The entire thing was so crisp yet so blurry. Ugh, he'd have to take it easy for a bit. If he had gone too much longer, he might've collapsed on the job. The male sat alone at a sturdy and well-polished, round, wooden table in the nearby diner. Or perhaps, to be more specific, he had stumbled into Club 64 nearby the ocean and the docks and most memorably- the whale. Even though today he had temporarily forgotten to give a little, warm greeting as he passed and maybe have a little chat. Lots of things seemed to be slipping his mind and while he was convinced all he needed was a little rest, he didn't seem to give himself even that. He'd have to remind himself on the way out to go make it up to the whale. Yes, that was it. Contentedly smiling to himself, he brought the glass he had ordered to his mouth. Sweet. That was the first thing he could recognize. Setting it back on the table, he stared at it in a confused daze. What exactly did he order? Shrugging it off, he dismissed it and took another drink as he let his troubles quietly slip away.

"Heey, how's it goin', man?" Jumping in his chair slightly, he whipped his head over to see who had greeted him. "Man, why you gotta go and give me such a nasty look like that?" the Lakitu spoke with a defensive frown.

"Ah, good day there, La- Spike," Parakarry ignored the question. Had he really flashed an unpleasant reaction? He somehow doubted it, but there wasn't a high possibility that Lakilester would have lied about something in the manner he had done so. Perhaps he would've exaggerated it, but not act like he had been assaulted.

"Um, dude, it's night. I hate to be all nitpicky and grind on your mood and stuff, but wouldn't it be 'Good evening' or something?" So, it was evening? He didn't recall the sky looking particularly dark. No, he saw a bright light. He was confident in what he saw when he was flying over here. Faking a weary grin, the mailman nodded slowly.

"I'm dearly sorry for my slip-up there. I must be losing track of the time, eheheh..," he responded with a half-hearted chuckle. There was a long silence between the two as one floated on their cloud while the other stayed seated at his table, not even giving a quick glance over or touching his glass. Staring at the shades of his ally, he couldn't help but get lost in thought. What were behind those glasses? He was certain he'd never seen it. Was there even anything behind them? Was this lakitu hiding something, running away? No, he was over thinking it clearly. He had to push those ludicrous ideas and thoughts outside of his mind. That was the reason he was having so much trouble. It just dug a deeper hole in one's soul and mind. The visitor started to look towards the door before the patron cleared his throat.

"Ahem, would you care to sit down? I could order something for you, if wish...," he trailed off, obviously not sure how to go about this invitation. Nevertheless, Lakilester beamed, "Yeah, sure man! Though don't trouble yourself in getting something for me. A dude's got his own stash of coins."

With that, he sat down opposite of the paratroopa. "So, you come here often?" Parakarry shook his head almost instantly.

"No. I'm more of a parlor guy myself if I were to be perfectly honest," he answered in an almost monotonous voice. As if all the life had been sucked out from the hopeful and ditzy man. His face was attempting to show warmth and casualness but all that shined through was a mess of negative emotions the lakitu couldn't describe exactly.

"A parlor type of guy, you say? Man, where do you even go? I haven't seen anything near a casino around this town. Are you even old enough to go to one?"

It took a few moments of silent thinking before he could reply, "Well, I reckon the closest place that my job allows is Pianta Parlor all the way in Rogueport. A nasty sort of place and it's full of eccentric inhabitants. Though I suppose I'm slowly going to become one of them, eh?" He nodded, "Yes. I have been for a long while. I don't think you are as of yet? I wouldn't know, it's been three years or so since our adventure, hasn't it? I wonder how Goombario is nowadays.."

"Eh, almost! I'm like a year younger. It seems all glitzy and glamorous, but I dunno if Lulu would think well of me if I went and did that. Kinda sucks, but what am I to do, right?" he ended it with a short and light laugh. It seemed as if the mail carrier was considering what the other had said.

"A year younger, already? Hm, I see. Well, good luck to you." That seemed like the end of it, but he continued. "You joined us because you wanted to become stronger.. for her, ...right?"

Not entirely sure where he was going through with this, Lakilester slowly nodded with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, why?"

What had happened next, he wasn't expecting. Parakarry had started staring into his eyes it almost seemed with such an icy stare. Though it wasn't a glare, it sent a shiver down his spine just continuing to look at it. This guy was serious for sure. It was startling to see this man so serious. To think he was the same bumbling, ditzy mailman who had traveled with them. Admittedly he had been pretty intimidating in battle, but this was off the field he was pretty sure. Or had he been mistaken? Gulping, he waited for what seemed like eternity in that chair. Yet, there was still a silence between the two and he could've sworn he didn't see the other move so much of a muscle. Only blink every now and then. When was he going to speak? How long would he have to sit through this torture? He was starting to have second thoughts when at last, his prayers were answered. The paratroopa gave a heavy and deep sigh, directing his gaze to the floor beside him.

