Reviews :

BannanaSammich : Thank you SO MUCH! And yes! School is going great :D Thanks for asking! I don't want to spoil anything, but I haven't forgotten about that grumpy old bag of scales... ;)

Snake557 : Hey, thank you so much. I appreciate it a lot! It's riveting, for sure, but I'm just grateful I can sit and get all of this off my chest, no matter what. It's clearly too much for me to handle haha

Lyssdoodle : Wow, thank you, seriously. SO MUCH. Thank you. That's encouraging to hear!

chuckiboo : I'm HONORED! Thank you! I'm glad you appreciated that, his dependency is expanded on further, in this chapter! He gets a good dose of TLC from all his loved ones :D

faolan1230 : That really means a lot to me, seriously. I'm honored to have those of you stick by me and cheer me on. It's really motivating! Thank you!


Song Listened To :

Jake's First Flight by James Horner (first half)

Still Asleep by Emily Rubye

Aladar and Neera by James Newton Howard


*Chapter 237*

"OHH what are those, over there?!" Chester barked in whole, unadulterated happiness as he clumsily burst out of the common room, and straight onto the sand. He squinted as the sunshine hit his fresh eyes, everyone had now eagerly gathered to experience this brand new world with Chester. Chester lofted his happy gaze over his shoulder and grinned a fang-filled smile, "Those little... I don't know... They're out there, they have wings too!"

"Seagulls," Berri giggled as she crossed her arms, she wore a lazy white t-shirt and torn jeans that were cut below her knees. Her bare feet stepped out onto the warm sand with Chester, and alongside the whole vacation group that had come to lazily join the fun, Tessa invited the rest of the flyers out to partake in Chester's new installment. Although Wren, Turbo, Mara and Lash all eagerly hung nearby Berri and Chester, they gave the two a polite amount of distance; it was clear that Berri and Chester had fallen into a new bout of stronger chemistry, as his rider, she felt obligated to figuratively take him under her wing, for once. She, too, squinted and peered out to the incredible, flat, sprawling shoreline, equally littlered with a flock of seagulls, "They're annoying, though, they're the things we keep trying to swat away fi we bring lunch out to the sand."

"Ohh, THOSE are seagulls," Chester muttered in irritation, "What color are they? Let's chase 'em."

"They're white," Berri erupted with kind laughter she flinched as Lickity suddenly barreled out to the sand, flopped in a haphazard sprawl of wings and tail sails, she began to fervently give herself a dust bath alongside a huge grin.

"Ohhh this sand is so soft," Lickity's voice grumbled; due to her mane being so thick and goofy, dust baths were the only way to get clean.

"You're gunna be picking sand out of your nose for the next week, if you're not careful, love," Boss's much deeper voice reverberated in cranky, smiling dismay as his bigger body sauntered past his mate.

"That's what I have you for," Lickity chimed in teasing sassiness.

"Thank User I got my scaly pelt from my dad," Royal muttered through his teeth, to Balba, as now all the flyers stepped out onto the sand, eventually everyone came outside and fell into separate conversations about the topic at hand, what lunch entailed, the jam session to be had, and the incredibly fun day ahead.

Although Berri could hear Turbo and her father chitchatting, Tatum and Koko giggling about aimless jokes and topics, and the itch to join in on her familial fun tugged at the back of her brain, she eagerly kept her eyes to Chester and felt her heart soar, the fact that his little world now expanded into the girth of an atomic bomb's explosion. Berri rubbed her chin and eyed Chester's spine; she knew she was too chicken to fly solo, though she wondered how riding would be now that she didn't have to be in control for the whole time. She beamed an excited smile and skipped to catch up to Chester, and though he was previously focused on the seagulls, he almost now couldn't pick one thing to focus on. Berri approached Chester and gently pat his side, his wings were daintily sprawled with excitement. She looked as if she was prepare dto mount Chester's spine, though she couldn't do so without him bending down, due to the top of Berri's head coming level with Chester's shoulder blades.

"Wanna go for a run, bud?" Berri chimed in eagerness, Chester perked his ears and looked over his shoulder, and with confused hesitancy, he bent down so Berri could climb aboard, bareback.

"... Whoa, we... We can do our running routines without me running into anything, now," Chester stated in a low voice of humbled surprise, his lovely, long wolf-like ears perked in an unending amount of happiness as he stood a little taller, a little more confident, he shifted on his feet and urgently looked about the endless sprawl of sanding running room, "I'm FREE!"

"WHOA Chess," Berri staggered with a hard giggle as she firmly saddled herself to Chester's spine, though as Chester's much bigger, boisterous body suddenly jolted like lightning in another direction, in which Berri didn't cue to nor was prepared for, she bugged her eyes and grappled Chester's mane in a hard hit of realization.

She had been in control of this fabulous creature for so long, and although the idea of letting go of said control made her feel worried, she desperately did what she could to fall in sync with Chester's new ability, once more, sans coding. She grimaced and did everything to intuitively expect his next move, though with a bumbling, excitable puppy, such is Chester, she felt worry coat her soul, she now had to navigate how to go about steering this entirely free thinking, free roaming being. With thoughts that hit her brain, rapid fire, all at once, she quickly sagged a little and understood that she should likely ease up and that riding lessons would come eventually. She breathed a giggle and was glad Chester's movement was a now a little less jarring, due to understanding that Berri was now doing what she could to stay alive.

"OKAY so, the ocean is blue, the sky is blue," Chester rattled off, though Berri nervously looked over her shoulder and took note that the two were easily trotting a fair distance away from her family. She huffed a giggle and opened her mouth to suggest they head back, so to continue aiding Chester in learning all about his surroundings, though Chester blurt a laugh and looked at Berri over his shoulder as his heavy trotting came to a halt, "Besides your hair, what else is blue?"

"What else is blue?" Berri wondered, though she furrowed her eyebrows and looked about in confusion before the blue, on Chester's pelt and spine, easily stuck out. She giggled and rubbed the back of Chester's shoulder blades, near her wider straddle, "YOU have blue on you, did you know that?"

"I do?" Chester barked in surprise, he wretched his neck, to look over his shoulder, though he opted to sprawling his wing and took note of the huge splash of blue all over his dorsal. He huffed an excited chuckle, though furrowed his brow and peered back to his parents, far across the stretch and well out of earshot, "Wait... My colors don't match my parents..."

"No, but they match your grandfather's coat," Berri sighed wistfully, she looked out to Sugar Rush's glorious ocean and smiled as the cool ocean breeze licked their faces, "Orion was a bright orange chameleon with blue all over his back. I've never seen him, personally, but... I DO have a scale from his hide."

"You do? Where?" Chester wondered, though Berri reached behind her neck, unlatched the dainty necklace Turbo had gifted her and dangled it in front of Chester's line of sight, so he could see. He softened and bobbed a nod in awestruck delight, though he squinted and took note of the words on the scale, "Wait, what's those markings in the middle?"

"It says 'here and now', Turbo made me this necklace... He crafted the scale into a guitar pick, remember?" Berri stated cutely, Chester nodded in remembrance and smiled in confusion, though Berri sagged in teasing dread, "... User, I forgot, you don't know how to read English."

"What's English?" Chester wondered, to which Berri safely fastened her necklace around her neck once more, she breathed a giggle of mild dread and sighed.

