The last twenty-four hours felt like the longest hours Olivia had ever lived. From fighting monsters to sprinting around town to collect her wobbly legged friend and diving into chilly sea water, just to go back home and cook for two. It was enough to warrant a few extra hours of sleep.

Sadly, her alarm clock did not get that memo.

Olivia reached out and smacked the incessant device before curling up again as her mind began to race. She wasn't going to be able to go to the cavern for a while, that meant no ore to sell. She'd need some kind of income in the meantime.

Farming would be difficult, even if she could find something to grow, her makeshift sprinklers were all frozen over.

Foraging could work, there were still wild plants that grew in the winter.

Olivia sighed as she realized she wasn't going to fall back asleep and begrudgingly pushed herself out of bed. Her previous worrying was replaced by a checklist of things to do for the day. Think of a plan to teach Semeru to walk, check the mail, get coffee with Charles and Scott, clear another section of the field, forage, Return the wheel chair, start preparing another offering to the goddess-

As she exited her room and saw the sleeping man on her couch the list faded from her mind.

Make breakfast.

There were a million things to do but it could all wait a few minutes. She shuffled past the small living room set up and over to the kitchen where she started the stove to fry some eggs and put a few slices of bread in the toaster.

Two plates and two forks were collected before a slice of Toast and a fried egg were put on each plate. She proudly smiled at the light meal before picking up one of the plates and carrying it over to the small living room set up where Semeru was still resting.

One arm and leg were both hanging off the side of the couch that was just a little too small for him to fully stretch out. Leaving his other foot to hang off the edge of the couch while his other arm had been contorted behind his back so he could sleep on his stomach. The blanket she provided earlier was discarded to the side, likely from constant shifting to get comfortable. Which apparently never happened.

Olivia gently placed the plate on the coffee table in favor of picking up the wayward blanket so she could drape it over him again. He'd had, arguably, a busier day then she did. She may as well let him sleep in at the least.

With that thought Olivia walked back to her room to change for the day, dawning a winter sweater, jeans and work boots before heading outside to quickly get the morning mail so she could read it while she ate.

By the time she walked back in, she found Semeru sitting up right and stretching out stiff, complaining joints.

"Morning," Olivia greeted as she walked over to her dining room table and set the mail down next to her own plate of breakfast.

"Morning," Semeru tried getting up only to sit back down. Right. Legs. "When do we start training?"

"I have a few morning chores to finish," Olivia answered as she took her seat, leaving the two facing away from each other. "Once I get back, I can help with that."

"So I'm supposed to just sit here the whole time otherwise?" Semeru asked as he raised an eyebrow and looked over the plate on the table Infront of him.

"Didn't say that. You can always train on your own, but try not to over do it," Olivia put a bite of food into her mouth after saying as much.

"I wouldn't know where to start," He reminded as he picked up the plate. "I take it the food is for me?"

"Yeah, that's for you," Olivia picked up one of the letters from the pile. A bill. Joy. "I can show you a few exercises that you can work on while I'm out."

"That would be appreciated," Semeru replied before hesitantly taking a bite of the food only to make a few faces while trying to decide how he felt about it. Over all, it wasn't great but not awful.

Similarly, Olivia ate a bit more of her own breakfast before opening another letter. Which was again, a bill. "Sure, I'll leave my phone with you. I can get a work out video started for you to follow. It should only take me an hour or two, tops."

Semeru shrugged. "I'm here to help you, do what you need to."

Hearing that caused her to chuckle. "Fair enough." She opened the last letter only to stop and stare as she read it.

Olivia,

How are you? I just wanted to check up on your well-being. We heard you're a farmer now. I hope things are going well with your farm, but if you ever miss your old job, It's here.

Let's chat more about this. Hope to hear from you soon.

Warm regards,

Lance B.

"HA!" Olivia crumpled up the letter as quickly as she read it. How the HELL did her boss find her new address?

"Did I miss something?" Semeru turned around to see Olivia quickly getting up and walking over to the trash can to throw something away.

"It's nothing. Just laughing at a piece of junk mail," She replied, though as she turned to go back to her seat, her face seemed tense. "Well, I'm going to head out." She announced while cleaning up her half-eaten breakfast.

