Elara travels to Calvarn with Mariette

Characters: Elara, Mariette, QuietButFriendly

Location: Sanctuary, New York

Date: 31 July

Twenty-four hours of... utterly fucking weird. At least she wasn't bored, at least she wasn't tired, at least she had Max with her. Golden fur, warm and real, even if it was stained with Death.

As Elara steps off the path, lyrics linger in the air.

*Can you whittle me a token of strength and rebirth?*

*Can you wrap it in linen and a stolen curse?*

*Take strength from the knowledge that this always hurts*

*Now keep your eyes open so it won't get worse*

She breathes, useless as it is. Sanctuary has never been her kind of place, but its nice enough. She hefts a pack on her back higher and keeps walking, dragging a suitcase.

She collects a package, organised with Starry. A taste of red bean mochi. Hopefully worthwhile.

She leans into the wall of the entrance, wrapped up until she's hardly visible, and taps into her phone.

**DM to NeonPunk:** Arrived at Sanctuary. Where're you?

NY :)

> Waiting at the other side of the door

> Don't know if the Lady would ask for payment if I just go inside to see you

> Should I get in Sanctuary or...

> I'll come out, gimme a sec

Elara shakes herself off, standing up. "C'mon, Max. Time to see Mari."

When Elara steps out of Sanctuary, Mariette sees a thoroughly covered figure. Worn black hoodie, balaclava, worn gloves, pants, shoes. She's got an old backpack on her back, and is dragging a large suitcase with no apparent difficulty. At her side Max is a distinctive sight, a large golden dog - with a backpack on his back, padding along cheerfully with tongue lolling.

Mariette looks at her and can't help but smile.

"Damn, at least you probably won't get burned, but you kinda look like you're getting ready to rob a bank."

She chuckles.

Mariette is wearing grey joggers and a white crop top that says I❤️NY under a light blue jacket. On her back there's a cream colored backpack.

She was trying to not show how excited she was, with low success, she wants to hug her but feeling awkward goes instead to hug and pet Max.

"How was your travel? Did you had fun? Do you like my t-shirt? I got one for you too, in case you wanted one."

Mariette pulls a white t-shirt from her backpack and gives it to Elara.

All Elara's own awkwardness goes to nothing with Max's immediate *adoring* excitement at spotting Mariette. The dog jumps up, eagerly trying to lick Mariette's face, pawing at her and barking happily and enjoying the attention.

That earns a laugh from Elara, which is a bit shaky; a smile is audible as she speaks. "It was interesting," she says, a bit dry. With the ease of long practice she manages to pluck the offered shirt away around Max's eager affections, hands clawless, and she looks it over. "I like it," she says, a bit softer. "Thank you."

She folds it in her hands, carefully.

Between keeping Max off her face Mariette just smiles to her as response.

"I'm happy you're here, how does it feel leaving your city? Our bus doesn't leave until around 3 hours from now, you wanna walk around a bit? I spent a long time in Central Park, its really nice there!"

"Feels *weird,*" Elara says, looking around at the cluttered mess which is New York. "Like, its a city, and that's familiar, but I.... don't really know where I am, other'n the *obvious,* and I'm not used to that." She tilts her head. "Also, most of the accents are American, what the *fuck?*"

She looks back at Mariette. "Yeah, I'm good for a walk," she agrees. "Not tired. Show me?"

Mariette is about to start walking but suddenly stops.

"Shit, I mean, there are a lot of plants and stuff like that there, thinking about it a bit more... Maybe Central Park is not the best idea."

She passes her hand through her hair, and tries to think of something else.

"Uh... Maybe a movie? That can't be too much of a risk, right? I mean, we could try climbing something like you like, but the buildings here are kinda taller than usual, so falling down could be kinda bad."

Elara snorts. "You're so..." She shakes her head. "I'm stable 'nough a few plants ain't going to accidentally Bind me. Shouldn't be a problem. Maybe if you went *outta your way* to make that 'appen or somesuch, but even if it does I could prob'ly get out. Trust me."

Max barks cheerfully.

"And if I somehow got stuck, he could prob'ly drag me out anyway," Elara adds, amused.

Mariette stays silent for a few seconds, deciding. She finally agrees to it.

"Ok, so let's start walking then? It's a few blocks away from here."

A few really long blocks were walked, before they started seeing the greenery, and soon they were surrounded by it. The place felt like nothing Mariette had been in before, comfortable, almost relaxing if it weren't for the huge amounts of noise coming from all the people in the place.

But it didn't bother her too much, she was just happy to be with Elara.

"This place feels so much fresher than the rest of the city I've seen so far. Also look around, there's a lot of Others"

It wasn't too hard, to discern, hiding behind trees, in bushes and a few more humanoid ones walking around, goblins, spirits and echoes could be visible from time to time.

"A fat goblin appeared, asking me to pay the goblin toll, he accepted to fuck off with nothing instead."

Mariette shrugs.

Elara was both more and less comfortable in the city; Americans arguing, cars beeping, living people, all those things itched at her - but urban surroundings were her familiarity, however shiny. But the greenery was beautiful, and it literally gleamed under Sight.

And yes. Mariette was definitely the greatest appeal here.

"Did ya have to hit 'im?" Elara asks, amused. "Or did 'e listen to reason?"

"Nah, I said that if he kept being obnoxious to me I would rip him a new one with just my bare hands, he said *bullshit* and suddenly he looked really sick and left."

She shrugs, but can't keep a smirk from forming in her face.

