Boris looked at Akatosh, his face centimeters away from his own. "Akatosh…." He trailed off, his voice nothing but a gentle murmur.

Just as he seemed like he was about to pull him into a kiss, Boris grabbed Akatosh`s still-ice cream-covered hand and suddenly put it over the shorter man`s face, getting ice cream all over his features. "We should get you some napkins, buddy," he said with a very ever so sly cat-like grin, purring very loudly as he stood up, ruffling the shorter`s hair playfully. "I'll be right back with a towel or somethin`," he told Akatosh, before walking off to go to a hot dog stand that was bound to have some napkins, leaving Akatosh alone on the bench.

Akatosh, admittedly, was surprised at what had happened, not having expected a sudden face full of ice cream. He sat there with a dumbfounded and vanilla covered expression, a shiver running down his spine at how cold the treat was on his skin, and he raised his hands and started to attempt to wipe the cream away, a soft sigh tumbling from his lips.

Finally, he started to chuckle a little, and when Boris finally came back, he was laughing, despite his strange he must have seemed with how his appearance was. "Whatcha laughin' at?" Boris aimed the inquiry at him with a purr as he held out a handful of napkins for Akatosh to take, and the Breton only shook his head, beginning to wipe the mess away between little giggles and snorts.

"This was great." He spoke after a long moment full of cleaning, and stood up, his skin slightly sticky and sweet. Akatosh wadded up the messy napkins and tossed them in a nearby garbage bin, and Boris followed in his wake. "This was genuinely, fetching great."

"Fetching?" Boris repeated the word with a tilt of his head as a single one of his cat ears perked up Akatosh's way. "What, like a dog?" At that, his ears flattened, and the Breton blinked before he shook his head and chuckled.

"No, not at all. Really, just- nevermind that. Today really was great, though," he added. "I would continue today like I said and accompany you for more rides, but I've got to get on my way." He ran a hand through his hair, then, looking around as if unsure of how to get out. Between all the food stands and games and gigantic rides, not to mention the endless crowds of faceless squeezed between it all, finding the exit was a difficult task.

Boris, though, seemed to understand just fine, and he took Akatosh by the hand and started to tug him a certain way. Akatosh followed after a moment, and looked over as Boris spoke. "Why, though? What's more fun than an Amusement Park, dude?"

The hero shrugged. "Never said I was on my way to something fun," he defended, though he didn't know exactly what he was trying to defend.

Boris puffed out his cheeks. "Then why'd you want to go at all?" He let go of Akatosh's hand to elbow him, but Akatosh only rolled his eyes a little, ignoring how his pink cheeks hadn't faded into their natural color by now ever since that whole ice cream incident had started.

"Because-" Akatosh had opened his mouth before he had untangled the words from his head, and it left a moment of silence to hang in the air until he eventually figured himself out. "I'm- I'm trying to look for a way out of Wonderland right now. When I said that I fell? It was from a weird portal thing, and I'm trying to find another one. Or any way out, really." Boris's ears raised for the shortest of seconds before they flattened completely against the top of his head just as quickly, making the little earring on one of them jingle, but he said not a single word as he continued to lead Akatosh to the exit of the park. The Breton let a small frown appear on his lips after that, but he likewise kept quiet, and even though the loud sounds of everything around them kept the silence away, the absence of conversation between the two was disconcerting.

He didn't know if the tenseness he felt was truly there or just imagined, but either way, Akatosh was thankful when they finally got to the entrance. "Welp, here we are," Boris mumbled, and some semblance of gratitude was on his tongue as he stared out at the path he had come from past the lines of people waiting to get in, but when he turned to express that said gratitude, all he did was tell it to empty air and space. Boris was already dashing off, and Akatosh watched the hot pink beacon his head served to be vanish into the crowd, but he let out a sigh and didn't pursue. He was easily distracted, yes, but he couldn't forget how he needed to leave this world, and he could be fairly certain the answer to his problem wasn't within these gates.