"It's the language we're speaking, right now," Berri grumbled with a wide smile, her eager eyes soaked up the gaping, wild blue before the two, she could feel a strange itch in her heart, something she grimaced at and nervously stuffed. She shook her head and lulled her eyes closed, "I can teach you to read, it just... Might take a hot minute. It's not the easiest thing to do."

"I didn't realize my new eyesight came with homework," Chester mumbled as he finally stood to correction, though he eyed the flock of seagulls, from previously, and felt a wide, eager little grin cross his face in mischievous delight, "C'mon, Bear, lemme chase those seagulls. I'm dying."

"Literally NO one is stopping you," Berri urged with a nervous giggle, she grappled Chester's mane and firmly readied herself, though she choked a hard laugh as Chester suddenly jolted forward like a bolt of lightning. Berri choked a cute noise of discombobulated warmth, she did what she could to get situated on Chester's spine as if he was all saddled and geared up. She furrowed her eyebrows and felt a pang of nervousness strike her heart the more and more Chester's confident, powerful hoof-like plows into the sand grew heavier and more confident, a sprint of self guided speed that Berri could practically envision turning into full flight. Over the wind, she struggled to get words out, "Ch-chester, lets... Take it easy for a second."

"Berri, I'm running!" Chester whooped over her worries unknowingly, he heavily panted a noise of elated desire, the power in his spine and body grew more and more fervent with energy, and as Berri's eyes peered over the top of Chester's quick bob of a skull and mane, she felt her pupils tighten.

Like the universe tenderly leaned down and kissed Berri atop the crown of her head, she felt a memory come flooding back to her retinas. She gasped a small breath and felt her fresh, rosy coding surge through her with an ironic swish of nostalgic newness, as if the files and files of her memories enjoyed this rare sensation of deja vu. Like it was yesterday, she could see the snowy palace lot before her, the white sand of Sugar Sun Island's glorious sprawl burned hot, confused goosebumps all over Berri's arms, and like floating through a dream, she could see Chester's very first bout of coded running. As if a jigsaw that finally fell into place, to complete the puzzle, Berri huffed Chester's name in a spark of now terrified readiness, and as Chester's powerful figure sprinted ahead through the now much bigger flock of seagulls, she could swear he was leaping face first into an alternate reality. With the caw of angry birds, the white glow of haphazard flapping to clear Chester's warpath, Berri felt her pupils tighten at the sheer vastness of ocean directly ahead, and it was here did she understand she no longer had any form of control or say.

Berri eagle-eyed the crystal clear waves that came crashing their way, though with the diligent sprawl of Chester's wings, in her peripheral, Berri grit her teeth, grappled Chester's mane and felt the strange dipping sensation, in her stomach, that accompanied Chester's leap to clear the ground. With strong muscles that weren't used to being properly used, Chester rocketed forward in a puff of sand, wind and sea, and with the sudden speed and elevation gained, Berri choked a surprise noise and now urgently grappled her arms about Chester's neck. As she cautiously opened her eyes, she gasped in thrilled terror at the sheer fact that they were becoming level with the cliffside clearings, the resort homes behind her were now becoming specks in the sand, and with said rush of wind and atmosphere to her face, Berri suddenly felt alive within her entirety, as if this was the only thing left missing from her life. With renewed excitement, Berri sat up a little straighter and hollered a noise of pure glee out to the sky before the two, and as Chester's chuckles could be heard over the wind, Berri grinned in riled delight and did what she could to find a tighter riding position aboard Chester's easy glide.

"Whoa, whoa, there he goes!" Turbo shouted as he firmly pointed out to the ocean, in which Chester's glistening, gorgeous orange pelt was now soaring away, with Berri aboard.

"Hell yeah, NOW we're talkin'," Tessa grunted excitedly as she leaped out of the lounge chair she was currently resting in; like clockwork, Lickity urgently got to her paws, as well.

"Crap, missed our mark," Boss's deep voice grumbled with a sneaky little smile, and though everyone now looked confused as to just what was going on, all five flyers animated with life, abundant with sprawled wings and firm trots out further into the sand.

Theo grinned in delight and crossed his arms as everyone happily watched the flyers, and Tessa, rush to hopefully meet up with Chester in the sky, though he jolted in surprise the second he could see Tatum hesitate to step out. She stopped herself, hugged her arms to her chest and muttered a silent, contemplative notion to herself, though as Theo put two and two together, he lovingly gripped Tatum's shoulder and made her look at him. She peered up to him through confused, glossy maroon eyes, in which Theo knew she wanted so desperately to join the fun in the sky, having the ability to do so. Theo bobbed a nod and urgently gestured out to the flyers, who were now leaving the island's sand.

"Go, go! Y'got wings, I know I'd join if I did, as well," Theo rushed, though everyone urgently peered to the cute situation unfolding. Tatum opened her mouth with a shy, unexpected little smile, and though she faltered and looked as if she was going to wonder aloud if this was appropriate, though Theo grunted and cutely began to lead her out into the sand, "Go, they're leaving without you, go, babe. Fly, fly!"

Tatum bounced on her feet a little, gave Theo a grateful, humbled little smile and finally cued her wings to fully reveal. With a pretty decent sized wing span, Tatum easily leaped into the air and did whatever she could to gain speed. After a few firm flaps, she was easily off, nearly leaving a jet-stream in her wake. Theo cupped his hand over his eyebrows and eagerly watched her gorgeous sprawl of wings soar away, and as the sand and dust finally settled, Theo sagged into himself and eased a dreamy smile out to the horizon. He flinched the second a warm, firm pat came down to his right shoulder, and as he turned to cutely catch eyes with Turbo, both men knowingly chuckled in grief-stricken delight.

"I'd say we're probably the luckiest men alive," Turbo mumbled warmly to Theo, in which he bobbed a nod and crossed his arms.

"And then some," Theo returned with his deep voice, both boys cutely watched their pack of wild things fly off into the midday sun.

With a wide smile that glimmered across Berri's cheeks, she grinned, unabated, her brilliant blue eyes hooked to the horizon of Sugar Rush's glorious ocean. As the ground beneath seemed to bevel, Berri gasped and took in the whole of everything going on around her. She flinched as Chester's massive, beautiful sprawl of a wingspan heaved downwards with a slow, confident flap, and as he banked, the speckles of hot blue on his pelt seemingly twinkled against the minty teal sky. Like a splash of vivid warmth across a canvas of cool blue, Chester heaved yet another firm flap and began to gain speed. Berri huffed a hard giggle and did what she could to saddle herself to Chester's spine, like what she would always do amidst their running lessons, though as she hunkered down and peered atop Chester's darker red mane and forehead, she shook her head in soft surprise and huffed Chester a bewildered notion of pure awe.

"This is what we've been missing, Chess," Berri breathed above the soft wind that coat Chester's glorious puffs of orange fur, down his spine, the ripple of Berri's beautiful blue hair, Berri only barely uttered a continuation as Chester's powerful, confident body fell into the rhythm of flying, something he was truly born for, "Remind me to thank Turbo for the rest of my life."

"You're telling me!" Chester barked happily, though his sharp attention suddenly dart down and diagonal of him, as did Berri's.