"Okay," Semeru continued to cautiously watch. Something was off but if she wasn't going to say what, he couldn't force her.

Once the table was cleared, she walked over and took out her phone. A few taps later she offered it to him. "Here, it's set up to play a workout video. Just press the triangle to get it to start and follow the instructions."

"More land-dweller technology." He mused as he accepted the odd rectangle and looked it over. "I'll figure it out."

"If not, I'll be back before you know it," She assured while making her way over to the coat rack by the doorto take a heavy wool coat off the rack and put it on. "See you in a bit."

"Bye,"

Olivia closed the door behind her and quickly got to work. The wheel chair was taken to town hall to be returned for now, and bills were paid while she was there. Her path took her to Raj's coffee shop for two cups of coffee, before making her way to the town's central garden. Morning tradition continued as promised, chatting with Charles and Scott for a good half hour while the trio sipped at their warm morning brew.

The day only deviated when she made her way back towards the farm.

"Olivia, hold on a second," Called a voice as she passed by the general store.

She stopped and looked back to see Sam placing a broom against the store's wall before hurrying over. "Hey Sam, what's up?"

"I've been wondering where my best customer has been. Didn't see you at the start of the season." Sam admitted as he stopped to stand in front of her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. It's just a slow time of year," She had to hold back her laughter at her own lie. Slow. Right. "I've got plenty to do before spring."

"I see, well it is a shame not to have anything from your farm on the shelves. I actually found something I thought you might like, If you have a minute, why don't you come into the shop with me." Sam pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards the store.

Olivia's eyes followed the motion before glancing in the direction of the farm. A few minutes longer couldn't hurt. "Sure, I have some time."

"Excellent," Sam gave her a hearty pat on the back. After doing so he put an arm around her shoulder, leading the way into the shop and over to the check out counter. "I was talking to a few buddies of mine that drop off the import shipments. They mentioned that there actually are a few things that can grow in the winter."

"Oh?" Olivia watched as Sam walked away from her so he could walk around to the other side of the counter. "I mean I suppose that makes sense, I was going to try and forge for some wild vegetables later."

"Exactly," Sam pointed a finger at her with a knowing smile before ducking down to collect a small sack from behind his counter. "This is a wild seed blend. Its a collection of seeds from the island and depending on when you toss these down, different seeds will take."

"Huh, it sounds interesting, but I'm not sure how to care for a plant if I don't know what it is," She could just as easily over water or under water the poor thing. "Seems kind of risky."

"Yeah, it's why I pestered the seller to give me this bag as a sample," Sam patted the roughly half pound sack.

"This is a sample bag?" Olivia's jaw dropped as she looked it over. Granted it wasn't huge, but normally seed packs weren't so hefty.

"Well, when you're shoving who knows how many different kinds of seeds in one bag, with no guarantee of what will grow, you gotta make it worth the buyers wild," Sam shrugged before nudging the bag towards Olivia. "I figured who better to test it out then our local farmer. If I give you these, free of charge, do you think you could test them out and see what grows? They said any season so I expect it to be any season if I'm going to stock them."

"I can give it a try; can't say I'd buy these on my own though. It's important to know what I'm planting and where. I could see it being fun for a smaller garden. Maybe Randy would want them come spring for a science lesson with the kids?" She suggested as she picked up the pack and looked it over. Sure enough, the bag boldly proclaimed that it worked for all seasons and could be used in the winter.

"A try is all I need. If they don't work out then I'll tell the vendor that I'm just not interested. One less SKU in the system is fine by me," Sam shifted to lean against the counter. "Now while you're here. What's this I'm hearing about you being affiliated with some drunk troublemaker? Hm?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, a friend of mine had a rough trip over is all. It's nothing serious," Olivia quickly waved off the question. "He's just used to a very different culture."

"Well, be careful. People around here get bored and start talking. This is the sort of thing that feeds them for a while," Sam cautioned before fixing his posture to stand once more.

Hearing this caused Olivia to shake her head. "I appreciate the heads up but honestly, a few chatty Cathies are the least of my concern right now." With that said she put the sack of seeds into her bag. "I'll see you around Sam."

