IVY

"Gah!" Leaf wiped off the water splashed in his face with his shoulder's sleeve - Ivy thought it was impractical, but she wasn't going to say that out loud. It's…not even that much water.

Leaf had insisted on fishing by hand, despite Ivy's protests that it'd probably be better if they tried to use a spear. He was confident that he didn't need to use anything else but his bare hands, and while Ivy had several doubts that it'd be efficient, she did find it vaguely amusing to watch.

Ivy let out a few laughs by accident. "Catch anything yet?"

He looked up at her and scowled - though he burst into a few chuckles upon seeing Ivy's face. "No."

"Do you want any help?" She asked once she managed to stop laughing.

Leaf shook his head, glancing back at the pool. "Nah, I don't think I need it. And I don't think you know how to fish, if I'm being honest."

Huffing, Ivy crossed her arms. "You aren't wrong, but I could be a great help if you taught me!"

His gaze went wide for a few moments. "Is that…something you want me to teach you? Because I mean, if you want me to, I can."

"Sure! It'd probably be a big help since we're probably going to find more sources of water like this." And I really don't want to be a dead weight…I want to be useful, too.

After a brief moment of silence, Leaf nodded. "Alright, I can do that. Just…not here. It isn't exactly ideal to teach you how to fish in an oasis." That makes sense, I guess. I wish he'd just teach me now, though…

Ivy leaned back, her hands scratching against the coarse sand. "Alright. But I'm half-convinced that you're just saying that because you don't want my help," She joked.

Leaf smirked, nudging her shoulder. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."

Slightly off balance, she shoved Leaf back, laughing. Leaf yelped as he fell forwards, tumbling into the water. Ivy let out a barely audible gasp. Oh moons no I just pushed him into the water, crap- He waded around in the water for a bit, catching his breath.

"Leaf, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that!"

Shrugging, Leaf stretched a bit. "It's fine. This isn't that deep, anyways. I wouldn't drown that easily, if at all."

Ivy sighed. "Still though." She watched as he drifted around in the water for a bit. "So you know how to swim, too?"

He grinned. "Yep! This isn't really much compared to swimming against a river current, though. It's pretty relaxing, honestly."

He's probably just saying it casually, She reminded herself. But part of me keeps thinking that he's just saying it to impress me. It's stupid to think about, but… Ivy groaned inwardly. She hated when she thought like that. It was confusing to think about, especially since she hadn't given it any thought at all until Daffodil teased her about her relationship with Leaf - and Wren, for that matter, but Ivy tried her best to ignore those remarks from Wren and forget about them. Why did things have to get so confusing?

Leaf splashed some water onto her legs to get her attention. "Ivy? You alright?"

"Hmm? Oh," She mumbled, glancing back at him. "I was just…thinking."

"…Did you want to talk about it? If you want to, that is."

Ivy sat up, grimacing. "I guess so. We kind of need to talk about it, anyways."

Leaf frowned, exhaling deeply. "It's about our relationship, isn't it?"

Hesitantly, Ivy nodded. "Yeah." She tucked into her legs, resting her chin on her arms. "I've just been really confused. Ever since Daffodil teased me about you, I just…really didn't know what to think? I mean, I don't mind it but I never really thought much about romance, especially with the whole thing with my dad…and I never noticed anyone being interested in me, though I'm probably just…really oblivious to it."

Taking a moment to think, Leaf placed his arms on the shore. "I get that. I really like hanging out with you, and I never thought about us like that until Daffodil mentioned that. And Wren teasing me about it, too, I suppose…the kiss didn't help much, either. It's all really confusing."

"I'm sorry! I meant for it to be on the cheek, but-" She stopped herself, laughing awkwardly. "Well, it's over with. For what it's worth, it wasn't half bad. Your breath kind of smells, though."

"My breath does not smell," He snapped. "But thanks, I guess?"

Ivy giggled softly. "You're welcome." And it really does, but…that's not a debate I want to get into. "So…do you want to settle on being just friends, maybe?"

He gave her a small smile. "Of course. I'm just glad I get to talk to you in the first place."

Ivy almost let out a breath of relief. Well, at least that's settled. For the most part, anyways. Leaf remained in the water, still searching for fish. He's still trying? That's both impressive and ridiculous, honestly.

