A/N Thanks as always to everyone who left a review! Your feedback means a lot. This chapter ran a little long - hope you all enjoy!

SILENCING NATURE

Chapter 4 - The Need for Sleep

"WHAT...WHAT...What...what..." The children's horrified shrieks echoed back at them from the stone walls, as if the chamber itself had shared in their astounded disbelief. The reverberations persisted, over and over, as if the sound was every bit as trapped as Arnold and Helga themselves were beginning to feel. Beyond that, the scene was utterly still and entirely silent, both of their bodies frozen in place while their fraught minds scrambled to comprehend Tiukwí's latest revelation. Neither even seemed able to breathe.

Arnold was the first to break free of his paralysis, if only for fear of his legs giving way. Backing up slowly, he slumped against the nearest wall, his hand rapidly running through his hair in a fit of nervous tension. Usually it was he who came forward in moments of crisis to offer a voice of reason, a sensible explanation, but he had apparently discovered his limit. What a surprise that Arnold's ultimate mental curveball would somehow involve Helga G. Pataki. What was functioning properly was his imagination, and right now that was occupied by a grinning vision of Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd smugly reminding him that she 'told him so'. Helga, on the other hand, was making a fascinating discovery. As it turned out, she had a limit too. With her brain now firmly pushed several massive steps beyond the point of overload, her ability to panic seemed to simply... break. Instead she stood stock-still, numbly replaying the words in her mind. At least Tiukwí seemed to be observant enough to allow them time to process, still smiling faintly as his fingers drummed lightly on his staff. Somehow the magnitude of the bomb he had just detonated seemed completely lost on the old man.

"O...k." It was Helga who spoke first, through gritted teeth, her thoughts clear but her mouth feeling full of cotton. She took a deep breath, fighting to keep her tone level, and looked Tiukwí dead in the eye. "Since every second sentence that comes out of your toothless old mouth seems to be sending me on the next loop of an emotional freaking roller-coaster, I'm gonna ask this reeeally calmly, so there are no misunderstandings." Her words caused Arnold's head to snap in her direction. From the corner of her eye, she could swear he looked impressed. "What exactly do you think marriage is?"

It had been Tiukwí's relative nonchalance about the whole thing that had tipped her off. Not that he seemed bothered by the prospect of delivering life-changing news without blinking an eye. To her continued infuriation, he smiled brightly before responding. "A bond, of course, between two people. To us, marriage is a joyous union of two spirits, forging a link that continues even after our spirits leave this place. Your bond, the one you were born with, is stronger by far than anything I could create. It existed before you even came into this world." Helga let out a long exhale, finally rediscovering her ability to move. Somehow she found herself next to Arnold, slumped beside him against the rugged wall.

"So, just to be clear," Arnold finally spoke, looking more than a little anxious as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "whatever you think me and Helga are, is in no way... official? Like we never agreed to anything without realising it, and we're not legally married, like my mom and dad are?"

"You are bonded regardless, but I suppose not." Tiukwí gave a small shrug as the children released groans of relief. Miles and Stella had once tried to explain to him their own concept of marriage; Tiukwí had just found it strange. "But if you like, all we need is a piglet and-"

"NO!" Tiukwí blinked as the shouts from both children firmly cut off that line of conversation, their hands raised instantly in protest.

"I think I need to not be underground any more." Helga half murmured and half whined, her head falling backwards to softly thump against the stone, her eyes drifting closed. Sure, she absolutely, positively wanted to marry Arnold, but ideally that would happen when they were old enough to have a Paris honeymoon without needing a chaperone. Had her eyes been open, she might have seen the look on Arnold's face as he turned to her. Streaks of luminescence scattered out from behind her, the glow at her back surrounding her like a shining aura, reflecting off her light hair and pale skin. To him, in that instant, she looked like an angel.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think some fresh air would be good..." Arnold hoped he didn't sound too breathless. "Tiukwí, can we please leave now? Is there, um, anything else we should know?" What a lame question, he thought; so they were super-powerful spirits, magically connected, alleged soulmates, and were, by the Green-Eyed People's definition, married – anything else to throw on to the pile? He sagged slightly in relief when Tiukwí shook his head.

