Fionna ran through the forest, glancing up at the moon frequently, determining the time by its placement. She stopped by a pond for some water and to catch her breath before continuing in her hurried pace. When she began to pass clumps of strawberries, she guessed where she was, but climbed a tree to make sure. Reaching the top branches, she looked around, and soon saw the hard surface of rock ahead, indicating she was close to the cave. She jumped down without a scratch and continued her running, still looking back up at the moon every now and then.
When she reached the caves entrance, she stopped for a moment and listened. She could hear the faintest sound of music. She smiled. She wasn't sure if Marshal Lee would be home, but she knew he would be awake. She was relieved she would be able to say hello, due to the fact that she had no letter and not enough time to write one in his house.
She hopped from stone to stone, not getting a drop of water on her shoes as she delicately jumped. She reached his door, and deciding it would be more fun to prank him then spend time breaking any ice, she tapped on the door before sprinting silently around the other side. She reached a window in a separate room.
"Hello? Who's there!" She heard him call from the other room. She opened the window silently and crawled in, placing her back against a wall. She heard a frustrated sound and the door slam shut. She couldn't rely on foot steps to tell her where he was, so she waited for the sound of other object moving. She knew that when he was annoyed he played with things.
She soon heard the clatter of plates coming from the kitchen, and moved stealthily into the next room, where she cautiously moved her head from around the corner.
His face was hidden behind the refrigerator door, his feet high in the air as he grumbled and looked for something red to eat. She crept forward, keeping close to the wall incase he looked around the door for some reason. She inched her way around the furniture, until she stood behind him, motionless. She watched him for a good five minutes as he rummaged through draws muttering to himself. She began to get impatient, and was just about clear her throat when he slammed the door shut, a few cherries in his hand.
He floated straight past her without even seeing her. She smiled and waited.
Sure enough, he froze, a cherry halfway up to his mouth, and turned his body as slow as a snail to face her. Eventually they were looking at each other, him with his mouth just as wide open as his eyes, she smiling and seconds away from bursting into laughter.
She lunged at him, tackling him to the ground and sending cherries flying and she laughed and hugged him. He still couldn't speak, but hugged her back.
"Got you!" she said, still laughing hard. She jumped up and pulled him with her, but he just kept staring. She didn't really feel awkward or embarrassed, it was a surprise after all.
"Well I just came to stop bye, say hello and that I'm alive and all that junk. I'm leaving pretty soon, gotta get back to slaying and hunting and such." She said easily, unhooking her cloak and hanging it on his unbearably hard couch. She began picking up a few cherries, placing them in a small sack tied to her belt that was used for emergency supplies. She had ran out of food on her way there, and hunting for things to eat usually took her a few days.
"Holy crap!" He yelled out of no where. She looked at him curiously. She didn't mind that her scar was showing, she knew he wouldn't care.
"What?" she asked, still picking up cherries.
"You're older than me!" He yelled, his eyes still wide as plates.
Fionna just laughed at his expression, picking up the last cherry.
"I'm stealing some more food, ok?" she asked, already making her way towards his fridge.
He beat her there, holding the door closed. She crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised challengingly.
"So that's it? Tww years without a word and you're leaving again? After five seconds?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
"I can't stay Marshal, I only came because I knew it was safe. But I already told Cake I'm coming back in a few months." She said, placing her hands on her hips and staring defiantly at him. He starred back, but eventually opened the fridge, and tossed her some apples. She caught each one and tucked them into the bag.
"Thank you." She said with mock sweetness.
"No probs cotton tail." He added with a smirk. She turned red. Yet another nickname associated with her old hat.
"Hey, that hat-
"Was the love of your life and you wanted to marry it blah blah blah." He said, taking a bite into one apple, sucking it into a gray husk.
"Well you can't make fun of me for it anymore, it's gone. I gave it to Cake when I left. You remember." She said stubbornly, still remembering when 5 years ago she had passed it on along with a few wedding gifts, as a promise she would always come back.
"Yeah I remember, but sometimes it's hard for me to accept change. I mean look at you!" He said, eyeing her.