"You say that now until people start claiming you're a flying spaghetti monster," Sam countered as he started cleaning up around the register.

Olivia laughed as she walked away. "Good-bye Sam." The chime of a bell rang as she opened the door and left the general store. Ambient music from the store's speaker system faded away and was replaced with the soft crunching sound of snow under foot as Olivia made her way through town and across the bridge to her farm.

Peeking her head in just to say 'hi I'm here but I'm going right back outside, so please continue to be bored' seemed to be in poor taste. Instead, Olivia collected her hoe from the tool chest by the house an put the seed pack down so she could till enough space to plant the unknown seeds.

It hardly took any time at all, as the sack of seeds covered the same amount of space that she would have usually dedicated two sprinklers too during a warm season.

It was actually about as much as her first harvest. As she thought that Olivia smiled and looked out at her small army of sprinklers. Her capacity expanded seven-fold since then. "Maybe if I rework the sprinklers…"

Great. One more thing to figure out how to fit in before the end of winter… If she tested on one and then upgraded then one at a time in the evenings maybe she could rework her field structure before winter ended… maybe.

"One thing at a time," She whispered before turning back towards the house, leaving her hoe against the outer wall of the home before heading inside.

"I'm back," Olivia announced as she walked in and took off her coat to put it back on the coat rack. It took a moment for her to realize that Semeru was on the floor and following along with yet another work out video at half the pace of the instructor.

"Welcome back," He replied though his focus remained trained on the video.

"Are you still at it? I've been gone for almost two hours." Olivia held the side of her head as realization hit her. "Are you doing mountain climbers?" She knew full grown adults who couldn't do that.

"I think that's what they called them," Semeru stopped to lay down, roll to his back so he could sit up and picked up his spear that was laying nearby so he could pull himself onto his feet again.

"Okay, well. Good news, muscle mass probably isn't the issue then. The problem is probably just co-ordination and muscle memory," Olivia found herself blinking more rapidly to process this. "That makes this a lot easier."

"Small miracles then," He'd take what he could get.

"Did you need a break or did you want to work on walking?" Olivia asked while a plan slowly started to form.

"The less time we waste the better."

Upon hearing that Olivia offered her hands. "Alright then. Put the spear down and hold onto my hands, we'll try doing a lap around the couch first."

Semeru glanced at Olivia's waiting expression then her hands, and back. "Seriously?"

"Would you rather I let you figure it out on your own and let you break your nose a few times?" She knit her eyebrows together as her expression soured. "Falling on your face up here isn't the same as it is down there. You have a nice gentle descent compared to instant repercussions."

He muttered under his breath as she said this and reluctantly put his spear down so he could hold onto her extended hands. That persistent static returned along with the itching sensation in the back of his mind.

"There we go. Now, do what you were doing before. It's one foot in front of the other," Olivia took one step back to give him space to step forward.

An over exaggerated step was taken, causing him to wobble to catch his balance.

"Good job, a little less force, other foot now," She took another step back and similarly he stepped forward. "See you got this! Try to land on your heel, so you can lean forward into the next step. Two steps this time. Ready?"

"Heel?"

"The back of your foot."

Semeru focused on the floor to keep an eye on his new limbs. This was much easier when he was already on the ground and not going anywhere. All the same he followed the provided instructions to the best of his ability. Still unstable and wobbling as he put his weight into the supporting hold.

"Alright, there you go. Go ahead and keep trying when you're ready, I'll keep up," Olivia coached.

All he could manage as a response was a nod. One step was taken. Then another. As each following step fell into place his hands slowly adjusted their hold. Cautious hands inched up her arms to hold on to her just above the elbow, allowing her to rest her forearms against his to better support him. The more of her he held, the more the itch in the back of his mind grew cloying. A sickening sweetness that made it self increasingly apparent as a craving for closeness.

To be seen. To be wanted. To be held and to hold another. For familiarity. Affection.

Distracted thoughts caused him to stumble, making their closeness alarmingly apparent as his consciousness returned.

"It's probably a good thing I got this all finished before the ice set in... Duty calls and all."

He was going to have to leave eventually. Semeru cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should try something else." He suggested, mentally fighting himself to let go and stand on his own. "I'd hate to fall and take you down with me. The spear might actually be useful."