"I have told you all I can, all I know. Do not imagine that even I understand everything about what you both are. I cannot tell you what you are truly capable of, though certainly you are capable of more together, and I truly have no idea how your bond may develop as you continue to grow. But know this," he seemed to focus particularly on Helga, the exhausted girl's eyes half-open, "nothing is gained by fighting who we are, at the core of our spirits. The is more true than ever for the two of you." The girl sighed, past the point of having the will to react beyond rolling her eyes. "But I see that you are both tired. Come, let us leave this place."

As they stepped away from the wall, Arnold glanced behind him, admiring the glowing etchings one final time. The goddess of the Green Eyes stood gazing down on him, her arms reaching out into the shapeless storm that surrounded her. His fingers gently grazed her own carved hand, the left hand that had brought peace to the chaos, as he stared up into her emerald eyes. As he turned away, his fingertips lingering on the stone, he saw that Helga had inadvertently done the same at her opposite side. They shivered wordlessly as their eyes locked, their hands synchronised as they finally fell away from the surface. Tiukwí waited by the plinth, as he had done before, as Arnold approached to gently pry the symbol from its holding. Together, the three watched as the light left the stone, and the surfaces beyond it, emptiness darting across each vein as the glow trickled and drained away into nothingness. In its absence, the darkness of the cavern seemed more crushing than ever, and Helga found herself drawing close to Arnold, the amulet he carried once more becoming a green beacon. As they headed back in the direction of the stairs, their steps echoing, she found herself filled with an anxious drive to leave the confining place. It wasn't fear, not in the same way as when they first descended. Her mind was overburdened, pushed to the edge by everything she had heard in their brief time with the strange guide, and she needed to distance herself from this place to think clearly again. She needed warm light, and air. It was only when she squeezed it more tightly that she found her hand had once again sought out Arnold's, his grip seeming so rocksteady compared to her wavering nerves, and she focussed all her attention on the feeling of contact, letting it pull her out of her own mind like a tether. The ascension was painfully slow, Tiukwí's geriatric frame painstakingly dragging itself up every step, but eventually, finally, the end of the tunnel came into view. Arnold's hand slipped regretfully out of hers, allowing him to squeeze past Tiukwí and seek the lock, and with yet another heavy thump, the mechanism ground into action. Both children gave a quiet sigh as their faces were hit by a welcome gust of warm, fresh air.

"Arnold?! Hey, is that you? Are you ok?" As the doorway began to grind its way open, the wide-eyed, sideways face of Gerald became more and more visible, pressed firmly as it was into ground as he tried to peek under the stone.

"Yeah, Gerald, I'm fine. We're fine." Arnold hoped he had succeeded in keeping the weariness out of his voice, but he doubted it. The experience had left him drained, mentally and emotionally. Though he heard his best friend's relieved sigh, he also saw his face fall into a frown. Gerald raised himself to his knees as the door continued to rise, revealing his clenched fists.

"Man, don't you ever scare me like that again! When that door slammed shut, I nearly blew a gasket! I didn't spend this whole day following your butt through the jungle just for you to get stuck in some freaky crypt! Whoa..." His frown changed to a look of concern as his eyes finally fell on his friends' faces. "What the heck happened down there? You two look like you've seen a ghost. Wait, uh, did you..?" He trailed off in suspicion, unsure at this point whether a bona fide phantom would even qualify as the weirdest thing of the day. After all, some of the Green Eyes were still softly chanting Helga and Arnold's names in the distance... In any case, he had known Arnold long enough to tell from a mile away when something was on the boy's mind. And from the look on his face, Arnold had a lot on his mind.

"He said we're fine, Geraldo, now quit blocking the exit!" Helga's rough comment nearly made Gerald smile; at least that seemed normal. He watched as the girl shoved her way past him, only to promptly rest against the grand staircase, breathing deeply, her eyes tightly closed and her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. His worry returned; she was just as freaked as Arnold.

"Arnold!" Arnold suddenly found himself pulled from the doorway, and swept into a crushing embrace by his parents. Despite the near-decade of separation, the feeling of their arms holding him tightly felt so incredibly natural, and so wonderful; it was a feeling he looked forward to getting used to. As they pulled away, their hands staying firmly on his shoulders, he felt as though they were drinking in the sight of him with their eyes. How strange it must be, he thought, not for the first time, to see a baby one moment and a ten-year-old the next, with nothing in between. Regardless of their grey hairs and diminished frames, the people kneeling in front of him were his parents, the same couple that had smiled at him from a photograph for as long as he could remember. He was the one who had changed.

