~A Place To Call Home~

"I know the perfect place for us to stay. All I need do is to pay a visit to an old friend of mine, and then we'll be on our way." Lynx said as he guided Stein and Alice through the valley.

As they walked further into the dense forest that was when the scenery began to change. More rivers and streams are common in such a large forest like this one. The heights of the trees are taller than what they were used to seeing, and the barks of the trees looked much thicker. Colorful mushrooms were located in various places throughout the area, which came in many shapes and sizes, and lots of flowers. But what surprised them the most were large game pieces around the place which were; marbles, jacks, dominoes, and dice. All of them covered in moss that clung on to the pieces, though worn out they may appear to be, but they still retained its colors.

'This place certainly shows off much of its unique color.' Alice complimented inside her head, admiring the place, whilst quietly walking alongside Stein.

He's been awfully quiet. Alice wondered what was going on inside the professor's head. He didn't even bother to turn the screw from his head. This was an obvious sign that something was bothering him, and had no plans on spitting it out anytime soon. She leaned closer to him, and just when she was about to tug on his shirt Lynx suddenly spoke. This caused her to flinch, quickly hiding her hand before Stein could even notice.

"Ah, here we are!" Lynx blurted out with both his arms upon his hips.

He approached the large tree, and then he pressed the bark with his hand. A soft click was heard. Instantly, an odd-looking contraption appeared from above. It took an appearance of a metal swing, but it was replaced with strong ropes and on the bottom, was a wooden platform which was designed to hold up two people at most. Finally, in the middle was a switch with a golden hoop attached to a chain.

"I'll go on ahead and wait for you two up top. Don't stay too long or else you will become prey?" Lynx hopped onto the platform, pulling down the chain switch. "Ta ta!" he waved before being lifted up into the air and disappearing inside the thick leaf's above.

Alice shuddered, staring at the corner of her eyes for any signs of an enemy lurking around the place. She suddenly felt a hand brush against her shoulder and turning her head to stare at Professor Stein who had a comforting smile. A smile spread across her lips and her cheeks began to burn lightly. Suddenly, the contraption came down as they made their way towards it. Stein was the first to hop on the platform while Alice stood there, fiddling with her fingers. He took most of the space which means she had to somehow make room for herself. She was a flustered mess. Stein gazed down at her in confusion.

"If the lack of space is what makes you uncomfortable I can just go ahead," he said bluntly. Her head shot up with wide eyes and waved her hands in front of her in disagreement.

Alice hesitated. Hopping onto the cramped platform and held onto the ropes on either side. Stein pulled down the golden hoop and the contraption took them up; passing by the many leafs around them. As it took them up higher, a sudden bump made the contraption sway slightly. But the tiny movement caused Alice to lose her footing, and Stein quickly threw his right arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. Her face quickly turned into a darker shade of red. She was never used to being this close to him. A small and quick hug was enough to satisfy her, but this? This was something she yearned for. Finally, when the opportunity came it made her feel flustered.

'Close… so close…'

Her mind was a complete mush. Both her hands were on his abdomen while she stared blankly and nervously at his shirt. When she moved back slightly, he pulled her closer to him in which she almost buried her face into his shirt, and now her forehead touched his chest.

Alice's heart began to race that she could practically hear it thumping inside her eardrums. Being this close to him never felt… safer. A smile rose to her lips. Although, the moment didn't last long as the contraption finally came to a stop. Carefully, they both got off the platform where Lynx waited for them, leaning onto the bark of the tree.

"Glad you two came. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show, but, no matter." he stepped away from the tree trunk revealing a door that magically appeared out of nowhere. "Come inside! It's quite spacious than what you may think." he stepped inside and disappeared through the door.

Alice walked over to the door, cautiously looking inside, but all she saw was a long hallway and in the end, was a barely lit staircase. She soon stepped inside, walking down the ominous hallway, while Stein followed behind. Both made their way down the stairs. At the bottom, Lynx was relaxing on an oddly shaped loveseat. Alice's eyes widen, her mouth agape staring off at the large and colorful looking room; it appeared to be a living room. She walked over to a glass table next to the loveseat where Lynx sat; she observed the fishbowl which was filled with skeleton-like fishes.

"I do hope you find this place comfortable. It isn't much, but you might as well call it home." Lynx said, waving his left hand slightly. Alice turned her head towards Lynx, who had his eyes on her and she smiled.

"Interesting," Stein whispered to himself, staring at the fishbowl with deep curiosity. "I must say, these creatures would be great test subjects." A grin formed on his lips.