He stood there, still, his heart sinking a little into his gut. Akatosh didn't truly want to go, wanted to continue with his strange day and ride every ride in this park and maybe even make a friend- he wanted to do things it was best that he shouldn't, because Akatosh knew he had to leave. He owed it to Cyrodiil to come back, to the promise he had made to Eldamil, to all the people he had sworn to protect. He didn't deserve the fun of this place, and so Akatosh wouldn't have it beyond this little break between his journey.

Akatosh began on his way, then, his hands sliding into the pockets of his shorts as he hummed a tune, buzzed it between his lips. His feet thudded against the trail as he walked along it, the sun beating down on his back. As he started to leave the Amusement Park, he glanced back at all the rides and happy people with the slightest tint of longing to his eyes, but pushed on despite this all.

He watched the cloudless sky as he strolled, the gentle heat waves looming above the ground. A thin layer of sweat covered his form, but it was ignored, and his humming only grew louder as the moments of loneliness passed. Along the time he spent ambling his way to the circus, said time was cut short, and he could only yelp out in surprise as something ran into him from behind and knocked them both down.

There was a light brunet man sitting on the ground, rubbing his lower back as he sat up, having hurt it when he fell. He was dressed in a red trench coat, his equally red eyes seeming dazed and confused. "Ow…" He groaned a little, before he managed to get himself up, stretching and popping his back to make it feel better. He glanced around for a moment before he noticed Akatosh, and his eyebrows raised a little. "Oops, I'm sorry! Didn` mean to run into you like that. Hey, d'ya think you could tell me where I am?" He asked, offering Akatosh a grey-gloved hand to help him up in return, smiling apologetically for running into him like that.

Akatosh scrunched his nose up at the audible popping noise the man's back had made, but he took the hand this man had offered and accepted the help up on to feet. "O-oh, it's fine," Akatosh said, finally, his breath having been snatched away from that all. "Um, summer, I'm pretty sure? I don't know what you would mean besides that," he said, rubbing the back of his neck a little and trying for a smile.

The man blinked, before he looked around, as if dumbfounded. "Summer? Damn! Thought it was Winter!" He said with a pout, as if the lack of snow and coldness wasn't enough to tell him that this was most definitely NOT Winter. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know how to get to the Tower of Clover from here, would you?" He asked, scratching the back of his head, a goofy smile pulling on the corners of his lips. This guy appeared to be very extremely ever so lost.

The Breton was slightly confused, but decided not to question this man too much. "The Tower of…. What…?" He frowned a little, not seeming to understand too well.

The man tilted his head a bit at the smaller man, his eyebrows slightly raised, before he laughed and shrugged. "Oh well, I guess I'll just have to use a shortcut to find Julius instead." With that, he suddenly grabbed Akatosh`s hand and started to head into the forest surrounding the trail, the disgusting heat of Summer still filling the air, but this guy didn't seem to notice it too much, despite even wearing a coat! "I'm Ace by the way. You seemed lost, so I might as well show you the way out of these parts," he said with a goofy smile, despite the fact that Akatosh wasn't lost at all.

Akatosh frowned a little more after that, but he let Ace lead him off. "Nice to meet you, but I'm not lost?" It came out more as a question than anything.

Ace scrunched up his nose and chuckled a little, but kept walking, deeper and deeper into the woods. "You don't seem sure," he scolded playfully. "So, what brings you to this neck of the woods?" He seemed to know where he was going.

Seemed.

Akatosh decided to trust this man, finally, even though he was fairly certain he could walk down a path without trouble. Maybe this guy would actually lead him to a Gate- Akatosh couldn't ever be too sure, right? "Well, I- I wasn't even really in the woods until you dragged me out here. So, y-you, I guess?" He pouted softly, but he was still following along.

There was a laugh and a nod, but the man went silent as he continued to walk. They seemed to walk in circles for about an hour, before Ace suddenly stopped and looked around, before looking down at Akatosh and grinning. "I think we're lost," he stated, as if this was a completely normal occurrence. "Normal"... Totally.