"So, son. How, uh, how'd it go..?" Arnold could appreciate the hesitancy behind his father's words, though he could practically hear the questions boiling in both of his parents' minds. How much had Tiukwí told them?

"Did you guys already know about all this? About me, and the Corazón, and why the Green-Eyed People think I'm here?" He carefully avoided bringing Helga into this, for now. If his parents didn't know already, he doubted this was something she would want broadcast. Even Arnold himself wasn't sure just how much of the tale he would share with them, or with Gerald, at least not until he and Helga had talked things out.

"Tiukwí told us the legend," Stella responded, her voice slightly hoarse, "and he told us what the Green Eyes think you are. He even told us about the imbalance they think you corrected, but we had no idea about... Oh, Sweetie." Her face had suddenly spun towards Helga, standing close by, kicking absent-mindedly at the ground. The older woman was stricken by the sight; whatever her son had been through down there, this girl had been through it too, and she was all alone. Without warning, she moved to kneel in front of her, Helga's eyes going wide at the sudden closeness. Warm, gentle hands were on her shoulders. "What about you, Helga? Are you ok?"

"Am I..?" The girl was stunned. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just... don't worry about me, ok?" The girl looked away with a pout, her arms folded, but Arnold and Gerald still gawped at her reaction; Helga rarely reacted so calmly to unsolicited contact. "But, you know... Thanks." Helga tilted her head to shyly meet Stella's eyes, the older woman smiling warmly in response. The boys' jaws hit the floor, and Gerald moved to Arnold's side.

"Seriously, dude, what happened down there?" He queried in a stage whisper behind the back of his hand. "Is that really Helga?" Arnold rolled his eyes, and tried to ignore his father's quiet chuckle at Gerald's question.

"Hey, I heard that, Tall Hair! If you want proof that it's me, I'll get Ol' Betsy to give you a signature!" This time Gerald really did smile; there was the Pataki he knew, waving fist and all.

"It's a really complicated story Gerald. I'm still sort of processing everything, but I'll tell you about it later, ok?" Arnold's response left Gerald looking uncertain, but Gerald knew better than most how to recognise when Arnold wasn't willing to open up about a subject, at least not yet.

"All right, but don't leave me hanging for too long, ok?" With a reassuring smile, Gerald offered his fist, Arnold giving a small grin in response as they performed their handshake. It felt familiar, and on the strangest night of his life by far, Arnold felt like he really needed familiar. Glancing over to where his mother stood with his supposed soulmate, he came to a further conclusion. He really needed to talk to Helga soon.

"Mis amigos," Eduardo suddenly appeared, a walkie-talkie clutched in his hands, breaking Arnold from his train of thought, "I have just heard from my people. The rest of your group made it safely to the city. They have been reassured that the children are safe, however I understand some of them have been causing issues..." He awkwardly scratched beneath his hat.

"Figures. They probably needed to dart Curly to drag him out of that jungle, twisted little freak..." Helga muttered.

"Actually, it was some of the adults." Eduardo rubbed his chin, seeming bewildered. "Apparently an insane old woman keeps trying to commandeer our boats to come find you, saying it is her right as a commanding officer, and a very large, loud man keeps threatening to sue Helpers for Humanity and every one of my men personally if we don't provide a hotel room with cable, reimburse he and his wife's flight from America, and return Helga safely." Arnold and Helga exchanged a shocked look.

"The crazy woman trying to pull rank sounds kind of like my grandma..." Arnold began.

"And the big, angry blowhard sounds a heck of a lot like Bob..." Helga concluded. "And he flew here with his wife? Miriam can barely handle a day at the beach! Can't this whole trip just stop being insane for two minutes?" Arnold could only shrug helplessly in response. The idea that their families had somehow travelled to San Lorenzo was outlandish, but to say that stranger things had happened was by now a vast understatement.

"Wait, your grandma?" Miles suddenly interjected, "My mom is here?!" The older man seemed torn between excitement and horror, falling backwards to sit on the cobbled ground. He rubbed his forehead, seeming slightly frantic. "Oh man, I've been gone for nine years... Her and Pop are gonna kill me! Stella, does my hair look ok?!"