"So…could you teach me how to swim?"

Leaf smirked. "Suuure." That's…definitely not suspicious at all.

Before Ivy could react, Leaf grabbed onto her, dragging her into the water. She let out a shriek, flailing as she struggled to stand. While she flailed around, she could've sworn she had hit Leaf on accident at least once. Even if she did, she didn't find it in her to care.

She glared at Leaf once she retained her balance. "I hate you!" She snapped, shoving him as hard as she could.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry, but I couldn't let that opportunity just go to waste!" Leaf managed to say once Ivy stopped splashing him with water.

Ivy crossed her arms. "What was that even for?"

Leaf began laughing. "Think of it as revenge."

"Because I pushed you into the water on accident, or because I called your breath gross?"

"Either works."

Laughing, she shoved him again, albeit lighter. "Well, if I'm going to be stuck in the water with you, then you might as well teach me how to fish."

He shrugged, grinning. "I can do that."

…

Wren came rushing to them once she noticed Ivy and Leaf. She burst into laughter upon getting a better look.

"What happened to you two?"

Leaf cast a smug grin in Ivy's direction. "I got sweet revenge."

Ivy rolled her eyes at him, then turned to Wren. "He was just upset that I called his breath smelly, even though it is!"

Wren didn't bother hiding her amusement. "To be fair, Leaf…I'd trust Ivy's word over yours in this case."

He scoffed. "Neither of you would know bad breath even if it hit you in the face." Oh, it has, Leaf. It has.

"Anyways…how did the fishing go?" Wren asked, though she was still holding back a few giggles.

Leaf gestured to the fish in his hands - they were wrapped in a fallen palm leaf, as neither Ivy or Leaf had wanted to touch the fish themselves. Inside was only a few fish, but enough for everyone, excluding Sky - Ivy had guessed Wren and Sky were gathering something else for him regardless. Wren took the fish, humming quietly to herself.

Leaf grimaced slightly. "…Is that enough?"

Wren nodded. "Should be. Sky and I were getting some date palms while you two were busy fishing, so we won't be having just fish."

"Oooh, I've never had those before," Ivy said, her body tingling with excitement. "I wonder what they taste like?"

Leaf shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I haven't had them, either."

Ivy took his hands in her own. "Then we can find out together!"

He smiled at her briefly, then glanced back at Wren. "I can go collect some firewood. I can say that eating raw fish is…not a good idea, speaking from personal experience."

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by 'personal experience'-" Wren began, though Leaf had already taken off. She sighed, glancing at Ivy. "I have several concerns."

"I do too," Ivy muttered. She looked over at the small clearing Wren had made - if Ivy was recalling correctly, there had been a decent amount of fallen leaves on the ground. "Oh, so that's where we're sleeping?"

Wren nodded, looking vaguely proud. "Yeah, though it isn't the best place, probably. I only felt like moving a few things."

Ivy smiled warmly at her. "Well, I still think it looks nice!"

Her cheeks flushing, Wren awkwardly returned the smile. "If you say so."

"…Are you sure that the dates are entirely edible?" Ivy asked after an awkward period of silence.

Shrugging, Wren seemed indifferent. "Eh. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." That…is a terrible plan. "Hey, it's a decent idea compared to what else I came up with. And besides…we still have those blueberries from earlier!"

For her sake, I'm not going to mention that I'm also hoping those haven't gone bad, either. I mean, they've been sitting in that bag of yours all day…mostly in the desert sun, no less.

"Is there anything else we need to do? It looks like we have almost everything covered."

Wren was quiet for a moment. "Nope, I don't think so. You can help me get started on the fire once Leaf comes back, if you really want."

Ivy raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly. "I've never tried setting a fire, but…I'd want to try, I think!"

"I'll try to make sure you don't burn yourself, then. And I'm sure Leaf and Sky will help, too." Wren glanced back at the clearing, stretching a bit as she began to make her way towards it. "I'm going to rest for a bit in the meanwhile. My everything is tired."