Akatosh's nose scrunched up a little, as he didn't quite know how to feel about that. "Well, um, do you know how we can get back at all? We could just keep wandering around, too, I'm not really trying to head for anywhere specific. Though being lost in the woods doesn't sound that fun." He grimaced to himself, wondering more and more about this Ace guy the more time he spent with him. Today only seemed to get stranger as it went on.

The question made the man shake his head no with a laugh, smiling even more. "Nope! We're super lost," he said with a cheerful grin, totally not caring that there was no way to get back to where they were. There seriously would be no way for Akatosh to track his way back… They had been walking on and on for an entire hour and had taken so many turns and were so deep in the woods by now that it would just take days getting back. Especially if this red-eyed man would lead them.

Akatosh grimaced a little more, not seeming to know quite what to do now, and he was quiet for longer, before finally sighing a little. "Then… let's just keeping going! If there's no way out, may as well just get more lost. It'll kinda be like an adventure." He smiled and laughed, not seeming to really care that they were completely stranded like this. Akatosh supposed he shouldn't have expected too much as soon as this adventure had begun. Ace's eyes had glimmered a little with some sort of emotion, but he immediately nodded. "Yeah! Adventures are neat," he said playfully, continuing to walk. He was such a happy man! So weird.

As they got deeper and deeper into the woods, the sky seemed to just suddenly turn dark without a warning at all. Joker had explained to Akatosh about how there was time periods instead of a natural flow of time, and how they just changed randomly. Ace looked up at that, having stopped walking, before he grinned happily. "Welp! Time to set up camp." And with that, Ace pulled out a tent from- Well, actually… Who the hell even knew where Ace kept his tent.

The shorter was surprised at the tent that came out from nowhere, and became even more surprised when Ace started to set it up in no time at all. Akatosh stood there awkwardly for a moment, glancing around them. Should he just leave? It was only one tent, and it wasn't like he hadn't travelled at night before. Same world, just darker, right?

Ace yawned a little and looked at the now assembled tent, only to begin building a small fire in front of it, sitting down. This man did this all in record time! It was so surprising. "It's dangerous in the woods at night, but sure is pretty. I love camping, it's super neat, isn't it cool?" Ace asked, looking at Akatosh as if expecting him to sit down with him. Akatosh hadn't known Ace for even a day and this fool had gotten the shorter man more lost than lost could be.

Akatosh finally did sit beside Ace next to the campfire, pulling his knees up to his chest with the softest of frowns on his face. After a moment, he relaxed a little and nodded, sighing out with the smallest yawn from when Ace had yawned himself. "It is," he admitted. "It's… lonely, though, most of the time." He watched the fire with a reserved look to his eyes, wondering how this had all gone down so quickly.

That comment made Ace glance over to the man after he had been looking at the fire, but he nodded. "Yeah… It is. But it's cool. One thing you gotta remember is that you're never alone in the woods," the man chuckled out, relaxing a little. "So, mister, what's your name?" He asked, after a long moment of silence. He seemed extremely nonchalant about a lot of things.

Akatosh bit down on his bottom lip for a moment, before he shook his head a little. "It isn't important. Ace, right? What were you looking for in winter that made you get so lost? You said something about a tower…?" He trailed off, keeping his eyes on the dancing flames eating away both logs and darkness.

"I have a friend there, I had something to give him, but somehow I ended up in Summer instead of Winter," Ace explained, before stretching a little and then popping his neck, having admittedly noticed earlier when Akatosh grimaced at the sound, so he did so on purpose this time. The fact that Ace ended up in the wrong Season, however, barely made any sense, seeing as Ace would have had to deliberately told Joker the wrong Season to have ended up here...

Akatosh made a face at the sound Ace's neck had made, but he merely stuck his tongue out at that. He didn't really understand how the seasons worked quite yet, so he didn't question Ace too much on it at all. "That's quite the difference," he noticed, but he only laughed a little to himself, tapping his fingers idly against his own knees and hugging them even closer. Even right now and next to the fire, he still managed to feel a bit cold.