"Oh um, sure I'll go get that," Olivia puzzled over the request as she walked over to collect the spear. It was one little stumble. Maybe she went a bit far when she said falling could hurt…

A week had passed since then, and each day seemed the same as the last. Olivia would head out to take care of her morning chores and visits. While she did this Semeru stayed behind to follow work out videos and once she got back, walking practice would ensue for a few more hours.

This day started the same as the last as Olivia woke up before the sun and pushed herself out of bed only to immediately start coughing. She shuddered as the fit passed and went on with her day. A sweater and overalls were dawned before thick socks and boots were added to the outfit.

Now decent she made her way out of her room and into the open living space where she found Semeru contorted to try and fit on the couch for another night of sleep. The poor guy…

Olivia shook her head and got to work on breakfast, warming up some oatmeal and adding preserved fruit to it before heading back to the small living room set up so she could put the bowls down on the coffee table.

"Semeru, time to get up," She announced as she picked up the discarded blanket once her hands were free.

"I'm up," he mumbled through a sharp inhale as he rushed to sit up.

"I don't get how you do that," Olivia admitted as she sat down next to him now that space was available.

"Do what?" He asked as he stretched out his back.

"How you spring awake like that. I'm an early bird but even I fight waking up," She replied as she picked up her bowl of oatmeal from the table to start eating.

Semeru picked up his own bowl as a half-hearted chuckle escaped him. "Discipline. Simple as that. A soldier should always be prepared."

"I suppose. A wise man once told me that there's a difference between prepared and high strung. A prepared soldier is an asset and a high strung one is a liability," Olivia contently smiled at her meal before taking a few more bites.

Semeru raised an eyebrow, "I don't remember saying that."

"You didn't," Olivia confirmed through a chuckle that turned to a cough as she got up. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "I think I'm going to sit out my usual trip into town and just head straight to the field. See you out there?"

"Yeah, see you in a minute," He agreed though his expression remained confused as he watched her leave. If he didn't say that then who did…

He puzzled over this as he finished up the rest of his breakfast. Slow steps carried him to the kitchen so he could wash out his empty dish and from there he collected a change of clothes that Olivia had picked up for him the other day. His plain white shirt and sweat pants were replaced with loose fitting jeans, a similarly loose white long sleeve top with yellow bands, boots, and a deep blue winter coat.

Slow movement turned to the crawling pace of a snail as Semeru made his way out of the house and very carefully down the steps without the help of his trusty spear.

Out in the distance he was able to see Olivia hacking away at a tree to add to a pile of long-cut untreated timber near a collection of newly sprouted winter crops.

She was busy and he should be too. Semeru looked ahead of him, towards the edge of the property before beginning the latest training exercise. Laps. The basics didn't take that long to learn, and practicing had turned into an issue of applying that knowledge effortlessly and smoothly. Fighting required agility, which he unfortunately currently lacked.

The rhythmic thumping of Olivia's axe against a tree and the crackling snapping that followed as the tree fell made for an interesting cadence to follow.

An hour passed, then two and a few more as the morning sun crested, announcing the arrival of midday. Semeru eventually stopped as he finished his most recent lap only to find that, as he looked around, Olivia was no where to be seen, and the sound of her working had stopped.

"Olivia?"

No response came.

"Olivia?" He tried once more and still nothing. "For the love of the Goddess this woman is going to be the death of me. Olivia!"

Still nothing.

He looked around to see if he could find some form of clue, only to see her axe resting along the wall of her home. Semeru grumbled as he hobbled up the stairs and into the house to still find no one there. His eyes darted from side to side until a soft shuffling came from the other room.

Even if he could have moved faster, he probably wouldn't have as he cautiously approached the doorway that appeared to be blocked by a folding screen. As he got closer, he noticed this was more so an illusory effect for privacy, forcing anyone who tried to enter the room to turn to walk around it.

The room itself was pretty standard otherwise. A small untouched reading nook was nestled in the corner by the screen while on the other end of the room, furthest from it, was a large wardrobe next to a bed that was flanked by two nightstands.

A soft coughing caused a covered mound in the bed to fluctuate.