"Just let's try not to stay longer than necessary, don't wanna have to deal with the more important powers in the city...

"Eh, is there something you wanna do before we leave? We still have like 2 free hours?"

Elara tugs off her balaclava, letting her hood drop back. Roughcut hair drops around her face, and she's not *that* off, really; if Mariette didn't *know* she was looking at a ghoul, then maybe the gauntness could be let slide, particularly in the night-time lighting. The something *off* about how she looks at people could just be a bit creepy, instead of possibly put down to wondering how they'd taste.

Elara couldn't just say *hang out with you,* could she? She didn't really give a shit about this city, even if she did kinda want to see how high she could get up a skyscraper.

Elara sneaks a glance at Mariette, and that little smirk. Elara grins a bit.

"I've got a ball in Max's pack," she says lazily. "Wanna play fetch?"

Max, padding cheerfully at their side, immediately perks up at the idea. His constantly wagging tail is suddenly fast enough to make noise.

"So you throw the ball and I have to go for it?..." She lets the question linger, having fun with the awkward seconds. "Just kidding, yeah, that would be fun, can I throw it?"

She takes a second look to Elara, taking in her face.

"You look good without that mask, you know?"

What?

Wait, *what?*

Did Mariette actually just say -

No, she misheard, surely. Accent? Translation issue?

Elara nearly trips over her own feet, which is in stark contrast to the usual casual control with which she moves. Instead of catching herself like a normal person, though, halfway through she turns it into a cartwheel - very much like a cat falling off a fence and then acting like it always meant to do that.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Elara manages, tripping over her words too once she's back on two feet. "Um. Max!"

The dog, tongue lolling out with an expression that looks very much like he's laughing his head off internally, pads closer. Elara fidgets through the pockets before coming up with a pretty normal ball, except that it looks somewhat reinforced. She tosses it at Mariette's face - though she's sufficiently flustered that if Mariette didn't catch it, it would definitely miss.

Mariette quickly catches it, the weight of the ball makes it easier so it doesn't bounce off.

"C'mon, that cartwheel was for showing up, right? Hahaha." Her tone was playful, not mocking.

"So how far should I throw it? I don't want it to get lost."

Right. Absolutely. Showing off. That was absolutely the point. She did *not* just trip over her own feet due to Mariette saying *that,* because Mariette did not say that! Absolutely not! Actually impossible!

Right?

~~fuck it had been nice to hear~~

"Just, like, not outta the park?" Max is bouncing impatiently, circling Mariette and whining. "About to that tree, I guess." Elara's vague gesture could easily refer to a tree three car-lengths away or a tree halfway across the park. "He'll probably catch it unless you do something real extreme."

Mariette bounces the ball.

"Alright, let's try something easy"

Mariette lifts her arm and throws the ball in a lazy curve, around 20 meters from where they were.

She's looking at Max with a smile, trying to keep her eyes from moving on their own towards Elara.

It was easier said than done.

She feels dumb.

*What's going on?*

"C'mon Max!" She says instead

Max is a golden retriever, whatever else he is. And golden retrievers have too much fucking energy.

He's gone in a burst of energy in moments, racing after the ball with a happy bark as he bounds across the grass, strands flattening and cracking. Its not even a minute before he's racing back to Mariette, tail wagging rapidly with a *thwapthwapthwap.* He shoves the ball into her hand and dances back, looking up at her with an expectant whine.

Watching her dog run is familiar, and manages to drag Elara's mind away from dwelling on whatever Mariette just said. She grins, watching Mariette with Max. The smile is uncomplicatedly fond. "C'mon, Mari, put some effort into it," she urges. "A proper throw at least? Look at 'im!"

Mariette is happy with the results.

This time a single tattoo shines in her arm, she readies her arm and throws it.

This time the ball covers double the distance as last time. Mariette is excited to be able to play with a dog, even if it's not a real dog. Her allergies wouldn't allow her to play with a real one. But she enjoys it.

And the company too.

She catches herself looking back at Elara, waiting to see what she thought of the throw.

"I don't wanna hit someone by accident with it!

"Haha next time *you* throw it!" Her voice sounds teasing, without stopping being playful.

"Maybe I will," Elara retorts, laughing, as Max races off. "C'mon, how bad's your aim if you're worried about hitting someone?" Elara's tone is just as light and easy, and for a moment she's not watching her dog at all, looking back at Mariette with a grin.

At which point a very large dog takes his chance to catch his owner by surprise, and with a yelp Elara falls to the floor with a massive dog on her chest. With a doggy laugh Max drops the ball next to her and licks her face.

With a sputter Elara shoves; "Max, you ass! You're heavy! Get the fuck off!"

Still with that doggy laughing sound, Max backs off, taking a seat and looking entirely self-satisfied.

Mariette gets a burst of laughter, and can't control it even if she wants. Her cheeks hurt, and she has trouble grabbing air.

"So cute!" She's able to say.

Did she meant Max? Did she meant Elara? Mariette doesn't know, and she wonders if it matters.

Her face is red from laughing so much... And other reasons.

She finally is able to stop and take a deep breath.

"Are you ok?"

She extends her hand to help her get up.

Elara blinks at being addressed, and abruptly realises she'd been so distracted watching Mariette laugh that she hadn't even bothered to try to get up.

For once, Elara is grateful that she generally leans more towards the *dead* side of undead. If she wasn't, she would probably be even more flushed than Mariette is.

Maybe Elara'll just die a second time over *this* of all things. It would be so fucking embarrassing. Survive - for lack of a better word - all of that, only to be taken out by how fucking *adorable* Mariette is?