"I'm having a bit of a trouble, you see..."

He was having trouble comprehending this. Why was he going to confess to him of all people? He didn't have much of a clue when it came to delivering things or getting things done on time if that was what he was going to talk about. Then again, he had asked him about Lakilulu. What was he suggesting here? With each new word this male spoke, more questions popped up and inspired his curiosity. How he couldn't leave now. He'd have to see to the end of this for sure. He'd have to clear up each and every single thing he was uncertain of.

Or perhaps not that much. At least a good amount of them though.

"Alright, go on."

"Really?" the paratroopa's eyes widened and he shifted back a bit in surprise. A silver of hope sparkling in his eye. He leaned forward towards the other in anticipation. Ah, this was more like it. The lakitu nodded confidently and this was rewarded with a great big smile from his former teammate as he leaned back into his chair once more. It almost seemed as if he was going to hop up and down with excitement or happiness, but that chair and table secured him. Forcing himself to calm down, or at least attempt to make himself look like he was calming down, he started.

"Alright, where exactly to start..?" he trailed off as he went into deep thought, leaning his forehead on two fingers. Wherever this guy was going, Lakilester kept his ears peeled in anticipation. At last, Parakarry came to a conclusion: "It's about Bow."

"Man, Bow? That it? I thought you ended all that back on the adventure."

"I suppose in one way I did."

"What do you mean you suppose? You ain't getting slapped and smacked silly are you, dude?"

"No, none of that," he chuckled in response, "It unfortunately is problematic though. I can confirm that much."

"Then spit it out, man. How am I supposed to guess all your problems if all you're telling me is what's the source?"

"Fair enough. Do you remember Christmas? From just a few months ago, I mean."

He must've been pulling his leg. He smirked and replied, "Yeah, though you weren't there, were you?"

"At the party?" His eyes widened as if he had expected him to say something else. His suspicions seemed to be confirmed as he answered his own question, "Heavens no. I'm afraid I had something else planned that night."

"Well, what was it? Or are you going to leave me without anything to go on again?" he urged the other.

"I made a bouquet for that night, you could say." He saw the other start to interject, so he spoke quickly, "It was not made of any flowers though. It was instead made of clovers."

Lakilester raised an eyebrow. "Why a bunch of clovers, man? I don't mean to sound biased or anything, but you could've just went to Flower Fields and chosen a bunch of nice flowers with a cool meaning." The next thing he had not expected, but Parakarry gave a hearty laugh that lasted not too long. He cocked his head in response, "Well?"

"You see, it wasn't just any regular clover."

"There's a difference?"

"Plenty." The mail carrier nodded with a genuine smile. There was a long pause of thought before Lakilester gave up and slumped his shoulders. "I don't get it."

"I suppose you don't have to, but perhaps you're not thinking of the obvious?"

"Are you trying to get at something, here? I'm feeling it's nasty and I'm not liking one bit of it, buddy," the lakitu rebuked, his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed. A stern frown was placed onto his face, yet the paratroopa was not too phased by this. The only hint that he even acknowledged it was his shake of the head.

"No, not like anything you're trying to insinuate, good sir. I, myself, thought my message would be crystal clear, but evidently that's not the case. I suppose not even a young, bright lad like Goombario would've figured it out, eh?" There was a brief pause before he shifted gears.

"So, I spent eight months-"

"Eight months?" Lakilester exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes, eight months."

"Geez, dude. What a load of time for just one gal. You sure this was worth it? I mean, I don't know much about whatever the heck is going on between the two of you, but last time I checked it wasn't pleasant. You came out of every single toad house with a bruise of some sort that I could've sworn you didn't have before the night. And I have a feeling it was from those chats over tea you always had with the chick in the middle of the night when I was trying to get some shut-eye."

Now, Parakarry gave a reaction as the neverending smile was lifted off his face in exchange for a bemused expression. His eyes widened and he had straightened up. His wings had spread out in surprise and a stray feather or two fell to the ground nearby. "Wait, you were awake during those? Good golly, you should've said so. I would've quit those any time or made it at least a little more convenient if I had known. My, you're quite the silent bystander... I would've known if you made much of a move that I thought wasn't just a roll!"

"Relax, dude. The thing's all in the past- you can forget all about it. Besides, I figured you had to have a reason behind it all; Even if I personally thought it was kind of a bad reason, but whatever."

Parakarry's face softened as he whispered a soft, "Thank you." Lakilester had barely picked up on it but nodded before the two went back on their original path and off their tangent.

"Hm, where was I again?" he started, trying to recall where he was. Jumping slightly when he remembered, he resumed his speech: "Ah, yes. I had spent eight months collecting these clovers. The reason why it took so gosh darn long was because they were a little bit rarer than the type you had thought of. They were all four-leaf clovers. Every single one of them. Frankly, I thought that was enough because if I had decided on using five-leaf clovers or even more, I think it would've taken me a few good years."