She went back to sleep? Semeru thought as he walked over to find that sure enough Olivia was asleep. Though her breathing seemed to be a bit labored as her face was flushed. His mouth scrunched to the side as he frowned and placed the back of his hand on her forehead. Only to pull away just as quickly. She was burning up.

He was no stranger to the concept of a fever but, Land-dwellers seem so fragile compared to what he was used to. Fevers were harmless enough for merfolk, but what if it was different for them?

Memories played through his mind of the orange haired man in a white coat bandaging Olivia's arm, tending to the man he punched and even to his own injuries. This settlement had a healer.

Semeru drummed his fingers against his leg before turning and leaving the room to head out the front door once more. He wasn't sure where he was going but he needed to try.

Progress was predictably slow as his already tired legs hobbled into town, thanks to remembering which way Olivia usually went in the mornings. With no other guidance he just kept walking straight, only adjusting if something was obscuring his path.

"Mreow"

Semeru stopped as he heard the unfamiliar sound and looked around, finding nothing until he looked down and behind him. Only to see a strange fluffy thing with four legs and a long spindly tail that lazily flicked around behind it.

Why did it have a tail if it wasn't for movement?

"mew"

He looked over to see yet another similar, but slightly smaller creature that had different colored fur. "If you're trying to speak to me, I do not understand what you're saying…"

"Moew" the first cat strolled over to weave between his legs.

"Stop that," He grumbled as he moved away from the confusing creature. "Shoo."

"Meow" "Mroew" "mew"

A third jumped down from its resting place to pad over and join the others as they swarmed around Semeru's legs and followed as he backed away. "What are you doing? Stop that."

A quiet laughter caught his ear next as he looked over to find a group of young land dwellers, who were standing behind a fully grown one while curiously watching him.

"Excuse me sir, Do you need some help? I haven't seen you around before," the grown land dweller asked. While a sense of amusement was present in his smile, his words held a more cautious tone.

Help would actually be quite nice at the moment. "Somewhat? I'm looking for the local healer. And these." Semeru gestured to the growing menagerie of cats at his feet. "The creatures with tails, how do I get them to leave?"

"healer… Oh the doctor, You must be the foreigner that's visiting," the man reached out an arm, causing Semeru to notice that it was made of metal as clicking gears allowed the alloy finger to point into the distance. "You're going to want to go that way. Just keep going straight until you see a white building with a glass front and a blue roof. As for the cats. They roam freely around here. They'll leave you be once they're bored."

That was both helpful and not helpful. "Ah, good to know. Is there a way to make them bored quicker?"

The question caused the young land-dwellers to giggle again. "Mr. Randy we can play with the cats." One happily announced.

"Yeah! I don't want to do history class, can we play with the cats? please," another whined.

Randy shook his head. "Sorry kids, today we're studying island history. I'll see if we can plan a field trip to the shelter to learn about animals. Come along," he motioned for the kids to follow him. "Have a nice day Mister… um."

"Semeru."

"Right. Kid's say bye to Mr. Semeru," Randy instructed as he continued to try and heard the distracted kids toward town hall for the next portion of their lesson.

"Bye." "buh-bye." "goodbye." "Bye Mr. Semeru."

Semeru hesitantly waved at the passing group as a small twinge of a smile started to form while watching them leave. He looked down to figure out his next issue only to jolt as he found five cats were there had only been three before.

"How?" He asked as he held the side of his head and thought over the advice. They'd leave him alone if they got bored so maybe the best course of action was to just keep walking?

And so he did with a small parade worth of cats following behind him mewing the whole way. It didn't take long for him to find a building that matched Randy's description. He breathed a sigh of relief as he opened the door to slip in and keep the fluffy ones outside.

Inside he found a few people sitting in chairs that lined the walls while a familiar face was partially hidden behind a tall counter.

"Welcome, can I help-" The voice cut short as Charles looked up from the computer screen behind the counter. "It's you again. Hmm. How to communicate…"

"Hello again. You are the doctor, correct?" Semeru asked as he hesitantly approached the front desk.

"Oh!" His eyes widened. "Forgive me I didn't realize you knew the language," Charles scratched at the back of his neck while looking away. "It's good to see that you're feeling better. Are you looking to schedule an appointment?"