Berri gasped a little and quickly noticed Tatum's much smaller wingspan keeping in tow with Chester, though as Berri sat up to potentially call out to her, she flinched in sharp surprise as the sound of hard down-flaps could be heard, outside of Chester's steady glide. Berri raised her eyebrows in hot surprise and whirled her attention over her shoulder. In a perfectly symmetrical show of pure unison, Lickity, Royal, Balba, Marble and Boss all hovered in a V formation, with Chester tight at the lead. Their incredible colors, the pop of vivid vibrance against Sugar Rush's wild blue, the steady glides all six flyers, including Tatum, now smoothly hovered in cued to Berri that this was a solidifying formation to honor Chester, to keep him at the forefront, the very idea of Chester officially coming into his own and joining the ranks. Berri felt her skin prickle with familair knowing as she cutely caught eyes with her mother, who was diligently aboard Lickity, and although Lickity was the fastest flyer in their group, Berri turned to face the world, beyond Chester's snout, and felt further floored that Tessa was allowing Berri and Chester to confidently lead the way.

As the six flyers easily coasted away from the resort houses, with Tatum now hovering tightly above Chester, they eventually glided across flat, gorgeous plains atop the cliffsides they were previously surrounded by. With beautiful, jagged, rocky candy cliffs and splays of crystal blue water that poured down into the oceans from waterfalls, Chester huffed a hard laugh as he splayed in and out of the water a bit, with every single flyer happily and playfully following suit. Chester beamed a fang-filled smile and continued to glance over his shoulder. As if the mere sight of seeing his family's gorgeous splays of wings and tails, their majestic, larger, colorful bodies glinting the sunshine off of their now wet bodies, they weaved in and out of the spouts of water before Chester finally returned his gaze ahead and grinned in scheming, floored excitement. With a firmer tuck of his wings and a steep, upward angle that now rocketed him in a bank up the cliffside, he and everyone else firmly popped out of the little waterfall ravine they had smoothly glided through with bouts of roars and excited, whooping calls out to the clear atmosphere they had finally dove into.

Soaring tight over grasslands that eventually leveled out to the Northern end of Sugar Sun Island, they came into the dregs of Sugar Sun City, a decent sprawl of a metropolis, and though it wasn't nearly as large as Orion City, it still had a very real amount of distance. With bridges and waterways that served this oceanic city well, Berri sat up a little higher and cutely grinned down to the city as they all eagerly soared over skyscrapers and plane towers galore, a tight unison that Chester kept with his family in tow. Berri felt a rush of understanding hit her skin as she caught sight of her mother, once more. The Queen of this very land, aboard the fastest dragon Arcade has ever seen, Berri narrowed her gaze and allowed her stare of unadulterated pride soak through the whip of her beautiful blue hair. The way her mother held an easy going, confident posture full of pride, the way her eyes smiled down upon her glorious land, Berri softly peered across the vast amount of Sugar Sun's incredible city with the same roaring fire of passion, the same fervor to diligently protect this land, to follow tight in her mother's footsteps. She could swear her heart had wings, in this very instance, the synchronicity of pure teamwork, the flight formation that never wavered, with Chester and Berri tight at the lead, Berri lulled her eyes closed and could swear she was invincible in this very instance.

After about fifteen minutes of Chester diligently leading the clan any which way he wanted, anywhere his eyes could soak up shapes and color, the six dragons, Tatum, Berri and Tessa finally began to swing on back to their resort destination. As they easily float past the familiar waterfalls, through the cliffside and banked tight to their private beach, Chester lined himself up with the shoreline as if a plane coming in for a landing. As his wings began to lightly billow, like a parachute with caught air, he softly came to a float down to the ground before his strong legs caught him into the pillowy sand with a firm gallop. After a moment, he finally came to a slow trot about fifty feet from the common room's back patio, and with every single flyer easily coming in for a landing behind and about Chester, everyone happily came flooding out of the common room's shelter and patio, so to eagerly congratulate Chester on this brand new venture. Berri beamed the widest smile her face could afford and urgently began to rub and pat Chester's neck.

"Holy User, Chester," Berri eased through a trembling sigh, her hair was wind whipped, though the twinkle in both her's and Chester's eyes was that of unadulterated glee.

"We didn't even see you guys take off, we just looked over and Chester was nearly long gone!" Theo blurt with a hard laugh as he urgently came running over, alongside everyone else, though with a startled jolt, Tatum softly came to a landing near his directed path in the sand.

He raised his eyebrows in collected surprise, and though he was en-route to overflowing Berri and Chester with his heart full of excitement, he eagerly began to redirect it to Tatum, someone of which was now his top priority. He assessed her beautiful face and felt a roll of shock come over him. Along the flight, Tatum had successfully evolved, something her species usually did, a molt of an old life, an involuntary act that only happens once. Theo held his hand to his chest in unadulterated surprise, though as everyone loved on Berri and Chester for a moment, everyone began to cue to the difference out before them. At once, a roll of cute notions and coos about Tatum's brand new exterior appearance was what filled the gaps of confused silence. Tatum furrowed her eyebrows in soft confusion, though as she looked down to her hands, body and arms, she bugged her eyes and urgently peered up into Theo's eyes, which were glossed with enchanted wonder.

What was darker, rosy skin and pale pink hair was now an incredibly beautiful creature with darker, much more muted rosy-grey skin and stark white hair. The previous little ruffles of markings, down her arms, were now bold, dark grey patterns of curious stripes and beautiful, intricate markings. Tatum's much more beautiful, mature disposition eked of glowing pride, her wingspan easily took on the same distinctive features, as well. Tatum finally scoffed a surprised breath, took one look at her arms, once more, and firmly held her hands into her hair, which was now nearly buzzcut to her head in razor sharp strands of lovely, white goodness. She barked an excited laugh as everyone loudly began to coo excited, shocked notions in her direction.

"Y-You...!" Theo shook his head, he eyed her in whole entire, flabbergasted shock, and though he looked as if he couldn't bounce back, it was obvious he was over the moon due to the redness of his cheeks. Tatum finally gained on him a little and allowed her much tinier hands to soak into his as they smiled into each others eyes, "Y-you look... WOW."

"I-I had NO idea flying around would cause for my molt, like this," Tatum grinned in pure glee, she glowed, and although everyone looked as if they were delightfully stunned and had no idea how any of this could've come about, Tessa's much sharper intuition budged into the group; she waggled her finger as she remained aboard Lickity's spine, as everyone huddled around.

"Your species endures a single molt from adolescence into a more mature version of adulthood, amidst an important milestone, right?" Tessa inquired kindly as her and Theo gripped their hands in one another's and grinned up to Tessa's kind face. Tatum nodded as Berri dismounted Chester's spine and cutely got close, so to inspect, but far enough away to allow Tatum and Theo their moment, "Methinks... You had your first flight with a family clan. YOUR family clan..."

Tatum raised her eyebrows and softly looked about to all six dragons about her, littered with the group of lovely individuals she had come to know and love. Each dragon stood on powerful legs, gorgeous wingspans that now were tucked to their incredibly colorful bodies, all beasts of sheer power, a magnitude of smarts and agility, though her eyes finally trained to Berri's and Chester's kind, elated smiles and eyes. She scoffed a small little giggle as tears welled in her eyes, and as she finally glossed her aimless gaze to Theo's chest, she tried not to crumple.

"I-I didn't learn to fly until after my game was unplugged, I never got a chance to fly with my dad, or anything," Tatum admitted gently, to which Theo frowned and squeezed her little hands tighter.

"We're your family, now," Berri lovingly assured, and as Tatum's teary, grateful eyes peered to her, she side-eyed Tatum with an overflow of girly adoration, "It was so cool to see you in your prime, like that. You owned the skies, with us."