"Woah there, man! How big was this bouquet exactly?"

"I suppose it was about the size of one the regular, rather large rose bouquets the little toad girls sell in town."

Lakilester practically fell out of his chair after hearing those words. Fumbling his words, he managed to stutter out: "Man, a-are you.. are you absolutely sure this was a good plan?"

Parakarry sat there quietly for a minute or two contemplating over it before his grin shined through once more and he nodded.

"I'm absolutely, positively, beyond a doubt, am proud of this plan and do not regret a single part of it. I humbly stand by these words and I truthfully find my efforts to not be in vain or wasted. I think this path I had taken was worth every single tedious thing I had to do to walk onto it and I shall keep going down this route until it ends." These were the words he stated with absolute confidence. There was not a single sign on him that indicated hesitance, dishonesty, and uncertainty with his response. He stood firmly by it and after a good amount of time, Lakilester accepted this with reluctance.

"Alright man, if you say so. So, what's the great, big issue you've been trying to build up to this entire time? Not going to lie, but I almost forgot about the entire reason you decided to have this conversation in the first place," he prompted as he leaned back in his cloud on the seat.

"Well, listen; I'm not quite done just yet. You see, I did go deliver them to her that night. Unfortunately I had lost my wings just a few days before and they were still growing back."

"You lost your wings? How in the world does that even happen? You were made of a strong stuff back on that adventure. I remember it perfectly! You only got knocked out; You never lost your wings."

"My, you flatter me. You really do, but I'm not different than any other paratroopa. I can lose them just as easily. I suppose I wasn't very cautious that morning, eheh...," he trailed off.

"But this is not the time for that. I don't mean to be rude, but I could explain you the events that conspired to bring about my misfortune during the holiday season, but I ought not to waste your time with idle chatter when we were on a very specific topic."

"R-Right, go on."

"So, I had to travel through Forever Forest rather than just fly over it like I typically do. I had become lost, soon enough. I also ended up having to fend for myself against those nasty pirahna plants that decide to just hide in the ground." He shivered at the memory in disgust. "You can imagine how difficult it is to travel over a long forest that never seems to end while fighting and holding a bouquet."

Seeing where he was going, the lakitu leaned forward with a very grim expression. "Parakarry, I hate to go and accuse you, but how many four-leaf clovers did you have left when you arrived at Bow's manor?

Don't tell me you ended up quitting and never even arrived at the place either."

"Well, I can safely say I did get to my destination, alright. However.."

"You're laughing. This can't be a good sign."

"Oh? Am I?" This only increased the uneasy laughter. "Well, I must apologize for saying this, but when I got there.."

"Yes? Dude, stop stalling. It's not cool."

"I had but one four-leaf clover in my hands."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...?"

"You had only one of those things? You're absolutely sure of that?"

"Yes. I'm quite sure of that fact at least, eheheh..." This response only rewarded him with Lakilester promptly smacking himself in the face and briefly looking behind him in pity for the other's shameful event. Parakarry picked up on this and scratched the side of his neck while also looking away- but his gaze was to the side as he let out a light and uneasy chuckle once more.

"Listen, you're telling me you lost everything except one. I have no idea what you were thinking, but there's no way Bow could've been overly joyous to see you coming up and knocking on her door interrupting whatever overly posh thing she had going on just to deliver her one four-leaf clover."

The postman rubbed his arm and continued to avoid eye contact, biting his lip as the other had talked. "Well, it was evident enough. Let's say it didn't end up too smoothly..," he started. He swore he had heard the other mumble something along the lines of "Figures," but perhaps he was hearing things. He dismissed it and continued. "But in the end it was worth it."

The lakitu was dumbfounded how the other was firmly sticking by the idea that this entire bad mix of events had been worth all the trouble he had been describing. "...How? I don't get it, man," he pressed the others for answers.

"That's because she accepted me."

"Accepted you?" he rose an eyebrow at the meaning behind it.

"Yes." The paratroopa smiled at the memory. "She accepted a simple dance and I'll never forget it, I shall say. I felt as light as a feather that cold, bitter night."

Lakilester gave a weary smile back, "I see.. so what's your big deal? You came in here looking like you had a problem."

This almost immediately wiped off the curl of the lips Parakarry once had and he once more became almost hollow like.

"I'm not sure if I'm pursuing the right thing. I feel like I'm.. I'm.."

"You're what?"

"I feel as if I'm killing a scarved koopa in the inside by doing this."

"How so?" Admittedly he was rather shocked to hear this take such a downward but vague spiral. It was a while before the postman continued at all. He took a long sigh before he started, making sure to take a good sip of his drink before then to clear his mind up a bit.

"I can tell. He's fallen for a boo he can't touch either. Queer, the entire thing. No, there's not a single thing straight about this at all."