"I'm not sure," Semeru admitted as a sense of anxiousness set in. "Olivia seems to have a fever. I wasn't sure if that required any additional medical attention."

"She does? Hm. Is she worried about this? did she mention taking any medicine?" Charles asked as suddenly her absence made sense.

"I'm not sure, I went to check on her to find her passed out in bed and with a fever." Semeru reiterated. A quiet gasp caused him to look around to find the source, though it was hard to tell which of the three people in the waiting room made the noise.

"Oh… Well." Charles scratched at his chin though he seemed somewhat deflated now. "Normally I wouldn't be too worried but, a fever can be a sign of an infection. Considering she's still healing from the stitches in her arm, I should probably take a look." He admitted before clicking at the keyboard to bring up various menus on the computer. "I'm pretty booked up as it is, same with Yuri. I can try to make a house call later though. For now," A printer started in the background as he pressed one more button. "I'll send you off with some low dose ibuprofen. Have her take it with some soup if she hasn't already had acetaminophen."

Semeru blinked a few times as he tried to process the unfamiliar words. "Okay. And where would I find soup?"

"Ah well, assuming she doesn't already have some at home, you can probably go down the road to the tavern and pick up some soup there." Charles answered as he stood up from his office chair and pointed through the glass windows. "See that roof there, that's where you'll want to go."

With that said Charles walked away and after a few minutes, came back with a small clear orange bottle with a white lid. "Here, this should be enough for three days."

"Thanks," Semeru took the bottle and looked it over before looking back at Charles. "And uh, sorry about the other day."

"No worries, we've all had days where we've had too much to drink. Though maybe cut back on the alcohol," Charles suggested as he took his seat once more.

What? "Sure. Have a nice day," Semeru replied as he turned to leave and tapped at his translation charm. The darn thing seemed to be faulty.

To his dismay, he found that the same cats from before were still waiting for him outside. "Great…" Semeru put the orange container into his coat pocket to keep it safe as he walked towards the building that Charles pointed out before.

"Peanut, Butter, what are you two doing?" asked a new face who quickly hurried over to Semeru.

Two of the cats were scooped up by a woman in an orange shirt, with textured hair that was pulled back by a green bandana with unusual black and orange spots on it. "I'm sorry if these two have been pestering you, I'm not sure what's gotten into them." She looked around to count the remaining cats. "or the other four for that matter… Do you have Tuna on you?"

"It's fine." Semeru's eyebrows knit together, "Why would you assume that?"

"Well, I can't speak for the other four but Peanut and Butter are fish fiends. I'm pretty sure they could smell a can of tuna opening from a mile away," She explained before a thought seemed to hit her suddenly. "Oh, forgive my manors, I'm Erika, and you are?" her eyes held an expectant glint, as if she already knew the answer.

He internally groaned. Why are land-dwellers so chatty? "Semeru, pleasure to meet you ma'am. I should get going though. This is the tavern, right?" He pointed to the building.

Seeing this caused Erika's face to light up. "Yeah, that's Fishensip. My husband and his siblings own the place. What brings you to the tavern?" She asked as she started to walk towards the building and motioned with her head for Semeru to follow since her hands were full.

"The doctor mentioned I should stop by and pick up some soup to take with what ever this is," Semeru explained as he took the orange bottle from his coat pocket for a moment to show it to Erika, then stashed it away again.

Her amused curiosity turned to empathetic concern. "Are you not feeling well?"

"I'm fine, it's for Olivia."

The light immediately returned as she fought back a smile. "Oh, is she? The poor thing. One second." Erika opened the door to the tavern enough to lean in and put down the two cats inside. "Frank, Frank sweetie can you bring me a to-go portion of soup?" There was a slight pause as a muffled response was barely audible. "Whatever is warm is fine. Thanks dear!"

Erika closed the door once more and returned her attention to Semeru. "So I take it you're the foreigner I've heard so much about. That's so sweet that you're taking care of our farmer if she's sick. I take it that means you're staying at her place for the time being?"

What on earth was that reaction? "Um. Yeah I guess," Semeru glanced between Erika and the door.