"Um... They'll probably just be really happy you're alive, Dad." Somehow Arnold wound up being the one to give his father a comforting pat on the back. A lifetime of training in action. Miles clasped his son's hand, calming down with an embarrassed grin.

"In any case, they are waiting for you." Eduardo pressed on. "The journey tomorrow will be long, and we must leave early. I suggest you all rest and gather your strength."

"And I must speak with my king and queen." Tiukwí added. "My people have much work to do. I will see all of you in the morning. Arnold, Helga, thank you for listening to an old man. Know this; whether or not you choose to believe everything you have learned tonight, the fact that you are heroes to us is undeniable. You too, my young friend!" He finally included Gerald, giving the boy a sincerely grateful smile. "Thank you all." With that, Tiukwí departed in the direction of the now-dwindling feast, where the rulers of his people waited on their thrones. The group watched him leave for a while before Helga spoke, her face flat.

"Nice guy. Pretty sure he's the spokesman for culture shock." Given the ups and downs of their conversation, the girl had been left with very mixed feelings about the old man. "So where do we sleep?"

"The Green Eyes have a place for us," Stella responded, smirking slightly at the girl's jab, "this way."

Following the lead of Arnold's parents, the group moved through the now-quiet city, their path illuminated by the flickering fires of the braziers as they ascended up each tier. The low sounds of chatter and music from the Green Eyes still celebrating drifted through the air. As they passed each hut and dwelling, faint shadows moving behind the curtain doors, Arnold found himself wondering how many families had been reunited that day, just like his had been. There had been so many children, every one of them feeling the same loss he had felt for the last nine years. Were they all dreaming now, secure in the knowledge that their parents would be there when they woke up? He was struck by the realisation that, unlike him, the Green-Eyed children had known exactly where their parents were. Feeding them, watching them, caring for them while they slept. Maybe that was worse than not knowing at all; having your parents there, but not there. So close, yet so far away. The thought made the night seem colder, and Arnold found himself clinging to his mother and father at either side of him with gently trembling hands. They reached their destination eventually, a pair of huts slightly larger than the others on the upper level of the round city. Neither was the tiny dwelling that had been Miles and Stella's 'home' during their slumber; they had slept in that place for far, far too long. Apart from its size, though, each hut offered little beyond several hard slabs for beds, colourful fabrics having been laid out for sheets.

"Not exactly the Ritz... You'd think being worshipped would come with better perks." Helga muttered, regarding the room with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'd say you get used to it, but you really don't." Miles nodded in agreement, his hand absently travelling to his back. Even before his long sleep, he had never been able to adjust to nights on the Green Eyes' rigid excuses for beds. "But it's just for a few hours. How, uh, how should we do this? Do you kids want to stay together, or..?" He rubbed the back of his neck, the room suddenly becoming awkward. An unasked question hung in the air.

"Can I... stay with you guys? Please?" Arnold's face flushed. Some unfamiliar and long-unneeded part of his young brain told him that he was too old to want to sleep with his parents, but he pushed those thoughts aside; he wasn't ready to be apart from them again yet. He wasn't over the fear that if they left his sight, or if he fell asleep, then they wouldn't be there any more. His trip beneath the city had been difficult enough, but the burning need for answers had driven him forward. Now, he just wanted to be close to them.

"Of course you can, Honey." Stella eagerly responded, nodding rapidly to conceal watery eyes, her hands clasped tightly together. Both she and Miles clearly shared Arnold's thoughts on the matter, and their bodies seemed to relax in relief at Arnold's suggestion. At the knowledge that even after missing so much of his life, even after he had become so grown without them, he still wanted them. They had so much work to do, they both knew; they had left a baby in Hillwood, and now, nine years later, their son stood before them, a total stranger save for the same blue hat. But he wanted them, and God, they wanted him. And that was more than a start.

"You, your mom and I will take the room next door, and Helga and Gerald can stay in this room with Eduardo." Miles nodded just as enthusiastically before turning to the non-Shortmans of the group. "Is that ok with all of you?" Eduardo simply smiled and nodded his head. Helga and Gerald, however, exchanged an uncomfortable glance. Neither were overly keen on the arrangement, but equally, neither even needed to look at Arnold to understand how much meaning this had to the boy. The glance quickly changed into a resolute look of unspoken agreement.

