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Normally, when entering the Neo Diamond Cutters’ office when the work day is over, Ashley would find the room empty, or at least find some or all of the team getting ready to leave.
Something told her that tonight was different, though. Especially when that heavenly smell entered her nose before she could even open the door.
Once she did, and looked towards the source, she found Tangle and Lanolin in the office’s kitchen. And from the looks of it, that lemur was cooking up a storm.
“Wow. Something smells good,” Ashley said, making herself known.
The two turned around. Tangle gave her a grin, while Lanolin greeted her with a simple nod.
“Oh, hey, Ash! Perfect timing!” Tangle exclaimed. “I was feeling a little creative tonight, so I thought I’d try cooking up some dinner for everyone.”
Ashley hummed and stepped closer, examining what she was working on with her boss. She was currently spreading some meat sauce on a layer of lasagna. And it looked like she was almost done.
“Lasagna?” she observed.
“Not just that!” Tangle pointed at a boiling pot on the stove with her tail. Ashley looked towards it, and it looked like there was ravioli in it. Another was right beside it, except it was empty.
“And once I put this in the oven, they should be done. Then, I can focus on the spaghetti!” the lemur went on, gesturing to the packet of spaghetti noodles on the counter to her left. “Just let me cook, and it’ll turn out great, trust me!”
The leopard chuckled to herself, while Lanolin rolled her eyes. “That was lame, Tangle.”
“Hey, call my quips whatever you want. You won’t be saying the same about my food,” Tangle smirked.
The sheep huffed through her nose.
“Not gonna lie… never really took you for a cooker,” Ashley admitted sheepishly.
“Aaaand done,” Tangle muttered, putting the final layer of pasta on. “I’ll admit, outside of stuff like this, I’m pretty average at cooking. But I guess mastering Italian cuisine is just what comes with being born in a town like Spiral Hill!”
“...uh-huh,” Ashley nodded.
“Believe me, I was surprised too,” Lanolin chuckled.
As the lemur got her oven mitts on, Ashley thought to herself, Even if she wasn’t good, I’ll definitely take this over Kool-Aid pie.
She almost had to suppress a gag just thinking about the taste in her mouth from a few days ago. As great of a guy as Marlow was, he really needed to expand his palette if he wanted to become a better cook.
What Whisper sees in his recipes, I don’t think we’ll ever know.
Then, as if Tangle was reading her mind, she said, “Say, isn’t Marlow spending the night here?”
Lanolin perked up. “Oh, yeah, he is. …actually, for some good news; earlier today I overheard him and Jewel talking when walking by her office. Turns out, an anonymous person sent what could be a lead on one of his friends to the headquarters.”
Both Tangle and Ashley’s jaws dropped, the former nearly dropping her pan of lasagna.
“Seriously?! Boss, that’s fantastic news!” Ashley exclaimed. “Why didn’t you mention this sooner?!”
“Because it’s not fully set in stone yet,” Lanolin sternly clarified, crossing her arms. “All we know of right now, is progress is moving along. I’d save the celebrations for a full confirmation; and for when we get more details on the others as well.”
“Mmm…” Tangle’s ears fell flat. “Fair enough.”
“Fine, fine, I guess… Still, it is good to hear. I do wonder how he’s feeling right now,” the leopard wondered. “Maybe he could use some dinner himself?”
“Good idea,” Lanolin agreed, her half-lidded eyes becoming no-lidded. “You alright with sharing some of your cuisine, Tangle?”
“Absolutely! I made this with more than just the Neos in mind,” Tangle nodded happily, opening the oven. “You know what they say, the more the merrier!”
“...eugh, don’t say it like that.”
“Like what?”
“You- actually, just forget it.”
Ashley gave them both a nod. “You guys keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll go get him!”
With that, she strided out the door and shut it behind her. Meanwhile, Tangle shut the oven door and started the timer.
“Alright… once I take the ravs out, it’s spaghetti time,” Tangle said to herself, grabbing a drainage bowl. “Lano, could you get me the spaghetti noodles?
“Oh, yeah, hold on.”
As she heard footsteps wander to the counter a few feet away, the lemur put the ravioli in the bowl with a ladle, humming to herself.
That is, until Lanolin spoke up again.
“These strands are a bit long, don’t you think?” the sheep asked.
That question had all the fur on Tangle’s body puff up, especially her tail. She snapped around…
…and Lanolin was holding the packet of noodles, trying not to laugh.
“Was that really all it took to scare you?”
“Chiudi la bocca,” Tangle snorted, snatching the packet out of Lanolin’s hands with her tail.
Lanolin just snickered.
-
This was supposed to be good news.
After months of searching, it felt like actual progress was being made.
So why wasn’t Marlow happy?
As he lay in bed in the room given to him by Jewel (god bless her), he watched the ceiling fan above him go around and around and around. At the same time, thoughts were plaguing his mind. Not very good ones, in case that wasn’t clear.
All that time without them. And you’re just now the tiniest bit closer. On Acacia only, his head reprimanded him. Do you really deserve to call them your friends after all this?
His wisp companion, Mercury, entered his point of view. He floated above him, clearly concerned for the cow.
Sighing, Marlow willed himself to sit up.
“I’ll be fine, Merc… it is great we’re getting closer, don’t get me wrong,” he said with a tired smile. “I just… well, still miss ‘em.”