I can't blame her for that, She thought. It has been a pretty exhausting day. Come to think of it, I'm pretty tired myself… Ivy followed after Wren, sitting down next to her. Wren had placed her own sword next to Leaf's, which had surprised Ivy to some extent - she thought Wren would keep it on her at all times. I guess she wasn't exactly worried this time around. She frowned slightly at the swords. I wish I had something to defend myself with. And it just makes me feel…useless, not having anything to help out with, in case anything happens. Wren and Leaf have their swords, Sky is…well, a dragon regardless of whether he has fire or not. Me?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Ivy didn't particularly like dwelling on that, however. She knew too well that dwelling on the negatives of her life just made her feel more miserable, and she didn't want to burden others with her problems, especially when she felt her problems were ridiculous to complain about. Not to mention, feeling miserable is one of my least favourite things in all of Pyrrhia.

She instead focused on the sunset - various blues were melting into the orange glow the sun gave off, which shone brightly in Ivy's eyes. She didn't mind it, though - it wasn't as harsh as it was earlier, and it still was a wonderful mixture of colours, in Ivy's opinion. I can't believe I've been missing out on something like this for most of my life.

"The sunset's so pretty," She murmured to herself. "I've never gotten to see one like this, even back in the ruins."

Wren's light laughter grabbed Ivy's attention. "You…really have been sheltered from most of the surface, huh?"

Nodding, Ivy let her hands glide through the sand. "Yeah. I had to imagine everything until I was eight, I think. And even then, I think I got really lucky that Foxglove was willing to take me outside of Valor at that age."

"I couldn't imagine living like that," Wren admitted after some silence. Sky, who had been listening in on their conversation, nodded. "It's been mostly Sky and I, but even before that, I knew some things about the outside. Well, especially since I live on the surface and not underground, but you know what I mean."

Ivy shrugged. "I guess that was another thing my dad indirectly took from me." After thinking her words over, she added, "I don't really mind, though. I still got the chance to become a Wingwatcher, and I've gotten better at handling all the stuff outside. But sometimes things like the wind and sunlight can still be overwhelming for me, I guess."

Wren had a frown on her face for a while, then suddenly perked up. "Oh! I have an idea - maybe after we find that golden dragon, you could keep travelling with us? I'm sure there's places even we haven't been to yet."

"You're serious? Of course, I'd love to keep travelling with you guys!"

The smile on Wren's face simply grew wider. "Aww, thanks. I promise I'll try to take you to all the places on Pyrrhia - or at least, all the ones I can."

Ivy beamed, hugging Wren. "No, thank you! This is amazing!"

Foot steps could be heard nearing them as they continued talking. Ivy turned to see Leaf walking towards them, a bundle of tree bark in his hands. He set them down in front of him, sitting down.

"Did I miss anything, or…?"

"Wren just promised she'd let me keep travelling with her and Sky even after we find the golden dragon!" She exclaimed, her heart racing. I can't believe she actually suggested that! "I can't wait to see all of Pyrrhia!"

Leaf smiled. "I'm glad you have something in mind while we search for the golden dragon, then."

What does that mean? "Is there something you had in mind, Leaf?" She eventually asked, unsure how to word her question.

He shrugged, now laying on the ground. "I'm just unsure about what I want to do after this, I guess. Or how to do it." Letting out a sigh, he shut his eyes. "Don't worry about me, though. I'm probably going to have something in mind once this is over."

That just makes me worry more! Ivy didn't bother with arguing - Leaf didn't seem to be in the mood for it, and neither was Ivy herself. And I want to believe he'll figure something out by the time we find her. She instead curled up into a position where she could rest her head on Wren's shoulder, exhaling softly. Her gaze remained on the sunset.

Even though things are stressful right now, the world always looks so beautiful. I wish I was able to look at the sunset like this all the time…maybe that would've been more soothing to watch after mom and dad's fights instead of imagining it? Or maybe the winds would distract me more from dad's anger when it's too much to handle?

…I wish dad didn't try to steal that treasure. And I wish that the dragon attack never happened. I really wish I didn't have to live in hiding like that because of him, and have to miss so many amazing things like this.

a/n: if you are wondering why i finished this early it's because i have had this scene in my head for weeks

also sort of apologising in advance for the fact that the next two chapters are also sort of filler like this one (fourteen less so for various reasons as it's Forest's POV but it's still sort of filler ig)