Ace grinned and nodded at that. "Yup!" The man stated quite happily, before he suddenly took his trench coat off and he threw it over Akatosh`s shoulders, knowing the Summer night was quite cold. It was very warm, and it smelt like pine needles from how much Ace spent outdoors. It was extremely comfortable, too. Despite how huge it pretty much was over the small man`s form.

The smaller man was surprised at the gesture for a moment, before his cheeks turned the softest shade of pink, and he smiled in appreciation, cuddling close to the large coat. "Th-thanks," he got out, and he rubbed his eyes a little, surprised at how tired he felt despite the day being so short. It had been a long day for Akatosh. "Hey, you haven't seen, like, an orange portal around, have you? In the woods or something?" Akatosh guessed it wouldn't hurt to ask. This guy seemed like he did a lot of exploring.

Akatosh had received a curious look, before Ace shook his head no. "No? What was it for?" He asked, not even going to ask why Akatosh was looking for it at all, just thinking that it sounded interesting.

The Breton shrugged. "It was my way home and out of Wonderland and all. The portal I came from just disappeared, and I had been hoping to come across another. But I guess not. Yet, anyway." He let out a sigh, many things on his mind.

Ace looked at the man with very large eyes, before he suddenly grabbed Akatosh by the shoulders and pinned him down to the forest floor, and then just as suddenly placed his ear above the shorter man`s left pec. He wanted to hear something. Something very important.

Akatosh's breath caught in his throat before he yelped, and he struggled against Ace with a large frown on his face, but slowly stopped in his squirming as he noticed Ace wasn't actually… doing anything. Not anything bad, at least, but Akatosh didn't understand it at all. "A-ace?" His heart was beating quickly from underneath his chest, a little sped up in surprise.

The red eyed man didn't respond at all, but his lips slowly pulled into the largest grin possible. "So... You're an outsider.." He looked up at Akatosh slowly, his hands still pinning the man down. He didn't move away from Akatosh`s chest at all, his ear refusing to move away. He.. liked the way this man's heart sounded.

Large brown eyes met Ace's red ones. The confusion was thick in them, trapped underneath their surface. "I- I g-guess?" He was a little unsettled, his heart quickening underneath Ace's ear. "Could you get off of me, maybe?" Akatosh added that bit in afterwards, squirming underneath Ace. Of course, he still had Baurus's sword strapped to his waist, but he had forgotten it in the moment, what with how awful his memory had proved to be. Sure, Akatosh was glad they had established that, but Ace was crushing him slightly and Akatosh's face was a little close to the campfire, and all around, Akatosh just happened to appreciate personal space.

The question was answered by a shake of the head, Ace`s ear pressed firmly against his chest as the man was very unwilling to move off of him, but he moved so that his knees were on either side of Akatosh`s hips so he wasn't crushing the smaller man, and his hands moved from his shoulders to his wrists, just completely keeping him against the ground. "That's so cool~! I cant believe I met two outsiders now~~!" He said with an ever so happy tune, his cheeks having the very faintest tint to them.

Akatosh finally stopped squirming when he figured it was useless, this man much too strong. His own face was slowly turning more and more red, and he stared up at the sky with a pair of heavily unamused eyes. "Wh-why are you on top of me like this, though? I'd rather you not be, if that's okay." He huffed very softly, trying to will his blush to go down and very unsuccessfully so. "Because your heart sounds so cool," Ace simply replied with, not wanting to move at all.

After a long moment of this all, Ace finally did move his ear from his chest, yet he was still pinning him down, not getting up yet. "I seriously thought you were some weird role holder or something. It's good I found out you're an outsider before I coulda` killed you!" He said just very cheerfully, his jolly grin just not leaving from his features at all. "Though I dunno how two outsiders are around. Hm.." Ace trailed off, musing to himself a bit.