Mercury nodded in understanding and leaned his head on his shoulder.
Marlow dug into his pocket and pulled out a photo. One he kept of him and his team; his family, dare he say.
…
He huffed through his nose, steam blowing out. As he’s stated before; his friends are strong. And now that he could say Acacia was living, it was certain the others were pulling through, too.
But they can only do so for so long.
The cow’s eyes went wide as that thought played in his head.
You’re the only one that could find his way home. Do tell, why couldn’t the others?
“Ugh…” Marlow growled, quickly standing up, and clutching his head.
Anything could happen. Who knows? Maybe the source was outdated.
…shut up.
They could be dead right now. All of them. And all you’re able to do is twiddle your thumbs.
Stop-
All because you weren’t strong enough. Because you couldn’t save them from their infection.
The possibility of them actively dying as you live and breathe isn’t zero.
“Gah-!”
He instinctively made a beeline forward, bumping straight into a wall.
He turned around. He slowly slid down. His vision blurred. His ears rung.
It was all his fault. He couldn’t even predict one Chao dipped in metal, and paid the price.
They were all gone gone gone gone GONE GONE GONE GO-!
“-rlow?!”
The ringing stopped. Frantic footsteps towards him took its place. His line of sight was still blurred, but he could just barely make out the legs of-
Ashley.
“A-are you okay?!” he heard her ask.
Marlow didn’t answer. He couldn’t even bring himself to speak. All he could do was tremble.
“‘Are you okay…’ Qu'est-ce que tu en penses, abruti?” Ashley grumbled to herself. Mercury entered his view as well, clearly scared for him.
“...ah. Um…” Marlow saw his friend crouch down to his level. “Can… can you hear me?”
Finally, the cow was able to use his voice.
“I can,” he responded, barely above a whisper.
“Okay, good. That’s good…” Ashley said. “Are you… okay with physical contact?”
“I-I guess so?” Marlow replied again.
Ashley hummed. “So I shouldn’t overdo it… Alright, I’m gonna… try something. Could you close your eyes for me? A-and keep them closed; if you want.”
Marlow had no idea what she was planning to do, but at this point he was desperate for it all to just stop. So he listened and shut his eyes. He heard her murmur, “Stay close, Mercury,” and-
Bonk.
The cow felt a smallest bit of pressure against his forehead; and a tuft of hair.
“Qué- ¿Qué está sucediendo?” he asked, eyes still shut. “What are you-?”
“I’m pressing my forehead against yours.”
Silence. Other than a warble of confusion from Mercury.
“I know, it sounds like a weird thing to do at first,” the leopard said with a small laugh. “But… it’s something I’ve been working on with Ethan.”
Ethan-? Oh, right. The therapist.
He felt Ashley’s hands firmly yet softly grasp his own.
“Since the day you walked in on me having my own panic attack, I realized something,” she started to explain. “I really needed to work on ways to help others if they're going through the same thing. Whether it’s a friend, an acquaintance, a stranger…” She fell silent for a second. “...and even those who hate me. And I figured this would fall into the friend category.”
“...right. I hear ya,” Marlow responded.
He felt the leopard nuzzling him. “Does it help?”
Marlow didn’t answer, which had Ashley worried. But under his nose, she could see a faint smile.
“A little, actually,” Marlow said. “Sí.”
Ashley smiled back at him. “Good… C’est bien.”
After this, Mercury saw his cue to carefully slide in between them. And when Marlow felt him against his chest, he wrapped an arm around him.
This was nice. Really nice.
…
“I- I was in too deep in my head,” Marlow started, tilting his head back and opening his eyes.
Ashley also leaned back and gave him a nod. She helped the cow up off the floor and guided him to the bed as he continued to hold Mercury.
“I was thinking about the others,” he continued as they sat down. “My friends, I mean.”
“Uh huh,” Ashley said, listening intently. “Claude, Acacia and Nova, right?”
“Yep,” Marlow sighed. “Jewel said they were getting somewhere with Acacia. And that’s great and all, but…”
The leopard gave him a hug. Well, to the best of her ability, anyway. The size difference wasn’t helping all that much.
“It won’t stop there. I’m sure of it,” she told him confidently.
“No, yeah, I know,” Marlow said. “I just… got overwhelmed. My brain keeps making up all these scenarios and what-ifs. It's been so long, so it’s possible that- that-”
Ashley looked up at him sadly.
“Aw, dude, no no no... hey, c'mere..."
Ashley got on her knees so she was above his height, and tucked his head under her chin, making sure to get out of the way of his horns. Then she put his arms around him again.
This was already nice. But then, Marlow felt some rumbling on his head. Ashley was purring, giving him what he guessed you could call some kind of head massage. Whatever it was, it helped him relax further.
“Heh…” Marlow put on a full smile now, and wrapped an arm around her. “You’re not half-bad at this.”
“Hmhm… thanks. Not bad for my first attempt, I guess,” she grinned, before continuing to purr. "You will see them again."
"Right," the cow gave her a squeeze.
Meanwhile, Mercury flew up from Marlow’s hand and nuzzled at his cheek, which he graciously accepted.
“...oh, by the way, Tangle’s making a mean cuisine for the team. It’ll be ready soon,” Ashley said. "You want in?"
Marlow could only feel his heart grow.
He didn't need to be alone on this anymore.
“Sounds wonderful.”