra nice today… Do they all know about the nightmare?
You shift from foot to foot. “How much of this was orchestrated?”
Loop sounds perplexed. “…Not as much as you’re assuming, seeing as I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You look up to try and gauge how honest they’re being. They just look annoyed. “The Fighter and I talked this morning about how bad we felt, then spiraled out from guilt. Then we conspired to pick you out a dress, hoping the change might switch things up enough to get you out of your own head. Then later he pitched the idea of letting you be the big strong rogue for him at the haunted house. I told him it was a stupid idea, but he didn’t believe me because I tell him all of his ideas are stupid. Egg on my face, I guess…” Their eyes narrow in offence. “Actually no, egg on his face. All of his ideas are stupid.”
You start to chuckle and slap a hand to your face. Isa has lots of smart ideas!! Loop just has good comedic timing…
Loop looks you in the eyes, open, earnest. “If your friends are being nice to you, maybe, and stick with me here! Maybe it’s because they love you and care about you.” They slap on a perky smile. “Just a thought! Teehee~!”
…
…
You feel your chest bloom with warmth. You place a hand over your heart, as though trying to hold onto the feeling.
Loop smiles. “Did all of the clues finally come together? Took you long enough!” They tuck their hand into the pocket of your coat to pull out a handkerchief. “Keep the paint intact just a little longer. We’re in the home stretch!”
You take the handkerchief to dab away the tears quickly forming in your eyes. “Home stretch?”
Loop nods. “The fireworks are starting soon!”
“Ooh!!”
“I know! So let’s find everyone, and you can be all sappy and sobby with them, because I have had more than enough with genuine emotions today.” They grimace.
You nod. “Yeah, me too…”
☆‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹✧‧₊˖ִ˚.‧☆₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖ ✦ ‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚𖥔 ݁˖‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚✧‧₊˖ִ˚ ⊹‧₊˖ִ˚☆
You and Loop manage to track down the party lounging atop a picnic blanket on a grassy hill, sharing snacks and showing off their prizes and purchases.
As the two of you settle down on the blanket, Pétra turns to you with a grin. “Hey, Frin! I gotcha something.”
More gifts?? You tilt your head to the side. “Oh yeah?”
She rustles around in her bag and pulls out… A shrimp? “Hold out your hand.”
You do so with trepidation. “Okay…?”
She straightens out the shrimp and says. “I’m gonna slap it on your wrist, really lightly. Here it comes.” She whaps the shrimp on your wrist and it snaps back into a coil. It’s a bracelet! With…
“It has googly eyes!” You turn your wrist to see that the shrimp has comically big cartoon eyes. You look at Pétra, your own eyes comically big. “This is the worst and dumbest thing I’ve seen in my entire life.”
She nods. “Yes, yes it is.”
“I’m never taking it off.”
She laughs, and pats you on the shoulder. “Its doofy little face reminded me of you!”
You giggle. “I’m so honored!”
The lanterns dim all around you, and Mira points to where the fireworks will be coming from. You settle yourself into the best viewing position, and Bonnie immediately plops down in your lap, hugging Mordrette close to their body. Isa sits next to you, leaning into your side. Mira sits on your other side, close enough for your knees to overlap. You see Pétra and Odile settle in your peripheral vision. Loop sits behind you, likely to keep their light from hindering your view.
You wrap an arm around Bonnie, and they snuggle against you. You lean back against Isa, and he sighs contentedly. You reach back behind you to offer your free hand, and Loop takes it with a squeeze.
Everyone gasps as the first fireworks light up the night sky.
You breathe in, and out.
In this moment… And maybe, in every moment.
You are loved.