Alice formed a nervous smile and gently stroking her cheek with her index finger. She exhaled softly, 'I really need to use the bathroom. Maybe I should ask Lynx.' Right when she was about to do a few hand gestures to the man… um, feline? He interrupted her.

"The bathroom is down the hallway to your right."

'How did he…?' she blinked several times staring at him in disbelief, and then she smiled.

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Alice stood in front of the large mirror in which she now stared at her reflection. She stood there without her torn up sweater and was now staring down at the wound wrapped around in bandages. The bandages were slightly stained with blood and had some dirt spots which weren't noticeable. She stroked the area gently only to wince in pain quietly. The pain was still there which a good thing to know, and there was the bad thing about it. Now she must be careful not to put too much force into doing stuff, otherwise, she would end up reopening it. Alice furrowed her brows before sighing softly.

She went through her small, yet roomy backpack in search of a long-sleeved shirt. She pulled out a black long-sleeved shirt with the academy logo on the left side of the breast. Right when she was about to put it on, someone knocked on the door making her jump. She clenched her shirt onto her chest which only covered her bust.

"Alice, is everything okay in there?" Stein's voice asked.

She blushed profusely. 'Ahh! Professor Stein is on the other side. What am I going to say to him? Oh, right. I can't really say anything. Think, think, and think!' Alice basically screamed at herself to do something, until finally, she had an idea, a not so good one.

Alice's right hand hovered onto the doorknob, and the other was covering her chest with the shirt. She twisted the doorknob and slowly opened the door to peek out. Stein stood there looking bored as usual. His eyes landed on Alice who had a nervous smile and her cheeks were tinted with red. He raised a brow in confusion.

"Why are you hiding from me?" the question caused her entire face to heat up.

She now averted her gaze to the floor, and this made him frown slightly. Steins' eyes landed on her exposed shoulder then down to her barely covered chest. Stein's cheeks tingled from the sight and he immediately looked away in embarrassment. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ah…I…um. I'll just be in the other room if you need me." The flustered professor quickly walked away from the door and down the hallway he went.

Alice closed the door behind her and let out a sigh of relief. She put on the long-sleeved shirt which fits perfectly as it now shows off her wonderful curves. The shirt had a nice scoop shaped collar showing off a little bit of cleavage. She grabbed the torn sweater and then she exited the bathroom. As she walked down the hall and passed an open door- - wait a door? Alice took a few steps back and looked inside the room.

No one occupied the empty room, though there were a few things inside: a cabinet drawer which had a strange color combination of red, blue, yellow and purple. A large king sized bed with a thick brown cover which was in the middle of the room, and it had a bunch of pillows on top. There was also a door to the left and to her right was a square portrait of a mountain that had a waterfall hovering in mid-air.

She was so absorbed by the oddness of the room that she entered it without realizing it herself as she looked around the room without a care in the world. Alice now sat on the edge of the bed with a smile spreading across her lips. The cover was soft to the touch similar that of a sheep's fur coat.

"Lovely isn't?"

Alice turned her head towards the door where Lynx stood with his arms crossed. "The room isn't much but I hope you find it comfortable to your liking." Lynx entered the room as he now stood in front of the bed. She smiled and gave him a thumb up sign in response.

"Good. It's nice to know that, especially from you." He winked playfully, which made her blush and look away. "Are you always this silent?" Lynx tilted his head to the side.

Alice began to use sign language with a nervous smile on her lips. **I don't usually talk. I prefer to use my notebook to talk. Not many people can understand sign language you know? **

Lynx hummed, his tail swaying slowly. "I believe you, though I doubt you would be able to say anything at all."

Her expression changed drastically, now staring blankly at him with a deep frown written across her face. Lynx simply hummed softly as his tail swayed back and forth. Alice looked away with a sad look in her eyes.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me and you should be thankful that Stein isn't eavesdropping on us," he reassured.

Lynx stood in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest. "I hate to be rude, but how long will you keep this little charade going? Sooner or later he will uncover your little secret, and when it comes to that, the outcome will not be pleasant." he purred.

Her head shot up with wide eyes, she glared at him. Alice clenched the sheets of the bed tightly under her grasp. 'How can he just say that like it was nothing? Maybe…he's right.'

The thought of Stein finding out pained her deeply. She didn't know what to do. In the beginning, he would always try and get her to speak to him but she simply couldn't and instead would answer him with her flashcards or her notebook. A question came to mind would Stein still consider her a friend or will he simply reject her?