"And kept up," Lickity's mumbly voice assured with a show of impress, to which each dragon equally mumbled said notions of cute shock.

"A feat," Boss's much deeper voice grumbled.

"You already were welcomed to the family, with that swap," Chester barked with a wide smile, as everyone easily cued in, though Zed hurried to furrow his brow and shoot his nephew a look of pure tease.

"You two swapped?" Zed barked in incredulous disbelief, to which Theo scrunched and pleadingly peered to his uncle.

"Uh... Pl-please don't tell me parents, yet," Theo pleaded, and as the group erupted with laughter, Berri lovingly joined Tatum and Theo in their bubble, once and for all.

"C'mon... We all got a good flight in, let's jam out," Berri encouraged with a giggle as Theo and Tatum eased warm, excited smiles in her direction. Berri cocked an eyebrow and gestured to Tatum kindly, "Methinks you'd want to be lead singer, this go-around?"

"Me? C'mon, you've been dying to keep that position," Tatum ogled in humble softness, to which Berri shook her head and nudged Tatum's arm.

"You're family, we can share," Berri assured in a tone of sunny nonchalance, the way the ocean breeze rippled her beautiful hair, the envelope of Sugar Sun's lovely ambience about the group of camaraderie she was in.

"PLEASE, jam session before Turbo tries to run away, now, go-go-go," Wren rushed through a stifle of a laugh as he began to urgently shoo Turbo towards the common room's patio, in which he grinned in hard annoyance.

"I'm NOT gunna run away!" Turbo cried with a hard laugh as both boys began to bicker, and with the overflow of warmth that continued to be given to Tatum, Berri and Chester, for a job well done in all aspects, everyone's footwork began to mosey towards their landing spot for the day, a cozy bubble of warmth Berri was certain she'd never ever want to leave.

As the sunny afternoon so diligently carried on to the promise of a glorious, sparkling sunset on the water, the group did absolutely everything they could to get their hands on instruments, sound equipment, the whole works. Although it was a chore to get everything situated, what resulted were hours of endless songs, electrified solos, song requests, karaoke and never-ending laughter. With glorious music that hit off the cliffsides their private resort was safely nestled into, the group of twelve individuals, which now included six dragons, did whatever they could to forget their worries, to lounge in the sand, to get up and sing and dance, to trade instruments and poke fun at one another, the whole of their bubble was alive with sunny love. With small breaks and gaps taken so to each delicious food and toast to good times, Berri cutely called over her bare shoulder that she'd return, and with the flick of her blue hair, she skipped her bare feet into the common room's lovely, though empty husk of dim love.

Although sunset was about an hour away, and the place was still alive with light, since everyone had been outside for so long, the common room's lights were off. As Berri's ears attuned to the much quieter atmosphere in the common room, she could still hear Wren awkwardly strumming on her electric guitar as Theo, Lash and Nox howled with laughter. Berri grimaced with the silly note fumbles and changes Wren did, the guitar not being something he's familiar with; she hustled into the darker kitchen, the only lights being the little ambience lights the appliances had to give, alongside the boast of a lovely, dim stove light. She squinted as she yanked open the fridge, her sandy feet scrunched against the tiles, and as the blinding light of the fridge splayed her front side, she quickly reached in, yanked out a bottle of her favorite hard seltzer and whirled in the act of closing the fridge and returning to the party. Mid-turn, the light from the fridge escaped, leaving only the sudden, dim, peachy glow she was not expecting to see upon whirling in the direction of the party.

"... Turbo!" Berri huffed quietly as she clutched her chest and backstepped into the now closed fridge, she exhaled a trembling breath and finally grinned in cheeky delight as Turbo stood hovered near the kitchen island, having hovered in after her, unheard and unseen. She giggled nervously and tucked her glorious hair behind her ears, "Y-You okay? For User's sake, you scared me."

"Sorry," Turbo mumbled cutely, he cocked an eyebrow and bashfully looked off, though his peachy eyes trailed to hers once more; although not a stark, vivid punch of peachy goodness he usually would sport, amidst finding something seductive and cheeky to say, they still held promise. Berri furrowed her brow in a soft rise of confusion the second she could see a more muted show of nervousness cloak Turbo's previously bubbly, hyper and outgoing demeanor, from the party. Turbo now began to show a full sport of shy nervousness, as if he was now unsure of himself. He rubbed the back of his head and cutely peered to Berri, "I-I... I just thought I'd catch you, for a second. I've been doing absolutely everything I can to not steal you away, anymore."

"Yeah, Wren would kill you. I think the only thing we can currently get away with is a hug and a kiss," Berri mumbled cutely, she slowly sauntered closer to Turbo as he hung near the corner of the island's counter. He remained still with one hand on the counter, and as Berri approached and leaned the front of her hip into the counter, and faced Turbo, she crossed her arms and shyly eyed him, "You, uh... You doing okay, babe? Your eyes are, well..."

"Y-Yeah, I think I'm okay," Turbo mumbled nervously, and although his peachy gaze remained, he finally narrowed his eyes in hot confusion and firmly remembered what Zed had said to him earlier this morning. He sagged his shoulders a little and felt a wave of honesty hit him dead between the eyes, and although he was well aware he was fully attracted to Berri and would do anything to sweep her away for another long evening of eventful love-making, he began to feel a weird dip into carnal urges that was borderline desperation, although seemingly a trend, as of late, he felt it wildly unlike him. Turbo's eyes held tight with Berri's, and although he was aware to keep a sharp eye on this weird bout of coded dependency he had fallen into, he felt his heart surge with hot confusion as the words came bubbling up from his heart. His hushed, deep voice carried on as the group outside continued to banter and laugh, "W-We... Swapped like almost four times yesterday, and I still feel as if it's not enough."

"... Seriously?" Berri prod nervously, and though their swapped codes usually were so diligent on cueing the other in on just what was going on, amidst their coding, her eyes aimlessly glossed Turbo's chest and wondered just how he was able to mask this all. She peered hard into Turbo's eyes, which now were beginning to lose that peachy glow and segue right into a muted show of minty wariness, "I-I mean... Bo, don't get me wrong, it's... Amazing, incredible... YOU'RE incredible. I just... I-I love swapping with you, but I enjoy the experience, like... Actually interacting with you."

"I feel, like... Desperate for it," Turbo revealed cautiously, his tone was hushed, he shyly peered into Berri's eyes and was well aware this was all safe with her. He shook his head and remained still, their quiet conversation pressed on in the dimly lit kitchen, "Like, I'd... Do anything to get that swap, right now. I'm willing to endure Wren's wrath."

"That's... HUGE cause Wren is not one to just betray, his feelings, and trust, are super fragile in that aspect," Berri cautioned through the grit of her teeth, though she furrowed her brow and tenderly reached a hand out to Turbo's lower arm, "Babe, it's not... GOING anywhere, we can swap every day, if you need? I hope you're not thinking I'm going to like... Keep it from you, or anything. I just think there should probably be healthy boundaries, right?"

"I-I totally agree, I just can't... Shake this feeling, I don't even know what to call it," Turbo mumbled sorrowfully, he rubbed his forehead and looked as if he was becoming unglued a little, as if to be out of sorts. He heaved a shaky breath and urgently rubbed his temple as he continued on, "I-It's almost as if my coding is telling me to keep getting in that refresh, because... I-I just never know when it'll... Well..."