Well, there were worse ways to go.

After several moments just looking at Mariette, Elara abruptly comes to her senses. The *new* rush of embarrassment is nearly physical pain. "Uh, yeah," Elara manages. "No injuries." Emotional pain from cuteness didn't count as an injury, right? Surely not. "Um."

Fuck, Mariette was glowing like a small bonfire of colour.

A bit tentative, Elara takes Mariette's hand. The ghoul's temperature matches the surrounding evening near-exactly, through the cloth gloves.

Mariette helps lift her up, and can feel something inside herself, almost like goosebumps.

*Shit, am I sick? I don't feel bad...*

She stays in silence for a few seconds, looking at the Other, before shaking her head.

"Good! Ok, let me try to throw it a bit harder"

Mariette grabs the ball and throws it, this time several of her tattoos are glowing with a pale light.

But her mind is somewhere else.

The ball goes forward for several meters before crashing against a tree and bouncing aimlessly.

"Ah shit..."

She doesn't like that Elara saw that.

"I can do it better, I just messed my throw," she says quietly.

Elara is supposed to be *graceful.* That is her natural state! She spends all of her time *training that!* Why oh *why* does she have to stumble getting to her feet? Why? Why is this a thing? Why is Mariette *looking at her like that* -

It’s horribly relieving when Mariette looks away, even if a part of her misses it. Fuck, how can she be such a mess? Why? What god declared -

Well. She probably shouldn’t go thinking like that.

Aimless or not, Max chases after the ball with the same bright delight, bringing it back eagerly.

“Of course you can do better,” Elara says, as if it’s obvious. It is fucking obvious. “You’re fucking *awesome,* Mari.”

Wait. Shit. Did she just -

Oh god oh fuck can she just curl up into a ball and *die* -

Mariette blushing is made more obvious by the contrast with her hair, she turns her head in an angle so her hair covers her a little.

"I'm-" not awesome, she wants to say, before remembering that gainsays exist "you're really cu-cool yourself" her voice feels small.

Why was it that finding words felt so hard?

She checks the time on her phone, only to see a message from the phone itself.

**QuietButFriendly:**

> 🤭

She quickly puts it back in her pocket.

"Hey, did you eat? The path must have been tough, don't want you to be hungry"

She’s literally half dead. Why does her monstrous existence allow her to feel embarrassment this acute? Why? Why is she alive enough for thiiiiiiiiis

The awkward pause does let her get some composure back, though it’s a distracted struggle - why was Mariette blushing? That - why? She didn’t normally notice blushes in her greyscale world, but the intensity of Life and the flow of blood was too obvious to miss. Why -?

Shit. Mariette asked a question.

“Um. I’m not...” Elara cuts herself off automatically from finishing with hungry. She’s always hungry. That was just a fact. But, Elara slowly realises, she’s... really not feeling very hungry right now. The only glowing source of Life worth paying attention to was right there in front of her, and she didn’t *want* to eat that. Well. Not *really.* The undoubtedly delicious taste wouldn’t be worth it, tempting as it was. “Only a bit?” Elara says, unable to help the questioning lilt. “Path weren’t *too* bad, though an entire day in it was... I ate prop’ly before, didn’t wanna risk freaking out in a new city. Should be fine for a few days, really, depending...” *on whether you cause me to emotional implode,* Elara adds silently.

“I’m basically always hungry,” Elara adds. “It’s not anything to worry about, ghoul thing, I guess.”

*Then again she’s never gorged as much as she really wants* -

Elara determinedly silences that part of herself.

Mariette takes a few careful breaths while Elara talks, trying to take the blushing away. She also notices how she appears to be cutting her words, like she's having trouble deciding on them.

"Is everything ok? I mean, you seem kinda bothered by something." It's not an accusation, but a little bit of worry appearing In her words.

"Is being around so much people getting to you? It can be a bit uncomfortable sometimes, no worries."

She gives her an awkward smile, still not fully recovered from before.

Elara makes a face. “Oh for -“ Called out? Mariiiii! “Mostly. Am I ever really okay?” Elara’s tone is rhetorically dry. “You don’t needa worry ‘bout it, but it’s cute you asked,” Elara adds on impulse, tone lightening cheerfully.

Mariette gives her a honest happy look at the final phrase.

Why did she felt like smiling so much? She feels dumb, but at the same time she feels... Something else.

Something she didn't knew how to describe, and something that she hadn't felt before.

She imagined how Marcel would be laughing if he saw her like that.

*Fuck, what's going on?*

"Uh-Hmm, so your turn to throw the ball?" She says as she passes her the ball in a slow arc, trying to get her mind to something else.

It's *nice* seeing Mariette cheerful. There is something off and awkward, there, but... that's definitely a smile. Can it stay like that? Elara wants it to stay like that.

Elara catches the ball easily. "Sure," she says. She lazily lobs the ball over her dog's head -

And Max just jumps straight up and catches it out of the air, before dropping to the ground. He wags his tail cheerfully.

Elara gives her dog a flat look. "Seriously?" she asks him.

He just wags his tail harder.

Mariette chuckles.

"C'mon, you can do better than that, Max could get sad if you don't try it haha."

She then looks towards the dog.

"But I've gotta say, that was a really nice catch"

Max preens as he trots forward to give Elara the ball, before dancing back. Elara gives her dog a *look,* and then glances up; she throws.

It's a pretty good throw, soaring past several trees, and Max lunges after the ball with a delighted bark.

