"Are we there yet?"
"No Anya." Loid says as calmly as he can, ignoring the sweat forming across his forehead - field work was much more exhausting than he remembered. "We will be soon."
The Forgers were one of the few in this particular area of the national park, and outside of W.I.S.E operatives Loid had only seen a dozen or so other civilians. Most were clearly hunters, stout men dressed in camouflage and bearing rifles. As a result, the trail they were on was pristine - Loid hoped that his destination would be as presentable. Based on the pictures, the lake would make for a good distraction for Yor and Anya.
"Papa, are we there yet?"
"No."
Lips pursed in thought, Twilight goes over his plan one last time.
When they got to the lake, the spy would leave Anya with her mother and Bond under the guise of a bathroom break; allowing him just enough time to scope out the facility for any signs of activity. Based on maps provided by W.I.S.E, there was just enough time for a round trip; assuming Twilight walked brisker than usual.
"How about now Papa?"
"No."
A groan, and his daughter grumbles something under her breath. Twilight couldn't bear to deal with a cranky Anya at the moment, so the spy hurried his pace.
Every crack of a branch and rustling of the leaves put him further on edge. Berchesgaden was beautiful, but its forests reminded him too much of his time in Westalis. Sometimes, Loid caught glimpses of something in the trees - and he had to remind himself that the war was long over. The familiar weight of his silenced pistol rests on his leg, cold steel comforting to the touch.
As the father carefully stepped over a log, the spy noticed too late that everything was quiet.
Looking over his shoulder, partially blocked by the large backpack of supplies, Loid was quick to notice Anya slumped over a log - melting like a spoon of ice cream. Yor was there, kneeling on the ground and rubbing the upset girl's head. Without knowing it, he had walked without them: both barely dots among the sea of dark greens and browns.
At this rate, they would reach the lake by noon: and that left Twilight with even less time to split off from the group and find information about 'MONARCH'. If preliminary surveillance was to be believed, whoever was using the base left at dawn and returned at dusk; meaning that if the spy didn't make it on time, his mission would be much harder. The man sighed under his breath.
Had Anya not been here, he could have operated without having to constantly worry about her.
Despite this, Loid knew what he was going to do.
While he had never watched a Gisney movie in full, Loid knew too much about them thanks to his daughter's obsession. Yor reminded him of a fairy princess, the kind that the hero would find in a forest to aid their journey. Her ebony black hair glittered in the sunlight as the spy approached.
His wife looked much less tired than Loid did; though it was probably because she wasn't the one carrying the backpack. Yor shifted across the log as he arrived, carefully cradling Anya in her arms. The girl was clearly feigning sleep, but the father decided to ignore it for the moment.
"I'm sorry. We should have gone on a less taxing hike, seeing as this is our first time."
"Oh don't worry." As usual, Yor is quick to placate his worries - Loid's acting had gotten much worse the longer he spent with her. "We're fine, Anya is just being dramatic."
The father spares a look at his daughter, who quickly shut her eyes upon being noticed. Seeing no other option, Loid decided to play along with whatever his daughter was planning.
"I'll carry her."
"Oh? Anya? Are you sure?"
Loid huffs as the surprisingly heavy child is handed over to him, Anya's lips twitching as she holds back a giggle. While spies were used to manipulating others from behind the scenes, Loid was beginning to understand how it felt to be on the receiving end of such treatment. Twilight wondered if she had learnt that kind of behavior from watching him.
"I'll carry the backpack." Yor reaches for it, but the father is quick to stand up before she can.
"No, I insist." He heaves, ignoring how heavy everything was on his shoulders. "Shall we?"
As soon as Anya saw the lake, her jaw dropped.
It was crystal clear, a long shape that covered a huge chunk of the clearing. The water was so still that the sky was reflected off its surface, like the mirror in Anya's bathroom but bigger. Around it was more forest - walled up by the dozen or so mountains around it. One was larger than all the others, looming over the forest. While others had snow capped peaks, this mountain was covered in nothing but green trees all the way to the top.
"Is that the Griesberg?" Mama asks. "It's - huge."
"Largest mountain in all of Ostania." Papa reaffirms, finally giving his arms a break as he lowers Anya to the ground. It didn't take a telepath to notice the exhaustion plastered on the man's face. "Of course, in Westalis there's the Zugspitze - which is a bit larger in terms of-"
"Wow!"