"... When it'll what?" Berri prod in now concerned confusion, she shook her head and lovingly gripped Turbo's right upper arm as they hovered close, though his fragile eye contact held to hers in a new swathe of rising sorrow, "Are you nervous something's going to happen and you won't get a refresh?"

"I guess... Now that you say something, now that it's all put into words," Turbo staggered, his aimless gaze glossed the counter and appliances further behind Berri, in searching, though he scoffed a silent, incredulous little laugh to himself and shook his head in deflating disbelief. As shyly and quietly as he could reveal, the tenderness of his heart wasn't something he ever put on display with the prospect of onlookers prodding into their bubble, though he bravely continued on as his eyes began to dip to a color a little deeper than the wary minty they were held at, "I'm... I'm scared."

Berri frowned and nearly flinched at his tender words. She froze and held Turbo's warm arm in her hand, and as the two held tight eye contact, Berri so gently shook her head, as if to insinuate to Turbo that now she could never see him being afraid of anything, ever. In a silent scoff of further disbelief, she allowed Turbo's worry to gloss over her, and it was in this instance did she understand Turbo had been very skillful at putting up a confident, assured front of certainty. Berri's shoulders began to sag with dread as Turbo's gentle, defeated gaze began to turn that dreaded, sorrowful tint of gloomy blue, one of which she was desperate to never see, ever again. The same blue her skin was soaked in the day she had temporarily broke up with him, she felt her heart begin to surge in rapid fire confusion, though she remained still and was well aware she was now the stronghold he needed, the shoulder he was desperate for, and she was adamant to give back. With a squeeze to his arm, she remained solid, assuring Turbo that she wasn't going anywhere until he was happy again.

"Why are you scared, baby?" Berri's whisper of loving goodness cloaked over Turbo like a bear hug, and it was here did the dart of his glorious, beautiful blue gaze begin to well with tears. He exhaled a shaky breath and finally looked away, and though the tears hovered in his now vividly blue eyes, he grimaced and shook his head in dreaded realization.

"The last time I swapped, I didn't realize what I had until it was gone... That level of security," Turbo's deep voice crackled, and it was even further to Berri's shock that Turbo was getting entirely choked up, the segue from a desperate show of peachy emotion was only subconsciously masking a desperate blue underneath, the desperation for reassurance and love, Turbo's shaky voice pressed on, "I... Went so long without any shred of camaraderie, even Lash didn't understand. I'm just..."

Berri felt her heart sink in pure dread the second Turbo grimaced a small choke of a noise, as if to assure he was now doomed at doing what he could to compose himself. He shut his eyes tight, and with such, tears spilled down his cheeks. He grappled his forehead and showed his teeth, as if to express disdain towards himself. He inhaled a trembling breath, exhaled a silent little noise of a cry, an attempt to clear his throat and keep it together, though he was failing miserably. He finally reopened his now vividly glowing, dark blue eyes and was well aware he couldn't keep this front up any longer than what he had.

"Now that I've gained back everything, I just..." Turbo's deep, now nasally voice crackled with uncertainty, he shook his head as more tears gathered in his eyes, the shared look of sorrowful desperation now had the both of them superglued in this surreal moment of Turbo's pure vulnerability. He grimaced and narrowed his gaze into Berri's, "I-I... I don't know what I'd do without any of this. Without you..."

"You don't have to wonder, Turbo," Berri's warm voice lilted in a show of full sorrow, the fact that he was quietly unloading on the coattails of their fun jam session, she was shocked just how easily he had masked this issue he was having, how cloaked his insecurities were. Before too much time could pass, Berri straightened her posture and firmly soaked into Turbo's presence for a hug, though she jolted as his strong arms came about her shoulders in a grapple of a squeeze. Berri firmly sagged her arms about Turbo's middle and kept him gripped, she nuzzled her face into the broad of Turbo's left shoulder and felt her heart sink harder than ever before as she pressed on, "I'm not going anywhere, NONE of us are..."

"No one knows that," Turbo's deep voice trembled, he grit his teeth and pushed his nose and forehead into Berri's little shoulder, and in the security of her tight embrace, he coughed a small, silent cry and allowed his back and shoulders to heave with the onslaught of emotion that hit him between the eyes.

Berri raised her eyebrows in hot concern and firmly rubbed his lower back, though just as she was due to kindly pulling Turbo into another room, one that could leave them to sort this behind closed doors, she raised her eyebrows in surprise and noted that her father had previously strolled in, though his meander turned into a stroll of pure shock and caution. Although Zed looked as if he was about to turn-heel and leave the two to their needed privacy, he furrowed his brow and very patiently began to approach, with his and Berri's eyes locked. Although Berri had the knee-jerk reaction to politely shoo her father away and assure that Turbo likely didn't want Zed seeing him in this state, she remained put and wondered if he could be of help, here. Berri lovingly rubbed up and down Turbo's back, though as Zed silently pressed closer to Turbo's backside, he narrowed his gaze, stuck his neck out a little and did whatever he could to obviously eavesdrop in on what Turbo was now uttering into Berri's neck.

"I-It just takes one unplug, one... One game over outside of Sugar Rush," Turbo's quiet voice pressed on through desperate attempts to steady his breathing, he grit his teeth in a grimace of further agony and buried his face into the top of Berri's shoulder as he squeezed her harder, "I already lost the entirety of my home, I... I've already been through SO much pain. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, I just..."

"I'm here, I'm here," Berri's shaky voice warily assured, her glassy eyes peered to her father's in bashful uncertainty, and as her and Zed held eye contact, Turbo choked another outward cry and clutched Berri to him in a trembling overload of sorrow that had been hanging on him for awhile now. Berri shook her head and firmly peered to her father in desperation, she made sure to hold Turbo close, "How... HOW could I miss this? I'd've given you a world of reassurance SO long ago..."

"I-I finally have family... I can't lose you, I can't lose anyone, here," Turbo staggered through his tears, and as Zed's eyes patiently assessed the beautiful tattoos on Turbo's back, he firmly was reminded of the secretive stressor that said tattoo was beautiful crafted about, between his strong, bare shoulder blades.

Zed heaved a long, hot sigh through his nose and felt his heart soar with the sheer amount of vulnerability Turbo was expressing, and though he was sure only him and Berri were in on this nonsense, a few figures to Zed's right caught his eye. Zed looked over his shoulder and could see nearly everyone cautiously hanging near the gape of the common room's patio entrance, though as Tessa silently shuffled in before everyone, all three of Turbo's brothers urgently followed. With each boy sporting a proper glow of minty nervousness, Zed was grateful the group remained quiet, though as Turbo's trembling voice pressed on, Zed inhaled a readied breath and allowed his silver circuits to soak to the forefront of the skin on his palm.

"I-I only just gained all of my brothers back, it's like a dream I never want to be woken up from," Turbo pleaded quietly on Berri's now wet shoulder, and as everyone quietly littered into the kitchen, Turbo reopened his teary gaze and aimlessly peered to the appliances behind Berri. With the splash of a dark blue glow all along the cabinets, everyone froze in dreaded surprise; such a color was not to be taken lightly, a stark show of pure sorrow, it was here did all of Turbo's brothers shoot their wary, minty gazes into each other's eyes, in unadulterated dread and sadness. Turbo finally grimaced a deep little cry, a cough of a hiccup he desperately did what he could to conceal, though he finally sagged his forehead into Berri's shoulder, once more, as he emit a few quiet cries in the trail of his final plea, "I-I don't ever want this to go away..."