"That hound," she mutters, shaking her head. "Seriously?"

"That throw was so much better!"

Mariette looks towards the line of trees where Max disappeared.

"*That hound*," she says, mimicking Elara, "is super cute, not gonna lie."

*And so are you.*

Mariette realizes that her brain is not working too well today, and she should probably go to the doctor later.

For now, however, she enjoys it.

"... Uh... So how did your people take that you just left for vacations? Didn't they say something funny?"

“He’s fucking adorable,” Elara says fondly, watching him. She drags her gaze away to look at Mariette after a few moments. “Few of ‘em were kinda what the fuck,” she says, with a shrug. “Someone asked if I’d won the lottery somehow. Mara - Phoenix - was...” Elara trails off. She shakes her head. “The kid was fucking cute,” Elara adds abruptly, laughing. “All gleeful about success when I told ‘er it were actually happening.”

"Winning the lottery? Is that for the vacations? It isn't too common then, right?

And Phoenix sounds like she was just the regular herself for what I've been able to see," she chuckles.

"Is the kid gonna be ok without you around?"

Thinking about home... it definitely banishes the awkwardness, but Elara’s demeanour shifts, more serious. “Should be,” Elara says, a bit dismissive. “She thinks she’ll enjoy Mara’s fussing without me distracting her, and there’s other people who worry about her. She doesn’t need me.”

Max trots back, tail wagging. Elara takes the ball. “Third throw?” she asks, throwing it up and catching it. “A’right.”

She bounces on her toes for a moment, then puts her arm back -

Throw -

The ball hits a tree’s branches, and sticks.

Max visibly gives the ball, and then Elara, a look of disbelief.

Mariette looks towards it, her mouth open slightly.

"Ohhhhhhhh..." *C'mon Mariette, don't be too mocking, you don't want her to feel bad* "that probably could have gone better.

"Haha, your dog looks kinda judgemental."

Looking around, she wonders if she should throw something to get it down, but maybe her aim wouldn't be as accurate as she wanted it to be.

"Uh, can you climb the tree to get it down or I could try punching the tree to see if the ball falls down"

Elara snorts. “Well, I could. *Or...*”

Max looks even more judgemental.

“What, don’t you want to show off?” she teases her dog.

With a huff, Max backs up, and then launches himself forward and leaps, paws scrabbling as he runs up the tree. He makes grumbling noises once in the branches proper, balancing cautiously as he goes.

Elara follows, absently placing herself underneath where Max is climbing. She looks back at Mariette and grins.

Mariette can't hide her surprise.

"Whaaat the fuck... That's fucking amazing! Is that what you meant when you were talking about how dogs can climb walls?"

“Hah, pretty much! He’s gotten good at this sort of thing. When he first arrived he seemed to get pretty frustrated trying to follow me, so I taught him.”

Max eyes the ball, carefully padding, and then snatches it up. He drops heavily out of the tree, then, leaving indents in the grass, and pointedly trots over to Neon.

“Fuck you too,” Elara complains, then laughs.

Mariette smiles, as she pets the dog while grabbing the ball. Some of her tattoos shining she throws it away, beyond some trees

She then looks back at Elara, and she knows that she wants to tell her *something*, but she doesn't knows what

"I-uh... I know that I gave you the offer to come with me kinda out of nowhere, but, you know... I'm just really glad that you actually came, I hope that you don't regret it... I mean, I'll try so that you have some cool vacations or whatever."

*What the fuck am I even saying?*

Elara cocks her head, looking at Mariette.

She's so *bright.*

"I'm glad I came too," she says, a bit softer. "Its... nice to see you." Elara fidgets, nervous energy. "How much longer've we got?" she asks as Max trots back.

Mariette keeps her eyes on her, not really understanding the question for a few seconds.

Then she reacts.

"Oh! sorry, eh..." She grabs her phone, ignoring the messages from Quiet. "Uh, maybe we should start heading over there? It's kinda far away."

Elara sighs, clearly regretful, but nods. Max *whines,* wilting a bit as he gives over the ball.

"Don't be a dick, you," Elara scolds as she packs it away. "We can play again later when we *get* there, okay? Hopefully. We should be spending a few weeks there, there'll be other opportunities."

Mariette feels guilty for disappointing *a dog.*

"Well, yeah, probably! There are some nice woods in town, also there are several open places in the Uni, we could probably play there!"

A thought appears to fly through her head.

"... I mean, if you don't mind me joining"

She shakes her head.

"Uh, I'll head the way."

"Of course you can join in," Elara says, as if its obvious. "If you've got, like, time and stuff. We'd be glad to have you along." She grins. "Maybe next time we can play with the frisbee!"

She falls into step beside Mariette, lacking her earlier awkwardness and stumbling. Elara's a naturally graceful creature, and it shows. "So, been having fun in your classes? Anything interesting happen while I was out?"

"Uh... Not much, I think? I've been talking with my roomies, but eh, still no luck...

"One wanted to meet Jane, I don't know how that went.

"Oh, my coat should be arriving today to Calvarn!"

She thinks about that last part.

"You know, that maybe guy is not as shitty... I mean, I know you guys didn't appear to like each other, but he has been otherwise kinda nice, in my opinion."

She looks back at Elara, hoping to not trigger something that can make her mad.

Elara scoffs. "Not too shite to Practitioners, maybe. Fucker apparently can't even fucking recognise why the fuck I'd get pissed about him trying to force me to do shit by the fucking Seal. He's *not* my fucking Binder, he doesn't have that fucking right, and he should fuck the fuck off."