"Sure, by this point I'm bushed enough to sleep anywhere." Helga shot Gerald a mild glare. "Just try to keep the snoring to a dull roar." Gerald rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, it's cool with me too. You guys get out of here and we'll catch you in the morning when we're all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Or Helga." Gerald contained his chuckle at Helga's low growl.

And so the group began to separate for the night, the boys exchanging a final handshake and Eduardo embracing his old friends. Helga simply waited, tapping her foot impatiently, trying to ignore the 'mushy' sentimentality filling the room and focussing her attention on the window, peering out over the city. Her mind had cleared a little since leaving the ancient chamber, though her incredulous shock at the whole thing hadn't lessened one bit. She was excited, she knew that much; in fact, she suspected that her numb response to the episode was purely due to excitement overload, like two people trying to move through a door simultaneously and getting stuck. Actually, this felt more like two hundred people getting stuck. It was all too much. Arnold was her soulmate! Arnold had caught her, held her hand, called her perfect. He kissed her – she still wasn't sure if her all the electricity had left her body from that one! The fact that she had only fainted once could be considered a great personal victory; in a single night, more of Helga's dreams had come true than she had ever dared to imagine. Normally, she would have woken up hours ago. And yet... He never said that he loved her. He never said that he even 'liked her', liked her. Maybe he really was just grateful, and impressed. Sure, he accepted her feelings, whatever that had meant, but where did that leave them? And how was he supposed to react now, after hearing everything Tiukwí had told them. What ten-year-old wants to hear that they've already been paired up for eternity? Well, Helga did, but she had long ago decided that she was crazy, or as Dr Bliss put it, 'felt things very deeply, blah blah blah'. Arnold was only human... more-or-less... and she had seen the fear on his face as he listened to the old man's words. What if he had been scared away? Could the best news of Helga's life have put her firmly back on square one? She really wished she had a notepad – she felt a poetry blitz coming on. With all the excitement, she hadn't even been able to slip away for a soliloquy. But suddenly, once again, she was yanked from her thoughts by a pair of skinny arms, this time encircling her. Was Arnold going to make this a habit? Because she could get used to that.

"Goodnight Helga. I'll see you in the morning, ok?" His face was level with her shoulder, but if felt as though the soft whisper had come from lips right by ear. His words seemed to carry more than just what was on the surface. The sigh escaped, as she suspected it always would no matter how hard she tried, but Helga quickly spotted the faces of the rest of their group. They had those looks again; Gerald's knowing grin and the Shortmans gazing at them like they were most adorable thing in the world. She firmly, but with gentle restraint, pried Arnold away from her. She hoped that he could see the sincerity behind her eyes as his and hers met, though she was smirking.

"Yeah, yeah. Catch you in the morning Foo-, er, Arnold." Her eyes quickly darted in Stella's direction. "Don't let the colossal, venomous, jungle bugs bite – you'd make Nadine jealous." Arnold gave her one of his own half-lidded smirks in response, his arms falling to his sides.

"Whatever you say, Helga." With that the Shortmans departed. There was little in the way of conversation in their absence. Eduardo was exhausted, given his recent chase and tussle with the murderous river pirate, his mind equally drained at having recovered his friends and finally witnessed the mysterious Green Eyes first-hand. It had been a truly exciting day, though a day he would only suggest experiencing once. The children were fatigued too, not that conversation between Helga and Gerald came naturally in the absence of their best friends. Curious as Gerald was, he had the sense to know that what he couldn't get out of Arnold, he certainly couldn't get out of Helga G. Pataki, and the girl's 'leave me alone' aura was in full force. They curled up, each to a stone bed, and did their best to get comfortable, all of them as eager for the next morning to come as they were for sleep. Gerald and Eduardo quickly drifted away, drained from their adventure, but the pigtailed girl did not. Her mind was too busy spinning.

The feeling in the air of the other hut was far more complex. Arnold had suddenly found himself alone with his parents. Alone in their company for the first time since he could talk. He had so much to say, and no idea where to begin. And he was tired... Just as Helga's mental 'door' was jammed with excitement, Arnold's was blocked tightly with too many questions. He wanted to be with his parents, to spend the next few days, months or years sitting comfortably with them and finding out who they were, sorting through the endless adventure stories passed on by 'Steely' Phil and disseminating fact from fiction. He wanted to find out their favourite foods, their hobbies, their favourite movies. He was only just starting to let himself believe that there was time now, and with time, he could have everything. Right now, though, so much of his mind had been filled by Helga, and by Tiukwí's revelations. He even felt a sting of guilt! He had dreamed of and pursued his parents so avidly, and now that they were here in front of him, some part of his mind seemed to be viewing them as a distraction from the dilemma at hand; just what the old man's claims meant for him and the girl with the pink bow. Though this reality made him ashamed of his own brain, the need to talk things through with her dominated his thoughts no matter how hard he tried to set them aside.