"It's not going to," Zed finally revealed his closeness, and as his palm lovingly pressed to the center of Turbo's back, he cautiously cued Turbo's bold stressor and felt the immediate swathe of emotion hit him head on. Although Turbo stiffened, grappled his arms about Berri a bit tighter and peered hard to the appliances and cabinets behind Berri, he choked a shaky noise of relief the second his, Berri's and Zed's coding harmoniously sagged the sorrow right out of the room. Zed choked a small chuckle and kept Turbo's stressor cued, he eyed Berri in warmth as everyone else, in the room, began to so tenderly make themselves known, "Alright, Bear... Pop quiz. The stressor between your shoulder blades accounts for...?"

"Fight or flight," Berri mumbled knowingly, she cutely scrunched her cheek to Turbo's shoulder and faced outwards, so to give her father a warm, loving smile. Turbo nervously halted his crying, as best as he could, though he still managed to huff a few trembling breaths into Berri's shoulder as his brothers diligently began to gather around. Berri heaved a shaky sigh and allowed the onslaught of love and fear and uncertainty to hit their conjoined exterior coding, "It's cued in moments of potential danger. What heightens this stressor is confidence, and... What clouds it is a lack of trust."

"I'm glad we hit the bullseye, here," Zed mumbled cutely as Tessa lovingly came about Zed's front and allowed her hand to ease into the middle of Berri's back, so to give the two a proper coded alignment. With the cue, Berri sagged her shoulders in relief and was always floored to feel the camaraderie of coding to support hers. Zed breathed a kind chuckle and lovingly rubbed his hand in a circular motion on Turbo's now angrily glowing stressor, between his shoulder blades, "You're desperate for that refresh of coding because... You're scared it's going to be the last."

It was all Throttle and Nox could do not to shoot each other dreaded looks of understanding, and it was in this brave act of budging into the sensitive topic at hand did Nox cue his and Koko's lovely, berry-crimson coded honeycombs. With a touch of love, Nox warmly held his live-wired hand to Turbo's right shoulder and remained stationed on the other side of Berri, from where Tessa was standing. With adamant camaraderie, Throttle did what he could to slump his hand into Nox's free hand and join in on the group exterior swap. It was in this show of further inclusion did everyone in the group silently march about the kitchen island, to do absolutely everything they could to keep the coded chain strong, with Turbo, Berri, Tessa and Zed tight to the center. Although Lash hung on the outside of said misshaped little group, he bashfully eyed Throttle and Nox and wondered just when he could possibly think about joining in, though with a jolt of surprise, Mara firmly yanked on his upper arm and pulled him closer to the group. With the final kiss of her beautiful, incredible User powers, she flared the coding on her grip to Lash's upper arm before finally sagging her hand to the middle of Tessa's back, thus completing the coded chain.

"I know you can hear all of these heartbeats in your ears, my friend," Zed's deep voice so lovingly coat Turbo's trembling soul, and as his arms held permanent about Berri's body, Turbo squeezed her with all of the love and strength he could afford. He grimaced a soft cry and felt every single last strand of familial coding urgently rush his trembling heart, an overflow of coded love and camaraderie the group was fervent to remind him of, he could feel his brothers, both old and new, Tatum, Mara, Tessa and Zed, everyone urgently held fast to Turbo's wavering, fragile feelings in a firm reminder that he was home and they were here to stay, forever. Zed smiled and felt the surge of coding rush through him, the group did everything they could to channel every last ounce of their love for Turbo directly to him, and in the hot white display of glowing coding, Zed felt tears sting his eyes the second Berri's wet eyes and face cutely peered to him from Turbo's strong shoulder, the sheer amount of gratitude written on her face was beyond palpable. Zed cleared his throat and tried to compose himself as he carried on, "No one is going to leave you, Turbo. I know you're scared of a repeat... I know you Turbotime boys have had the hardest time sinking your teeth into solid camaraderie, but..."

"... It's ours, now," Throttle firmly reminded, his deep voice glossed the group with certainty, and as his sweet gaze honed to Nox's and finally Lash's, he was shocked to see the snarky attitude, on Lash's face, be completely washed to humbled, loving softness. He hung tight in Mara's grip, and although he looked as if he was tugged there, he leaned into her touch, as if to show that he was satisfied with the switch up. Throttle felt his heart jump the second Turbo finally removed his forehead from the rigid permanence of Berri's shoulder, the touch of blue that finally began to dwindle from his wet gaze. Throttle beamed him a smile and shook his head, "You don't need to worry. Nothing can divide any of us, ever again."

"We promise," Zed nodded, his eyes dart about to the precious individuals in his care, and as the conjoined amount of coding did whatever it could to align Berri and Turbo back to the grid, he was glad his mini pep talk also helped and gained momentum, "No more tears, no more sadness, no more uncertainty... You're home, Turbo."

Turbo beamed a small, shy smile and sagged his forehead back to Berri's shoulder, and as he allowed himself to sneak a cute smooch into the side of her neck, he fluttered his eyes and felt his coding firmly remind him of something. No matter if his home game had been robbed of him, no matter the circumstances of trapped or reversed coding, the swathe of love that hit his mainframe was more than enough to firmly remind him that he had been home all along. He knew, no matter what square of grid they all stood on, he'd be home with the coding under his skin, forever more. Although not something Turbo was anticipating happening, Zed ever so gently allowed the glow of said coded pow-wow to quietly dissipate, and with the soft removal of Berri from his immediate grip, Berri smiled up into his eyes and shook her head amidst her own tears.

"You can't say you don't feel better after THAT," Berri blurt with a giggle, and as everyone softly unhanded each other and endured the dimness of the kitchen, once more, they began to sag out of the tighter vicinity, all whilst keeping tight to the conversation at hand.

"I do," Turbo mumbled, he firmly rubbed his eyes and face clear of tears, his nasally tone was a cute, interesting thing to hear, him being someone who hardly ever cried in front of anyone. He blurt a shaky chuckle and shyly glossed his eyes to Zed's, "... Thank you. That... Meant the world to me."

"You're family," Zed firmly assured as he gripped Turbo's shoulder and jostled him a bit, and as Tessa and Berri cutely eased in and out of a side-hug, Zed gestured to the group about the four, the mass amount of diligent, powerful gamers that hovered, as if to be certain they were still needed, here, "I don't think any one of us could now imagine life without you."

"Trust me, we were ALL singing a VERY different song, not way too long ago," Tessa stated through a cute giggle, the group riled into a bout of understanding laughter.

"It's true," Throttle mumbled with a cute smile, "Those Kalivar castle days..."

"Seems like ten lifetimes ago," Zed's deep voice grumbled, though Mara cutely shrugged and gave Turbo a kind smile.

"If it makes you feel better, half of us didn't exist then, so we had no way of knowing," Mara chimed, to which Turbo blurt a shaky chuckle and continued to dry his face, with Berri's loving help.

"Ew, that's so weird, you guys DIDN'T exist, then," Lash hissed in pure disbelief, though his veins wiggled with the release of her powerful User coding, one of which he had a direct, front row seat to. He sagged his hands into his pockets and did what he could to hide the tremble in his voice, he warily took a single step, or two, away from Mara and cutely carried on, a bashful show he was desperate to keep under wraps, "Welp. Now I'M the only asshole everyone hates."