Mariette looks a bit shocked at that.

"Oh... Sorry. When I saw you guys fighting I didn't really understand where the problem came from.

"I won't bring it back again if you don't want me too, alright?"

Why was she being so careful of not being too confrontational?

"Uh... So... You have some other friends in the forum?"

Okay, she’s definitely being weird. Elara looks at Mariette sidelong, warily. “You don’t need to treat me like glass, Mari,” she tells her. “Just...” *Ugh.* Why was this hard? “I don’t know, I know you’re not out to hurt me, okay? I get snappish, that’s a thing. It’s not...

“Friends on the site? I don’t think so, I...” Who was she even friendly with? “Quiet, I guess? Kid’s cute.”

*Fucking shit.*

Her stomach feels heavier.

"Ugh... Yeh, sorry, feeling kinda weird to be honest."

Her moods lifts up a little upon the mention of Quiet.

"Oh she's great! I mean, she's right here," she says, grabbing her phone. "Wanna say hi?"

*So am I*, Elara admitted to herself. But what else was new? She was happy, at least, even if she was also...

“Sure,” Elara said, shifting closer. She took an unnecessary breath. Thank fuck she was closer to dead than not, physical proximity with a working nervous system would...

Be...

...

No, *no,* why was she flushing? How was she flushing? *How?*

Mariette lifts her phone so the screen is clearly visible for Elara.

But when she gets closer, the weight in her stomach disappears, she just feels light, like her feet could lift at any second.

She's not looking at her phone, but at her, and she suddenly notices something in her.

Does her skin look... Different? Could she be... Can she even blush? No, right?

She suddenly realizes her own staring and forces her eyes towards the screen, trying to remember the look, so she could maybe compare it later.

Still, the want to look back at Elara is strong.

Since Quiet had settled into Neon's phone, the icon for the application she resided in had changed regularly, seemingly on her whim. It was usually some sort of landscape, with her favorite being the parc she had been using initially, though it also took other shapes on occasions. Today, it was 🏙️ , reflecting her first visit to New York city. She had been really excited about it, texting Neon about the subject almost non-stop on the way there. When she raised her phone to face Elara, Quiet enthusiastically typed out an exclamation mark, followed by:

> 👋 😀

And that’s a beating heart. Fuck her life, fuck the fact that she knew exactly where Mariette was - she didn’t even know if she wanted to lean into her or take a bite out of her, *why.*

Elara viciously attempts to ignore the bright glowing life *right next to her.* It’s difficult. They’re not even touching, damn it.

“Hey there, kiddo,” Elara manages, her voice almost normal. “Having fun in there?”

👍 😁

❤️ 🇳 🇾 🇨 🏙️ 👀

👋 🐶 ❕

Marette's breathing feels careful, like manual breathing, and from time to time she would give a quick look out of the corner of her eye.

She would later wonder how weird they must had looked from Quiet's perspective.

The comment from Quiet brought her back to earth.

"Uh-oh! Yeah, she likes animals, look Quiet, this is Max."

Elara loves and hates the excuse to shift away, her heartbeat slowing back down to near nothing. “Actually yeah, here -“

Elara gestures, and Max rears up, paws landing heavily on her side - too heavily, shoving her directly into Neon as he pokes his nose at the phone.

*You’ve got to be fucking kidding -*

Elara stops breathing. Which means she can’t talk.

Mariette's reflexes act before she thinks, and she catches Elara with a hand and her arm, as to not drop Quiet.

That ends up making her be in an almost hug with Elara.

And her brain turns off.

She can feel her face getting hotter, and can only imagine how red she must be.

For a few painful seconds her thoughts aren't able to connect to each other, not knowing what to do, what to say.

Until she finally lets out her first smart thought:

"Uh...

...

...

...You almost fell."

Some delirious slice of Elara’s brain is vividly aware of the strength of Mariette. She’s also aware that Mariette is comfy. She’s also aware that the entire world is glowing.

Elara shoves herself off Mariette, and she is, for a few moments, absolutely scarlet, before her body remembers that she’s supposed to be *dead*. “Max, you *ass*,” Elara says, a bit strangled. “Be more careful.”

The dog, calmly on four paws on the ground, just looks up at her and wags his tail. His jaw drops in a grin.

The world appeared to pick up the pace after slowing down for the few seconds it took.

And it came back fast, things appeared to be quicker than her now. She focused on bringing her mind back to earth.

But couldn't take away the thought that she enjoyed it.

Her face slowly came back to it's normal color, but she couldn't look back to Elara yet, needed a few more seconds to calm down.

Instead she just looked back to her phone.

"Sorry, shaked you a little bit, girl."

👍

“I hope you thought he was cute,” Elara says dryly. She’s recovered quickly, with some distance, even if she’s having trouble looking at Mariette. “He’s also an ass, though, don’t forget it!”

Mariette looks towards Elara, slightly caught in her thoughts.

"... Oh yeah, that was... Kinda funny. He's still cute."

Mariette starts walking again.

"C'mon, we can talk a bit more when we get in our bus."

Fucking hours long bus drive... God.

She also was able to notice Elara's smell. It wasn't good, like something expired. But it wasn't as strong either.

She wonders if it's because of the lack of showers.

"So... Does Max knows any tricks?"

Buses. Oh. Right. Several hours of minimal movement in close proximity to Mariette.

...

Maybe she’d develop a tolerance?