Ignoring all of the boring grown-up talk, Anya dashes immediately for the perfectly curved shore only for someone to hold her back. Bond barks insistently, and seeing as he literally could see the future; Anya decides to trust his judgment. For now.
"So no water?" She pouts. "What can we do then?"
In response, Bond reaches up - and yoinks her prized hat from her head.
"Hey!"
Her pet quickly takes off, and Anya immediately sets off in taking back what was hers. Their cheers and barks bounce between the trees, the wildlife singing along. Berchesgaden welcomed them with open arms, the forest constantly shifting to reveal more forest- dappled in rays of golden sunlight.
Determined, Anya finally catches up to Bond - tackling him playfully as they roll back out into the clearing. Mama had set up a small picnic area, with Papa nowhere in sight. The esper and her steed barrel into the lakeside, immediately causing the woman to panic in the distance.
"Careful Anya! Stay away from the water!"
"Is this how Yuri feels?" Anya giggles at her mother's thoughts, Mama was always more fun to read then Papa. One time, she even learnt a new word; disembowel. She didn't know what it meant though - probably something to do with cooking.
"Ok Mama!"
"Where's Papa?"
Weakly, a hand reaches out from what Anya thought was a pile of food. Her mother laughs, playfully pushing Papa's hand down as the man continues to lay on the picnic mat they had brought - using the basket to shield his face from the sun.
"Papa is lazy!" The girl teases, running over and flopping onto his chest. "Lazy Papa!"
"Anya." Her mother laughs, hiding it with one hand. "Let your father rest."
"Ok…"
Suddenly, her hat disappears - Bond barking as he takes off in triumph.
"Hey!"
Anya doesn't know how long they run for, but by the time she found the hat - the esper didn't recognize where she was. Then again, everything was all trees and rocks; plus Anya was not the most attentive of hikers in Berchesgaden.
"Hooray!"
The girl spins the hat in the air, before placing it where it belonged on top of her head. Giggling to herself, Anya takes a seat on a nearby rock - kicking her legs and clapping at her own achievement.
"Ok Bond, you can take me home now."
Silence.
"Bond?"
The trees leer at her mockingly, patterns on their bark resembling grimaces or furious snarls. The woods, so big and magical, now felt sinister. This was where the bad guys lived, if Gisney movies were to be believed. Anya gulps as she looks around for the snow-white fur of her companion, keeping a listening eye for his distinct "Borf".
"Papa? Mama?" She whimpers fearfully. "W-where are you?"
The girl takes a few steps forward, leaf litter crunching beneath her feet. Shadows swim across the tree trunks, devouring the gentle brown of the tree bark. Anya gulps again, holding her hat close to her chest. She sincerely hoped she still remembered the way Mama taught her to punch.
Anya trips backwards- and the ground beneath her caves. Her view swings upwards, Anya seeing a trickle of sunlight spilling from the canopy above. The girl sees her life flash before her eyes, grabbing onto her sun hat as she stumbles backward.
"AAAHHHHH!"
She feels weightless for a split second, before being suspended in the air.
Something, presumably Bond, grabs her leg- keeping Anya dangling over a void. It grabs her by the ankle, prickly enough to hold onto her but soft enough to not be too restraining. Bond's tongue?
Her eyes remain tearful as she is slowly pulled from the gaping abyss of darkness beneath her, frozen in fear. Anya yelps as she is adjusted upright by what she assumes is dozens of small hands, before being gently set onto the ground. Frozen in fear, she spends a second staring emptily ahead while processing her near-death experience.
"Borf!"
Anya cries in relief as she hugs the familiar cloud that was Bond, pressing her face into his soft fur. But before she can hop onto his back and get home, the dog slides out of her grasp.
Despite the situation, Bond looked calm and collected - seeing as he knew how this was going to play out, there was probably a good reason for most of his actions.
"Huh? What's wrong Bond?"
He paws at the ground, before nudging his head forward. Anya follows his gaze, and for the second time today- she suppresses a scream.
Before the esper was a mass of leaves, stem and flowers.
Frozen in place, holding frightfully onto the oddly calm Bond, Anya watches as the creature towers over her. She can only make out its deep blood red eyes: utterly alien compared to anything that she had ever seen. Anya feels a sharp tingling in her head, the shadow leaning in closer. Two voices fight and argue in her mind, before one seemingly drowns out the other in volume.
"Why is there a child here?"