Akatosh was silent, but he wasn't really scared off. He supposed this man had seemed off from the moment he met the guy to begin with. Ace got a pretty weird look sent his way, nonetheless. "Well, listen, I've kind of got a magic portal to look for, and I should probably continue doing that. Can you get off of me, Ace? Please?" He was a little tired and unsettled and all around uncomfortable, not able to do much at all what with the predicament he had found himself in.

The man took a moment before he nodded, moving so he was just straddling Akatosh`s lap as he let go of the smaller`s wrists, expecting him to run off, so he would make sure Akatosh couldn't. "It's still dangerous out there, mister, I wouldn't suggest wandering off at night." He yawned again, planning to get into the tent soon to sleep. Ace had long adventure filled days every day. Of course he got a little sleepy.

Akatosh, relieved to be able to sit up, even if it was with someone in his lap, simply glanced away. He had to make an effort to not be affected by how contagious Ace's yawning was. "I can manage." He didn't think it would be best to share a tent with this guy, despite how tired and cold he was, running around in the thin clothes Joker had somehow magically put him in. "Thanks, though," he added, and he slid off the coat Ace had let him wear and gave it back to the man, attempting to squirm out from underneath Ace afterwards.

Ace frowned a little, having been about to take the coat, before there was a small droplet of water that landed on the back of Ace`s glove, making him blink, and then another drop of water, this time landing on Akatosh`s cheek, even more water droplets falling from the sky. It began to rain, the water starting to slowly put out the campfire, and they were both about to get soaking wet, no doubt, if they stayed outside any longer. Ace, being smart enough, hurried to get to the tent, because getting sick didn't sound very fun to him right now.

Akatosh stared up at the sky at that, and he was unsure, as a part of him very badly wanted to keep trying to find a way out of Wonderland and a lot of him didn't completely trust the chances of Ace not murdering him in his sleep, but above that, Akatosh knew he wouldn't accomplish much freezing cold and soaking wet stranded out in the woods. He sucked in a long breath and finally got on all four, dragging Ace's coat in a long with him and crawling into the tent, already freezing as it was. He was grateful for the tent, at least.

Ace had two sleeping bags in the tent, and he smiled at Akatosh when the man came in as well, glad he chose not to stay in the rain. "Summer storms are crazy," he commented, before he began to take off his boots, not wanting to sleep with them on, along with the belt that had the sheath to a rather beautiful looking sword. But hey, at least Ace was leaving his weapon where Akatosh could see it. So maybe he wouldn't slit the smaller man's throat!

The Breton glanced over at the sword, and immediately, his eyes gleamed with interest at the weapon, thinking it was rather interesting and impressive, and he felt all the more appreciative that Ace had decided to leave it off his person. Akatosh supposed it was fair to say he would live another night to come. He unstrapped his own weapon from around his waist, though he kept Baurus's katana in its sheath, and he looked at the blade with something akin to sadness for the shortest of moments. He remembered when Baurus had used to wield it himself, a long time ago.

He settled back down on one of the sleeping bags, curling up a little as he shivered. By the Divines, was it cold, and Akatosh just didn't handle cold all that well to begin with. "Thanks. F-for letting me stay here." He murmured the words out after that. He really was appreciative of the other man giving him somewhere to sleep so that he wouldn't be stranded out in the rain, as anxious as he was to keep searching for a way out of this world.

The man nodded and got into his own sleeping bag, smiling happily once more. "Don't mention it." Another yawn escaped from Ace's lips after that, before he turned on his side facing away from Akatosh. Despite how cold it was, the sleeping bag was easy to warm up in, and the tent was keeping out the rain's coldness for them both. "G`night," Ace mumbled, closing his eyes, about to pass out within a few seconds.

Akatosh felt himself gradually begin to warm up, and he stared at Ace's back for a few long moments. "You, too," he finally answered, and Akatosh closed his eyes to join Ace in peaceful sleep.

*this is the most in-tents chapter ive ever read

*heh

*anyways, congrats for reading this far

*you deserve a cookie

*go get yourself a cookie