“What d’you wan’ ‘im to do?” Elara shrugs, and then, on impulse, does another cartwheel. Not like she’ll have room for them soon. “He answers to most commands, if ‘e feels like it. ‘E can climb a wall, catch a frisbee. If you wanna shake ‘is paw, feel free.”

Mariette doesn't wait to try that out, she stops, crouching next to the dog.

"C'mon Max, give me the paw!" It's obvious that she's excited for it.

Max promptly sits and gives Mariette a paw, jaw opening and tongue lolling out in a grin. He then takes immediate advantage of the opportunity to lick her face.

Elara chokes on a laugh, covering her mouth.

Mariette laughs, standing up and trying to clean her face with the sleeve of her jacket.

"Alright, he got a bit excited."

They go back to walking.

"So anything you're excited for during your first vacations?"

*Spending time with you.*

Elara literally bites her tongue to prevent that from slipping out. After a few moments of thinking, she shrugs. "Exploring a new place could be cool? I guess 'not dealing with those fucks' doesn't count." After a few moments of struggling, Elara caves - technically she'd already *said* it, anyway, how much could it mean? "Gettin' to actually see ya is a plus," Elara says, ironically *not* daring to look at Mariette. "Bit different 'tween internet and in person." *And I can actually tell how and whether you're injured,* Elara doesn't say. *If there's any actual trouble, I'll be around, if only for a bit.*

Mariette raises her arms, almost in a shrug.

"Well, I'm in person now haha, I hope I don't disappoint," she says with a smile.

"It's also nice to see you again, that last time was really short...

"And about new places, damn, I wish I could show you this super weird library, but that's forbidden, but we could see a few places in town! There's some creepy and interesting people around...

"Oh! We also have that book! I still don't understand that well, how that's supposed to work, so we will have to go in blind, metaphorically speaking, of course!"

*You definitely don't*. Elara glances over as Mariette's talking starts to get excitable, and she finds herself smiling. It's nice to see her a bit more relaxed, now, more in her element.

"So what *do* ya know about the book, huh?" Elara asks. "I don't get it."

Mariette tilts her head, trying to remember.

"Alright, so apparently it should bring us as the protagonists of the story, it should be like one of those cheap adventure novels, and if we complete the story we get a reward!

"The book I got is about some oddfolk, I chose it because I thought those would be the strongest physically, and I didn't wanna be messing around with a banshee or whatever

"What do you think?"

She looks at her, waiting for a reaction.

Elara cocks her head. She shrugs. "I'd like to know more 'bout the story, but could be int'resting," she says. And hey. There are benefits to hanging around. "I'm willing to come along." She grins. "I guess I'm not going to be bored, huh?"

"Oh, about the story, I really don't know what it is about, I was told that we could get much better rewards if we didn't knew too much about it

"We probably can handle it! We're good enough."

She winks at Elara.

"And if that's not as good there's still some cool stuff to do in the place, I can show you Gambit too! They look kinda funny, but they're really cute

"And we could also mess with my roomates!"

It's obvious she's going off topic.

"Oh, and you could also be climbing around, the place is probably good for that."

Elara's content to listen to Mariette ramble as long as she wants, one hand resting on Max's back as they walk. There was a momentary *thump* of her heart at that wink, but... no freak out. Maybe she was adjusting, now. She could handle this.

"I would like to meet 'em, yeah. And pranks could be *fun*." Elara grins, and it isn't entirely friendly. "You do a prank war before?"

Glancing onwards, Elara's *pretty* sure that's got to be the bus station, and a bit of trepidation crawls into her. Several hours of close proximity to people. To *Mariette.*

She'd eaten a *lot* before she came, and she was barely hungry now. It would be fine. She wasn't going to accidentally slaughter a bus. Hell, Mari could snap her spine if she fucked up. It would be *fine.*

"A prank war? No... I mean, to be honest is not like I had too many people to try something like that, like no one that wouldn't get really mad and try something nasty."

The bus station was close, Mariette could see it, and the idea of passing several hours with Elara next to her felt different than what it did before.

Not bad, but uncomfortable.

"Hmm... So there it is!" She says with fake enthusiasm. "It's gonna be kind of a long trip, so if you want to go to the bathroom or something now should be the time... Wait, do ghouls need to go to the bathroom?"

She looks lost in her thoughts.

Elara snorts. "No, I don't. But I *would* like..."

She stretches, and its almost pointless; she's normally basically *dead,* undead limbs don't need the same tending as living ones. But she's got a bit of a taste of life, and it actually *does* feel better. Elara lets out a happy sigh and shakes herself off, letting her arms drop.

"I bet I'll still get antsy 'ventually, but what the heck." She shrugs, glancing over at Mariette. "D'you need the toilet and stuff?"

Mariette looks at Elara stretching, absent minded.

*...She looks cute... Wait, what?!*

She gets taken aback by her own thought, before remembering that Elara asked her a question.

"Uh?... Oh-oh! Yeah, give me a few, gotta use it, and could you buy some snacks while I'm there? Just like... Whatever looks good enough to eat for humans"

She chuckles awkwardly at that, while handing her a few bills.

Elara takes them. "Should I get bubblegum?" she asks, a bit teasingly. "I'll figure something out. Don't get lost."

Mariette gives her a thumbs up, not minding that she already has enough bubblegum in her jacket for 5 people.

Several minutes pass, and while she's washing her hands, she decides to splash a bit of water on her face.

*Alright, Mariette, focus, what's up with you today?!*

She wonders if she should out some make up on, before settling in just a few items for a more nude look.

