Y/n POV:

   There wasn't much that I could do for the rest of the day. Oisín had to redo his punishment *cough*4 times*cough* since he kept getting distracted by little things. Donna's kids continued to mess with me every chance they got. It was kinda belittling since they were so mesmerized by the Meif'wa features and nothing else. Meaning they saw me as interesting for nothing else. Kids will be kids I guess.

~oOo~

The night went by smoothly to say the least. I woke up disappointed, along with Aphmau, as she didn't have another one of her spiritual dreams with Garroth. I wondered if I'd be able to see the two of them or if it would continue to be the other way around until we got him out of there.

Katelyn has definitely been taking a beating since our curse fiasco started. A pride beating that is,,, Her confidence meter switched places with her temper, so bad news for everyone. Aphmau was currently getting a handful of it up in the guard (tree)tower. It was well in my interest to stay clear for the time being.

Using Malachi as my intel man, I found out about the progress done/being done. The wall has held up quite well, with the new materials added not a bandit has been seen since. Levin was out with Kyle on his patrol. Dante went out and would be back soon, I'm still waiting for his reaction. Dmitri and Nekoette were sitting outside and talking about desserts.

So the morning is going fairly well, a nice change of pace.

Aphmau was just released from Katelyn's drama, coming down to talk to the kids. Dante had just walked in through the gates, Nekoette sprinted out of her seat to greet him. Very enthusiastically I might add. "PAPA!" Dante smiled and greeted his daughter before acknowledging Dmitri who was next to her. Nekoette said he was her new friend, adding on a couple compliments. To which any normal dad would do, Dante mentioned the fact that he was Nekoette's father(though she made it clear in the first place).

"A pleasure to meet you sir, my name is Dmitri. Heir to the throne of Scaleswind." Gotta say, the kid knows when to boast. Just not who to. Dante's face dropped a little about to make mention of who his mother was then, when Kawaii~chan came out of the house. Her expression was serious if not stern when she saw him. "Dante-kun, can Kawaii~chan see you inside for a moment?"

"There's my sweet little cherry blossom!" His ignorant response to her emotions was a pet name. It seemed to tick her off the slightest bit more. "Not now Dante-kun. You and Kawaii~chan need to talk." He seemed to get the message that he was in trouble, asking if something was wrong. Me and Aph shared a look, since this was happening in front of the children.

"That depends." Kawaii~chan decided to be petty with it, wanting to talk in private. Dante went forward with his blunt tiredness of the situation which he had no knowledge of. "Kawaii~chan don't play these games with me, tell me what's wrong." I was looking back and forth between the two of them. Like two rook chess pieces with a pawn standing between them.

"It's personal." Stubborn laziness shown through the grown man as he sighed. "Ugh fiiiine but I swear if it's about me eating all the sugar in the house I swear it want me... it was Nekoette." Dante wasn't completely dense to how Kawaii~chan was upset with him, poking a little lightheartedness to the conversation. Nekoette let out a noise of betrayal for her father, Dmitri laughed under his breath.

Dante noticed me and Aphmau, a short greeting along with the whereabouts of her guard before he left to get yelled at.

Aphmau was giggling at it all while I shook my head. "Oh hey, I went to to the docks to check if anything got left behind. There was a letter and this container for you." I was a little confused though took them both. The container was flat and wide with holes in it. I opened the lid, perplexed to see chocolate covered strawberries;; Random. The letter was only a sentence long, though it did its purpose to irritate.

Here's something for you and Laurence to share ;)
~Nicole

I crumbled the paper before tossing it. What else was I to expect from her though? I waved off Aphmau's questioning of who it was from before she led the both of us to the old guard station. We were a couple meters away when Dante yelled for the both of us to stop. I was internally cringing as we both turned around.

As much as I wanted to be prepared for the confrontation of this, I wasn't. "THAT BOY, DMITRI... I-IS IT TRUE HE'S NICOLE'S SON?? WHEN DID SHE HAVE A KID?!" Aphmau was confused by his questioning. "You... didn't know? Why does it matter that much?" Dante was being hysterical, how Nicole had been ignoring his whenever he tried to contact her. He didn't know who she was with or when it had happened either.

"She never mentioned anything about her family to anyone in Phoenix Drop..." I was given a side glance from Aph, who seemed reluctant to say anything. Though her glance was enough for Dante to notice. "Wait.... Y/n, you knew about this..?"

I crossed my arms with a shrug. "It wasn't my business to tell. Still isn't. I'm the kid's aunt but I promised Nicole I wouldn't say anything." Dante looked almost betrayed by my words as I felt guilt for my brother figure. He took a breath before speaking, calming his own head. "Well we know now, can you at least tell me who she is with?" I averted my eyes elsewhere before answering.

"That I don't know. Apparently he died around the time Dmitri was born, she's not really open to talking about it." Bold face lie. It would have been easier if I didn't feel so bad about it. Dante slowly came off his high of adrenaline with a reassurance that Nicole was doing fine. She found someone that made her happy even if he was being ignored.

The conversation didn't last long after that. A quick mention on how Nicole would eventually be coming to get Dmitri back, before Dante left in his conceded glory.

I took a step to start walking again, only to notice Aphmau going off the path and into some taller grass. "Hey what's this?" Apparently she found something. Might have been some loot a bandit left behind. I came up next to where she was now crouched. "What'd you find?" She picked it up and showed it to me. It was a small piece of paper. Worn down and torn on most edges but it was easy to make out that it was a picture.

Shaped like the many other ones I made back at the settlement, though this one hadn't been rescued from the harsh environment. If it weren't for the plastic covering, it probably wouldn't have made it. A picture of Garroth holding up the camera in a selfie manner, he was laying on the grass. I was asleep next to him. I think I remember this from what we were wearing, somewhere in front of where Lucinda used to live. Wayyy before she even moved to Phoenix Drop.

Garroth's helmet was forgotten in the background, his hair carrying the normal bed head that came with taking off hats. He was smiling, blushing even. My sleep figure was resting against his shoulder, almost like he was about to move me but stopped midway to take the picture. Garroth looked so genuinely happy, that my heart sank and soared at the same time.

I really did miss the Blondie.

"Oh... I must had dropped this and forgot about it." Aphmau handed me the photo telling me to keep it. "He really did care about you Y/n. All of us." I nodded, agreeing while slowly swiping my thumb over his face. "Hey... let's try something the next time I have one of those dreams, yeah?" That got me interested in why she was thinking.

1395 words.
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