"No one hates you," Zed barked in hot annoyance, everyone finally erupted into full, relieved laughter as Nox wrangled Lash in for a brotherly hug.

"I do," Mara assured with a nod, though she grinned Lash a playful smile and flinched in a giggling show of cuteness as he only gently swat at her arm.

"C'mon... Wren was just about to bust out into a full guitar solo, and I don't think any of us want to miss it," Throttle firmly assured, though Wren gaped in hot annoyance and gestured out to the patio doors as everyone began to slowly mosey away.

"I was GETTING it! It just takes a minute!" Wren's voice pitched in full irritation, though as the group loudly dissipated, what was left was Tessa, Zed, Berri and Turbo.

"Thanks, Poppa," Berri's gentle, womanly voice mumbled to Zed, she gave him a grateful smile as he nodded and assessed the two, just for clarities sake.

"You feel better?" Zed patiently asked Turbo, in which he inhaled a deep, long breath and was thrilled the golden glow in his eyes came back.

"MUCH better," Turbo huffed quietly, he shook his head and gave Berri an apologetic look, "I'm really sorry... I had no clue what was going wrong with me."

"You've endured trauma, we've discovered this about your guys' swap," Tessa shrugged, "It needs a lot of TLC, a lot of checking in. This is perfectly normal, but you HAVE to know... Everything you've earned and fought for, isn't going anywhere."

"And if it DOES go anywhere, it's all going together," Zed blurt with a cute chuckle, to which Tessa rolled her eyes and hesitantly nodded. Zed kindly pat Turbo's back, once more and gave him a swathe of fatherly care, "Take it easy... We love you."

"I love you guys, too," Turbo mumbled warmly, he dried the last of his tears and gave Berri a soft, humbled look of tender warmth, once and for all.

"C'mon, I don't want to miss Wren making a fool of himself," Tessa stated with a soft giggle.

"I heard that," Wren's deep voice bellowed from the threshold of the patio's gape.


Through the flickers of the fire, the voices all about him were held taut above loving murmurs of conversing. Although enhanced by the fire, Lash was certain his golden gaze was glowing a little brighter. Like a moth to a flame, he aimlessly allowed his gaze to get lost in the flicker of the bonfire his group had snuggly surrounded. With a fun day filled with good food, plentiful laughs and memories made, Lash felt a weird wave of continued camaraderie soak him. As his curious eyes softly peered across the sandy circle the group was lounged at, he quickly took note of Berri's and Turbo's cute disposition. She was leaned into him, they both cutely shared the rest of the s'mores Turbo just crafted, though as Berri took a little bite, Turbo cutely bared his teeth and clacked his teeth together just before her nose. They both quietly laughed with each other as Berri's hand swiftly cupped Turbo's cheek in a swipe of delicacy, she stole a closed-mouth little smooch to his lips as she continued to politely chew her food; they both looked tickled to be alive.

Lash felt the urge to wrinkle his nose in teasing, disgusted irritation, though it swiftly sailed on past brotherly annoyance, mild dismay at the public displays of affection, and right on into pure, sorrowful jealousy. He frowned and felt a weird pang hit his stomach. He narrowed his eyes and further assessed the group about him, in which everyone was rightfully paired off, and though the group continued to have conversation with one another, it was becoming clear that the night was growing old, and appropriate swap-mates would likely soon pair off for good, to find their shared love nests. Lash allowed his eyes to gloss the fire, once more, the feeling of dread coat him. How desperately he wanted that shred of love, something he'd never admit to, he shyly hugged his knees to his chest and frowned. Although the feeling of dread and sadness cloaked him, he finally cocked an eyebrow and allowed his swallowed, sad feelings to just barely warm from death. He was immediately reminded that he wasn't alone in this bout of being the only single person here. As subtly as he could, he drew his eyes to where Mara was sitting, nearly directly across the fire.

Mara cutely giggled as her and Koko chattered about something, with Nox's hushed voice joining in, from time to time. Although they weren't too far away, their conversing was still hard to hear and fully understand. Mara's skin was sun-kissed with freckles, her cute pastel blue hair touched the tops of her shoulders, her flippant, girly attitude was the thing keeping the fire in front of her alive. Such a show of warmth had Lash's heart thudding with confusion, he furrowed his brow and exhaled a shaky sigh, something he had been overcome with for days, now. He began to feel thwarted by his own undoing, how adamant he was that his little lone wolf adventures would continue as such, though as his and Mara's secretive little friendship continued to blossom, the swing of non-familial camaraderie that weighed down on his heart, he eventually eased a small, shy smile to his feet and could feel said heart become malleable with the onset of love he so nervously kept at bay. Before Lash could allow his gaze to draw back to Mara's beautiful positioning, across the way, a deep, grumbly voice, just to his left, popped his bubble of dewy, secretive thoughts.

"Y'got it all out, then?" Chester's quiet voice pressed, only for him to hear; Lash firmly wrinkled his nose and held eyes with Chester, an odd thing to do.

"What?" Lash beamed an annoyed, incredulous smile, though he nervously sagged the second Chester's eyes dart across the fire, and back into Lash's nervous disposition.

"... I have eyes, now," Chester grumbled cutely, "I don't know why I'm the only one calling it as I see it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lash muttered in now full, closed-off annoyance, as if to assure to Chester that he had the wrong idea, though much to Lash's whole dismay, Chester cutely pressed on.

"You've been giving Mara googly eyes all night long," Chester huffed quietly, and although he wanted to full-on tease Lash and call it like it is, he softened and understood this was real emotion, something his instincts so intuitively caught to, and with the onslaught of softness, Chester sagged his ears and tenderly eyed Lash with the sparkle of his fresh, turquoise gaze, "You've also sighed at least five hundred times since we sat down... You know what they say about that, right?"

"What?" Lash wondered in still-full annoyance, though he peered to Chester in baited wait and wondered just what it meant; he understood, full well, it was something he had caught himself doing a lot lately.

"... It means you're in love," Chester politely pressed, and though both boys held tight to each other's gaze, Chester was floored that Lash only sagged his eyes to the fire and didn't even attempt to disagree.

"... Sucks," Lash shyly mumbled in pure dismay towards himself, his bashful gaze cutely dart to Mara, once more; he flinched once Chester let out a quiet laugh and readjusted his paws in the billowy sand they were sitting in.

"I wouldn't know, but... I went through Berri's whole shebang, when she was falling in love with Turbo," Chester bobbed a nod and bugged his eyes, "She was sighing nearly after every word."

"I never wanted to feel this way," Lash mumbled, as if he didn't expect any of this to happen, making clear to Chester just how lost in it he was.

"I guess it's not really how love works, you just... Can't help it," Chester cutely cued, though he peered down to Lash, once more, and continued to allow tenderness to soak their point on the grid, "You should tell her..."

"Yeah, right, and get deleted?" Lash pressed in soft, defeated irritation, "She has three direct relatives that are Users, each stronger than the other... They'd like... Quadruple-delete me."

"Probably right," Chester only teased as Lash hugged his knees and shyly buried his chin into his arms, though just as Lash was about to open his mouth and very curtly do what he could to potentially wall up and claim this all never happened, Zed, Theo, Nox and Throttle all lazily began to stand amidst their chit-chatting, cueing Lash to believe that the night was likely coming to a close.