*Oof, alright, back to it, stop being weird or you'll creep her out.*

She gets out of the bathroom and starts looking around for Elara.

Mariette comes out to find Elara doing a handstand and arguing with her dog about... something. She swats at the dog's nose, which Max dodges, and then glances up, at Mariette.

And loses her balance, tumbling over to a seat on the floor. The fall is controlled, but definitely not deliberate, Elara's expression looking dearly like someone who would be blushing if they could. "There y'are," she calls, while Max looks like he's laughing himself sick. "I got you a packet of chips, pop, and some bubblegum." She gestures to a small pile perched on top of her suitcase, set to the side. "What took ya so long? Find a goblin creeping?"

Mariette rolls her eyes.

"Ugh... Wouldn't be the first time, fucking creepo shits.

"But no, just... You know, stuff."

Mariette looks at her on the floor with smile.

"Were you doing an act there? Hahaha or you're just showing up, c'mon, I bet one day I'll be able to do hand stands too!

"And the snacks look good, thanks."

"I got *bored,*" Elara complains, reaching out and digging her hands into Max's ruff to push herself up to her feet. She shakes herself off. "What else d'ya expect me to do when 'm bored?"

Mariette smiles.

"I don't know? Check your phone for a few seconds?" She chuckles. "Did you let the people at your place know that you arrived safely? Maybe they are worried...

"But good to know, I guess, if I see you random handstands is that I'm boring you."

She gives her a playful smirk.

Elara groans. “It’s not just about *boredom,*” she protests. “Issa... thing, I dunno, movement. Moving. And yeah, guess I should text ‘em.” Despite her words, Elara doesn’t reach for her phone, looking at Mariette.

Mariette can relate to that.

"Kinda like how I need to fight people? Do you also need to move a lot so you don't feel uncomfortable?"

She motions at Elara to come with her, towards the bus terminal where their bus would be waiting.

Elara grabs up her stuff and follows. She shrugs. "If I'm moving, I'm probably me. I guess. Dunno if that makes sense. I guess I can move without being me, too, but...ugh. I like moving." She glances around, a resumation of her typical paranoid wariness - a typicality that she had been neglecting while talking to Mariette earlier. "I want the window seat!" she announces.

Mariette doesn't like that, but why would she tell her no? She called dibs after all.

She shrugs.

"Eh, sure, it's fine, I guess you don't have to go to the bathroom or something like that anyways... Just don't expect me to stay awake during the whole trip, I'm kinda bad at being in a bus and staying awake.

"I guess the other seat isn't as bad, I mean it has the- eh... *Bus street?... Bus alley*?... How is that thing called again?"

She looks puzzled.

Why were words so hard?

"Aisle?" Elara shrugs. "Hey, at least if you're asleep you won't be bored, huh?" *Does that mean she's saying* - Elara shoves the thought of Mariette leaning on her away determinedly. Bad thought.

Elara feels a *little* bad, when Mariette apparently wants that seat? But. But if she doesn't have the wall to squish into what if she...

And besides. It wasn't like she was going to sleep. She had to have *something* to watch!

"Yeah! The aisle.

"I mean, the window seat is pretty cool," a bit of disappointment appears on her face, "but like, your probably wouldn't want me moving so much."

She jiggles her backpack.

"Oh, I brought a book, if you're feeling bored, cause I mean, I can fall asleep, but I don't want you to do the same and miss the entire 3 week trip," she chuckles.

*Chuckling at nothing? What am I? 6?*

And now Elara’s feeling even more guilty. But fuck it, Mariette will apparently sleep through it, damn it.

Elara doesn’t generally like books, but... “What kinda book?”

Mariette twists and pulls out a book from her backpack. It is blue, with black letters.

"To kill a mockingbird, I haven't read too much of it yet, but I've heard its good."

She offers it to her.

"Also brought a blanket, if it gets too cold."

Elara takes the book carefully; her nails are still viciously sharp, even if her claws are lacking. She looks it over. “Thanks,” she says, a bit unsure. “Maybe I’ll try it?” And she looks mildly amused at the blanket comment, but doesn’t say anything.

Elara tugs her hood back up, fading into the background while Mariette pays, except when it comes time to argue Max’s presence as a service dog, which she does quite fervently.

The bus is empty enough at night for Max to claim the seat behind them, while Elara curls herself into the window, still holding the book. Max nips at her hood from behind, and she swats at him, but lets it drop. She rolls her eyes.

Mariette stretches as much as she can, and moves her legs around, trying to enjoy the ability to do it before the long trip.

She gets in the bus and sits next to Elara. The smell still was around, but it was getting less noticeable, maybe she was getting used to it.

She grabs a bottle of water from her backpack, deciding to leave the snacks for later. She hadn't noticed how dry her mouth felt until she drank from it.

She can't keep the idea of Elara being sitting next to her out of her mind.

She felt colder than a normal person.

The bus turns on, and just like a switch she lets out a yawn. It was late already.

"Well... 7 hours in bus. Damn, I hadn't had a bus trip like this in a long time, I think the last one was during a school trip to Spain."

*God*, too cute. That little yawn. This was actually hurting. Or maybe that was Elara's imagination.

“You’ve been to Spain?” Elara’d claimed the window seat for the window, but getting her to look away from Mariette would take a prybar. “What was that like?”

"Eh, cool, I think? Some of my classmates got lost, that was really funny... Eh I fought a kinda weak guy, it was closer than expected, but then again, I was like 14."

She tilts her head.