"What?" She said, suddenly self conscious. She didn't think there was anything wrong with her. She wore thick dark gloves and a leather top, rough and battle ready. It was shoulder less and sleeveless , one shoulder always had an interesting piece of metal with a blue sun engraves in it, and fit her shoulder perfectly for armor. She almost always wore her cloak so she never really needed sleeves. She had a large belt with multiple pockets and things attached, including a few throwing knives, the thick dagger, and the satchel for food. Her pants were a light kind of leather material she had found, and they were good for easy movement. She didn't know what the material was exactly but she liked it. Her boots were old and rugged, but made of strong hide. Part of them was fur covered and provided great warmth. She thought her attire was perfectly normal for someone like her.
"Well, before you left you dressed light a normal person, what with the blue shirt and skirt, then the next time I saw you the skirt was gone and you had pants, which wasn't a big change, and then you got the cloak and started wearing that metal thing on your shoulder, and now BAM! You got this totally kick-ass Fionna!" He said, punching the air when he said 'BAM'.
"Oh, well adapt to survive, right?" She said, relieved he wasn't going to give her hell about going all out with whatever she found basically.
He smiled at her, but he frowned just as quickly.
"So you really gotta just go? Just like that?" He said, his eyes like puppy dogs. She walked over, playing with an apple in her hand which she threw into her bag before hugging him.
"I have to Marsh, I have a whole separate life now." She said sadly, smiling at him.
"Yeah, but not even a full day to visit?" He asked, sulking.
"Just for now, I have some stuff I need to take care of. After then I'll be able to visit for a full week." She said, not completely honest.
"Really? Well that's fantastic! We can finally catch up!' He said, grinning so wide she could resist going along with it.
She jumped over to the widow and opened it, sticking her head out to check on the moon.
"Dam, I need to get moving Marshal." She said, grabbing her cloak and pulling it around her shoulders.
"Hey, you promised!" He said, making her stop.
"What?" she asked cautiously. She hopped she hadn't forgotten something important.
"You said, last time you came, I could give you a birthday present." He said, floating to him room.
"Oh….Marshal, I can't-
"Too late. You promised." He said smugly, as he began riffling through his room.
"Er…fine." She sighed, again checking on the moon. It looked like it was maybe 4:15am, and she needed to be at least halfway back by 6. It took a full hour just to get past the Ice Kingdom.
"Catch!" He called from behind. She wasn't expecting it, but she still caught it easily, her reflexes lightning fast. It was small, the box old and covered in red velvet. She examined it feeling the soft fabric, enjoying the feel of it. She opened it.
"Oh, no Marshal I can't take this…"She said looking up at him.
"Well then you are officially a terrible person because you promised." He said, crossing his arms and looking stubbornly at her. She sighed. It was so beautiful, but what if it got broken?
"But everything I own always gets destroyed…" She said, biting her lip.
"Not this one, stones like that don't break. Maybe its cursed or something." He said nonchalantly.
"Is this gonna make my head explode of something?" She said warily, not liking the sound of cursed.
"No, no just really strong. Maybe the person who owned it before my family wanted it to be special but it backfired and now its not theirs…..I don't know. My mom wore it once but nothing happened to her." He said, shrugging.
"Wait, is this your mother's?" She asked, horrified at the idea.
"No she only wore it once, and she hated it. Said it made her feel like she had a soul again, but I don't actually think that's a bad thing." He said, chuckling a little at the memory.
"Well…..ok I trust you." She said, smiling as she pulled the sparkling light blue gem necklace over her head. It almost seemed to glow.
"The box says that when you're really in trouble, it can help. That's why I thought it would be good for you, what with all the fighting." He said, scratching the back of his head a little embarrassed at giving her jewelry.
She hugged him tenderly, and then back away, one hand on the window.
"It's perfect. Thank you so much Marshal." She said kindly, stepping halfway out the window.
"And don't forget, you said you would come back soon." He said warningly as she began stone hopping away.
"I promise, if I don't come back soon I'll…..do something crazy!" She called over her shoulder as he leaned his head out the window, smiling at her.
"Just a few months!" He yelled over the water to her.
"Just a few months!" She repeated back, he cloak flying behind her as she sped across the landscape.

Marshal sighed, watching her sadly. He really missed his friend. He hopped she would keep her promise. He hated that she was two years older than him now. He hated being the youngest. He didn't like hanging around with Gumball because he only wanted to talk to him if he had news of Fionna, and he was always working on some new invention or formula. It wasn't much fun playing with Cake anymore because she was married and had Mocro now.
He floated back over to his bass, and began to strum mindlessly.
He had never really felt so lonely.