"C'mon, Chess, we're gonna go hunting," Boss's deep voice suddenly pressed from behind Chester; Boss tenderly nudged Chester's back flank with his wing, in which all the flyers began to stand and stretch in preparation, "We gotta get you up to speed on hunting protocols, now that you can see."

"My first hunt?" Chester prod with a wide, fang-filled smile, and as all six flyers began to cutely mumble notions of excitement to their newest addition, Lash slumped his shoulders and sorrowfully watched as each person began to find their own mate and fall into the social cues of saying their goodnights and the like.

With a grunt, Lash rolled his eyes, got to his feet in the sand and began to very slowly trudge after the staggering, moseying and softly chitchatting group of love a bit ahead of him. He rubbed the back of his head and stumbled his bare feet in the sand, their darkened environment only illuminated by the shine of the moon and the glow of the fire. In hot remembrance of said fire, Lash had only gotten about twenty feet away from the bonfire before he firmly whirled around in the midst of having the lovely task of putting out said fire, though in the few seconds of his eyes glossing the small blaze, and its surroundings, he froze dead in his tracks as his eyes landed on the single figure remaining. With her knees hugged to her chest, Mara's icy gaze peered in aimless, defeated sorrow, deep into the little smolder of a fire they group was previously hugged about.

Lash raised his eyebrows in prickled surprise and held his breath. Although he was glad she hadn't noticed his returning presence, he took one single step back and was grateful, due to him now being able to slip away without being seen. In his little bout of success, he grit his teeth and dared to take a step back, further, though he frowned and peered at Mara's sorrowful position, through the fire. He sagged his shoulders and felt his heart begin to race with hot uncertainty, his mind urgently ticked away at another more grand option he had left, here, and though he was well aware any stumbling feelings he had inside of him were to remain just that, he wondered if he could somehow comfort Mara through the struggles he was currently dealing with. The show of love all around them, though it was absent from their own grip. As much as Lash secretly wanted to be included in on said love fest, he wondered if just being able to talk to someone, who understood, was enough for his reputation for afford, for now.

"Can't sleep?" Lash only teasingly called as he casually pressed back into the circle of the fire, though Mara perked up in renewed surprise.

"...You neither?" Mara joked, knowing the group only literally just dispersed, though she raised her eyebrows in softening surprise as Lash popped a squat right next to her.

"Nah," Lash huffed, he glanced to Mara and shrugged, "So, we're left out of the 'going home with someone' club. We can start our own club... What should we call it?"

"Lonely bonfire," Mara quipped in whole annoyance, though she shot Lash a wide, friendly smile and shrugged as he pondered on it, "Not sad enough?"

"Yeah, we need something like... Pathetic sounding," Lash fingered his lip and looked off to the crashing waves beyond them, "Like..."

"Lonely coding?" Mara questioned dryly through a giggle, though they both erupted with laughter.

"Ohh, that's sad," Lash bobbed a nod and rubbed his chin, "Lonely coded bonfire explosion."

"... For God's sake," Mara choked with a wide grin, they both continued to cutely laugh with one another, "It went from pathetic to morbid, real quick."

"Yeah, welcome to my life," Lash mumbled with a smile, though he furrowed his brow and allowed the silence between the two for a moment. He finally brought his soft gaze to Mara's, in gentle contemplation, and allowed his playfulness to sag to the wayside, "Y'ever... Feel jealous of them?"

"I mean, yeah," Mara shrugged, she shook her head and sorrowfully peered into the fire, "Although it'd be work, and it's not easy, I... I'd quite enjoy having a lover."

Lash felt his face get hot, though with said kiss of blush to his face, he was starkly aware it'd go right to his eyes if he wasn't careful. He bobbed a nonchalant nod and shrugged, though he kept his still-golden eyes trained to the fire.

"Yeah, I'm... Not as opposed to it as I used to be," Lash shyly admitted, to which Mara raised her eyebrows high in surprise and firmly peered to Lash, bewildered and grinning.

"... You being honest?" Mara wondered as gently as she could, to which Lash shrugged and shot her a mildly disgruntled look of further shyness. Mara scoffed a cute noise of disbelief and looked off, "Never thought I'd hear you say something like that, to be real."

"Yeah, well, you're the only one, so don't go bragging about how you've seen a different side of me," Lash mumbled quickly, to which Mara beamed a shy, blushing smile down to her hands.

"Thank you," Mara eased with great warmth as Lash gave her a curious little look of cute innocence.

"For what?" Lash wondered, to which Mara bobbed a nod and looked back to the fire.

"For trusting me," Mara lilted, the sweetness in her voice was something she allowed to be on full display; she figured if he was being vulnerable with her, she'd show it right back.

"Eh, don't say that too soon, I'm still not done deciding," Lash huffed in an annoyed, teasing tone, though he grunted, got to his feet and began to firmly kick sand over the fire, thus extinguishing it. He finally brushed his hands free of a further amount of sand and held his hand out to Mara, so to help her to a stand. He nonchalantly continued on, "C'mon. Tonight's our last night here, it's time to finally see what's in that stupid fucking cave. Come on, come on."

"... What!" Mara chirped in girly terror, she nervously slid her hand into Lash's and, though she was brought to a stand, she jolted the second Lash continued to hold her hand and press in the direction of the extremely creepy seaside cavern, far across the stretch. Mara huffed a shaky breath and nervously peered back to the fire, to see if it had actually gone out, though with nothing but the moonlight casted upon the two, she brought her gaze back to Lash as she urgently skipped a few steps to firmly sag tight to his side, amidst their innocent hand-holding, "No, no, you're not serious right now..."

"C'mon, you can bail us out if anything goes wrong," Lash gestured out to the cavern they were approaching, though they still had a very decent amount of beach left to argue or chicken out.

"Some trust exercise!" Mara barked, she grit her teeth and began to feel her heart surge in terror, so much so that they're cute, innocent hand holding wasn't something she was focused on any longer, "Can't you just, I don't know... Tell me a deep dark secret and trust that I'll keep it? Why does it have to be a field test!"

"Come on, I KNOW you don't want to just lazily go back home on the last night of our vacation," Lash pleaded, his golden eyes finally glossed her cheeks in sweetness, he gave her a scheming, cute little smile and shrugged, "Let's end this thing with a bang. Who knows what we'll find, but then WE will have tales of just what IS inside that everyone ELSE would have missed out on!"

"I'd SO much rather be left out of romance than THIS, Whiplash, are you serious?" Mara urged with a giggle, and though she was scared, their feet still confidently pressed on, as if she was more than willing to feel included in on his shenanigans, to ease into a deeper routine of friendship and love, a secretive little blossom of camaraderie she was finding within the gang's only lost boy left.

"Serious? Yes. Sure? No," Lash choked a laugh, though he was thrilled to feel Mara unhand Lash's and finally link her arm about his in a snuggle of further nervousness as he now properly lead the way. He raised his eyebrows and stood a bit straighter as they pressed on, though he choked a small chuckle and bashfully peered ahead, "I'd say we're a force to be reckoned with. I can play keep-away for over thirty years and you, well... Are a User."

"The dream team," Mara mumbled sarcastically, though as their playfulness fell silent for a moment, Mara cutely looked off and bit her lip in the stifle of her sweet, curious words amidst diving code-first into the hot topic of the week; the nightmare of a seaside cavern. She figured anything was better than being lonely and feeling glum, though somehow, she wondered if the universe was cutely gluing her to the solution to both her's and Lash's gloomy, bittersweet situation to sigh about.