"Uh... You meant about the place itself, right? It was kinda hot, I went to a really nice castle in Granada, it was super pretty... Hmm... My teacher got her purse stolen. Oh I also got sick!"

Her tone is surprisingly enthusiastic for someone talking about them getting sick.

Elara pauses. “Why d’you sound so ‘appy ‘bout that?”

"Hehehehe ok, so I got a bit of bad karma from this, but I think it was funny enough to be worth it, even if I didn't plan it...

"Well, I ate a fish in bad state, people were sleeping in the bus back home and I was near where the luggage was stored, and you remember my teacher's *stolen* purse? Well, I had to puke and it was either that or the bus floor, so I used it, closed it and hid it in a guy's luggage."

She laughs.

"I wonder why he didn't say anything."

Elara snickers. "*Yikes*, hah. Damn, 'is face when 'e found it must've been *something.*"

Mariette laughs.

"His face the next days was probably just as good! He kept looking suspiciously at everyone in class, with so much hate in his face.

"I mean, I don't do many pranks, I think, but that one was kinda accidental and yet pretty fun.

"What about you? Ever done a prank that still makes you laugh?"

Elara cocks her head. "I put caterpillars in Mara's soup once. She yelled for more than an hour once she stopped shrieking," Elara says, amused. "*Best* prank, though..." Her smile stops being friendly, more viciously satisfied. "Maybe that time I once managed to get a shit bomb into a particular room in the fuckers' house. Didja know that goblins can be real 'elpful if you assure 'em that you're out to make trouble?"

"Hahaha you could had asked her how the maggots tasted, you know, for science or something.

"Uhhh... The fucker? You mean Phoenix too?"

She fixes her position to something more comfortable for talking, slightly sideways.

"Not anymore. She used to be, but..." Elara looks away, over at nothing. "The 'Eartless," Elara says, a bit less cheerful. "Those folks."

Working against them is her job, but in a way, so is working for them. And she never wants to admit that. She hates to *think* about it.

She looks back at Mariette. "So 've *you* ever eaten maggots?" she challenges brightly, mood back to bouncy. Behind her Max is nosing at her, and Elara gives him an absent-minded scritch.

Mariette bites.

"Ohhh is that a challenge? I could eat a maggot!

"I mean, I probably would puke, but still!"

She yawns again, this time for longer.

The bus was already on its way and the movement of it had a soporific effect on her.

"I would try to challenge you to something similar, but I don't think it would have the same effect.... Hmm, I'll keep my dare for later, when I think of something good, in the meantime look for a maggot and I'll be up for your dare."

She tries to think of something else to talk about.

"So... You went to the house of one of those fucking heartless you work against and pulled a prank on them? I've gotta say, that's impressive haha."

"Hah, I'll remember that." There's a shiver of uncertainty in the back of her head, at the prospect of what dare could be appropriate back. But, fuck it. Its *Mariette.* (And isn't that terrifying?) "And yeah, I have eaten maggots." Elara snorts. "Fucking wriggly li'l...

"And... yeah, I did. Was fucking pissed with 'em at the time." It hadn't been long after getting the kid back. The memories had still been fresh. And killing was *forbidden,* she couldn't - it was the closest she could get to something resembling vengeance.

Elara cocks her head, watching Mariette. "You can just go to sleep," Elara tells her, amused. "Kinda important, living people getting their naps. I'll manage."

Mariette looks hurt at being told to go to sleep, but she already felt her eyes getting heavier.

"Mhm alright, just... Eh, doesn't matter."

She cozies up and closes her eyes, still slightly turned towards Elara.

Before long she's already asleep.

She dreams of going back home, talking with Aimée and Marcel.

Later on, when she wakes up she would wonder why on her dream Elara was with her.

But in the moment, her head ends up falling on Elara's shoulder, resting there.

Elara might have had something to say, some attempt at reassurance that its not that she doesn't want her to stop talking its just...

And then Mariette's head lands on her shoulder and all possible words freeze.

Behind her Max whuffs with amusement, and Elara wants to glare at him, but she doesn't dare move. What if she *wakes her?*

Elara shifts, very careful, and considers pushing her away, or getting her backpack to put inbetween as a pillow, or...

She looks down at Mariette sleeping, and can't bear to even try.

In some faintly despairing section of her mind, Elara gives up. Fine. Fine, she's fallen, she's *done,* this damned Practitioner's gotten a piece of her. She's never going to say a word about it, she doesn't *dare,* but she's gotten one of the few pieces of her left that aren't already under prior claim.

She carefully slides an arm behind Mariette, tugging her a bit closer. When Mariette wakes up she'll take it away immediately, of course, but right now...

Elara shuts her eyes, a bit in pain. It doesn't save her. Even without seeing the glimmering lights shrouding them she can still *smell* Mariette. Flesh, blood, whatever the fuck it is she does to her hair. Heartbeat in her ears, this close, the slow thrum of blood.

God. Elara'd said she trusted Mariette. This, here? Snuggled up to a predator, completely vulnerable? This was just the same. Elara could do anything right now.

Well, she couldn't. She was Bound against so many things. But Mariette didn't know the words and the corollaries, did she? She didn't know what Elara *couldn't* do. And she'd still fallen asleep so *easily.*

Pain. So much pain.

For a moment Elara considers finding a sharpie, but -

But -

Damn it. No pranks. Nothing that could possibly prevent this ever happening again. Not that it probably would, Mariette had her room, but. But. *Still.*

Giving up on breathing, Elara opens up the book Mariette had given her, and decides to find out how fare she can get.

(Not far.)