Miles and Stella, of course, were just as desperate to know their son as he was desperate to know them. But where can one possibly start a conversation like that? 'So, do you like school? What's growing up in the boarding house been like? We couldn't help notice you kissing Helga back there – is she your girlfriend?' That last one was a real kicker; the truest reminder that the early part of their son's life was coming to a close. And they had slept through it... Had he been able to feel their feelings, Arnold would have discovered that he didn't even know what 'guilt' was. And now, the three of them stood awkwardly in a dark, stone hut. The need for sleep didn't help matters one bit; Miles and Stella were fatigued, a battle with Lasombra paling in comparison to the effort of walking up a few flights of steps. The beds called to them, and that call was terrifying. They knew the sleeping sickness, and they knew their own medicine had cured them, but the idea of surrendering themselves to sleep once more bordered on sickening. That, and the knowledge that sooner or later they would have absolutely no choice. For now, at least, their exhausted bodies could provide a crutch to help their minds be carried away despite the fear.

"So..." All three spoke at once, father and son's hands travelling to their necks in unison, the sight making Stella's hand jump to cover her mouth. It suppressed something, a giggle or a sob. Maybe both.

"It's been a very, very long day." She finally spoke, her tone only a little unsteady as she addressed her son. "I can't imagine how much we have to talk about. And we will, with all my heart I promise we will. But you've been through so much today, more than your father and I can imagine, and you have to rest. We should... sleep now." She gave an almost imperceptible shudder. "We can talk about everything tomorrow. And the next day, and the day after that, until we're all... c-caught up." Her hand came up again, her own words finally bringing her to overwhelmed tears. In an instant, her husbands arms were around her shoulders, and her son's were around her waist, their own eyes every bit as watery as each desperately soaked in the moment. They were together again. Unlike their neighbours, the Shortmans wound up in an not-entirely-comfortable heap, Miles and Stella holding each other close on a slab barely bigger than a single bed, with Arnold tucked tightly between them. Hardly the easiest position in which to doze off, but exhaustion is a powerful thing, and the adults quickly began to dream.

But Arnold couldn't join them.

No matter how hard sleep tugged at his eyes, no matter how long he held them closed, no matter how incredibly safe and warm he felt with his parents beside him, Arnold's mind continued to churn. He lost track of the time he spent listening, taking in the sounds of his parents breathing. So his dad was kind of a snorer; check that one off the list. The final remnants of the feast had drifted away, and the city was near silent. Only the sounds of the jungle drifted in through the window, the humming of insects and the roaring of the cascading waterfalls that flowed nearby. Less identifiable calls echoed from the distant trees, beyond the city walls. Soon, he would go back to Hillwood. He would lie under his skylight, and listen to the concrete city's own unique roars and cries, the one's he was used to. His skylight. Arnold decided, then, what his troubled mind needed. With agonising care and slowness, and more than a little regret, he wiggled his body free from his parent's embrace. He needn't have worried; their sleep may not have been down to any sickness, but for now it was every bit as deep. He turned back to them, before heading to the door. He looked at their faces. The sickness, when it had gripped them, had left their skin a pale grey-white, as if they were truly dead. Now, their skin was rosy, tinted with life. They would be here when they came back, he promised himself. He was barely going past the door. Arnold needed to look at the sky. With silent steps, he left the hut, passing through the thin curtain, sparing just one last look back.

CLUNK

"OW!" With a pair of soft thuds, and a pair of sore heads, two blonde children found themselves lying next to each other on the cobbled ground between the huts in which neither could sleep. The moments that followed were filled by stunned silence.

"So. It happens in other countries too." Helga finally spoke, her voice filled with disbelief, blinking rapidly. Arnold could do nothing bust release a small gasp of laughter through his nose. That laughter grew, and grew, and became contagious, and within moments, both Arnold and Helga were clutching their sides, tears streaking down their face as they rolled in gales of quiet laughter.

"Y-you c-couldn't sleep eeeither?" Arnold barely managed to force out the question between his giggles. Helga cleared her throat and wiped her eyes, finally regaining enough composure to sit up.

"Heh, nope. I feel like I ran the Hillwood marathon with rocks on my arms, but my dumb brain won't switch off. You?" She glanced over to the boy as he finally got control of himself, rising to sit beside her as he dried his own face. She had needed to see him, the compulsion eventually dragging her from her bed and out of the hut.

"Same. I think Tiukwí might have broken it..." Helga let out a soft laugh at his joke. He wasn't wrong. "Plus, my dad snores." Arnold grinned madly at being able to say that, and he threw his hands into the air. "My dad snores! I am now a kid that can complain to his friends that his dad snores! I can't believe all this is happening. Helga, thank you."

"Friends, huh?" Helga's smile was a complex one. Seeing her Arnold so happy, so utterly giddy with delight, filled her with a warmth that she couldn't even describe. But she still had so many questions, most of them downright huge. What were they now? All weirdness, spirits and mysticism aside, was she just a friend to him? One of the crowd? She doubted her mind would let her rest until she knew. Her hand absently drifted to the locket both now knew was hidden against her chest, and she avoided meeting his eye. Arnold noticed, his delight trickling away, leaving the pair in contemplative silence.

"I wanted to look at the stars." he finally spoke after a long pause, staring up into the night sky. "It's what I do back home, when I can't switch off. I turn off my lights and I just watch the sky."

"Well if you're homesick, you might be out of luck – Hillwood this ain't." Helga leaned back with him, gazing upwards. "We get, what, a handful of stars max? And a couple of choppers? Unless you and Geraldo get the whole city to go dark, that is." She shot Arnold an impressed smirk, to which he grinned sheepishly, before looking up once more. "You can see the whole Milky Way from here." She let out a soft sigh. It was true; this was a far cry from the cloudy, smoggy, light-polluted sky of Hillwood. It was a light show to rival anything mankind could make, a trillion shining pinpricks, each with their own faint, unique hue, some so densely packed together as to resemble a pale mist streaking across the darkness. And there was the moon, full and glowing. A poem started to form in Helga's mind. 'Oh, most luminous orb in the indigo sky...' She would come up with rest later.

"Do you know what I love most about the night sky?" Arnold turned to Helga, his grin still in place. The moon had brought a strange dream back to his mind, and the soft, wide smile on Helga's face as she gazed at it made his heart flutter. After a moment she turned to meet him, green eyes locking with blue, tilting her head as she waited for his answer. "When the sky is clear, and the stars are all out, it can look like there are just a few specks of light against this huge black backdrop. But if you look in one place long enough, even if it seems like there's nothing there but emptiness, you start to see that there are stars there too. You just have to be a little more patient."

"Spoken like a true Mr Brightside..." Helga's voice was faint, trailing away to nothing. She was staring at the boy she had loved for eight long years, watching the bright elation play across his face. She didn't think it was possible for her to fall even deeper in love with him, but in that moment, she did. Heaven help her, she did. The feeling of warm fingers gently brushing against her own told her that their hands had once again come into inexplicable contact, but she couldn't tear herself away to look down. She wasn't even sure how she was breathing. His emerald eyes seemed to be growing larger, and she registered a dull shock in her chest as she realised it was because they were coming closer. She wasn't sure if he was leaning towards her, or if she was leaning towards him, or whether each was leaning towards the other. Across from her, Arnold was wondering the exact same thing, as both of their eyes fell closed.

Their lips brushed.

The feeling was instant, pure lightning coursing through the both of them, racing back and forth from the top of their heads, to the tips of their fingers, through their chests and down to their feet. Their fingers reflexively curled, gently intertwining, as the energy persisted from the initial contact and through each subsequent, gentle peck. Helga couldn't feel the cold ground underneath her any more, or the chill breeze that flowed from the nearby waterfalls. She couldn't hear the sounds of the jungle, or feel the aching of her tired body. There was only Arnold, carrying her away, leaving her weightless. It couldn't last forever. With a final, chaste touch, their lips parted, each of them opening their eyes just enough to see the other. Their faces remained inches apart.

"Helga?" Arnold was the first to speak, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Mmhm?" She had no words to respond.

"Can we have that talk now?"