"I see, will you be visiting for much longer?" Erika's content smile remained along with the twinkle in her eye that made Semeru all the more uncomfortable.

"That's to be determined. Theres a project of sorts that she's getting me caught up on to see if I can help," Slight pauses between his words gave him time to think of how to carefully word his response.

"I see, so it sounds like we can expect to see you around more often. How fun," Erika clasped her hands together.

Shortly after, the tavern door opened and a man wearing a red shirt, olive drab pants and an apron walked out carrying a plastic back. "Hey, what's going on that you couldn't come in si-oh," Frank stopped as he saw the small heard of cats. "That's why. Got it." He stepped outside and closed the door behind him as he offered her the take-out bag.

"Thanks dear. Here you go." She then handed the bag to Semeru. "If you ever need a hair cut feel free to stop by the salon and ask for me. And you know, maybe once Olivia is feeling better the two of you could stop by for dinner with Frank and I some time."

"Huh?" Frank looked between his wife and the stranger before gears clicked into place. "Oh, yeah that sounds great. It's always nice to have guests."

"I would love to hear your story, you know, get to know you better." Erika moved to put an arm around her husband and he did the same.

"Uhm, good to know," Semeru took a cautious step back to avoid any of the felines around him. "I'm going to head out before this gets cold. Have a nice day."

As Semeru walked away the small parade of cats continued to follow him back into town. It wasn't until he reached the bridge to cross the river that the cats slowly lost interest and went back to whatever it was they were doing before, to avoid close proximity to moving water.

Now thoroughly exhausted he once more climbed up the porch steps, entered the home and made his way back to Olivia's room where she was still sleeping.

He opened the take-out bag to find a clear plastic container filled with an odd warm liquid with vegetable chunks floating around inside. How that was supposed to help a fever he wasn't sure, but he put it down on the night stand before placing the clear orange container next to it.

"Olivia," he whispered in an effort to get her to wake up. Nothing. He nudged her and she only rolled over.

Semeru rolled his eyes at this before turning to leave and sit on the couch. The doctor said he'd stop by later anyways. If she was going to sleep, who was he to stop her. Frankly with the extra work out he got from collecting all of that, a nap sounded pretty nice.

It didn't take long for the smell of the soup to coax Olivia to wake up. With a tired grumble she rolled back over to get up only to stop as she saw the two containers on her night stand. She only had to think on it for a moment before the puzzle fell into place and a weak smile formed.

Another two weeks had passed since then, Illness faded and trees fell as Semeru continued to practice using his newly formed legs.

This day was no different from the others as Olivia was the first to wake up and change for the day before leaving her room. Only this time she found the couch cushions laying on the floor in a pile with blankets and pillows, While Semeru laid next to the makeshift bed.

"Well, that idea didn't work either," Olivia muttered to herself before continuing on her way to make breakfast for the two. This time a more traditional meal of bubar ayam was prepared from a thick rice porridge, shredded chicken, fried shallots, pickled vegetables, broth and sweet soy sauce.

Both bowls were placed on the coffee tables before she sat down on one of the abandoned cushions so she could lean back and nudge Semeru.

"I'm up," He replied as he sat up though his eyes seemed to need an extra minute.

"Morning," She greeted, taking his bowl and offering it him as he pulled himself onto the other cushion. "How'd you sleep?"

Inaudible grumbled muttering was heard in response as he accepted the bowl, then started shoveling food into his mouth.

"That bad?" Olivia winced before picking up her own breakfast and munching on it.

A yawn got him to pause long enough to reply. "It is what it is."

"If it was a few days sure but, you haven't slept well in almost a month." She countered as she shifted to cross her legs.

"I'll figure it out eventually," He insisted before his attention returned to his food. Before long the bowl was empty and he moved to get up and wash his dish. "Thanks for the meal."

"No problem. You're in a rush," She watched as he collected his day clothes from a small pile by the bathroom to change.

"The sooner I get out there the more training I can fit in," he said as he went into the bathroom to change, having learned well enough that land-dwellers were a little over sensitive. Once he was done, he walked back out and made his way over to the coat rack to collect his winter coat. "See you out there."

"See you."

The door shut causing her to wince. She finished her meal at her own pace before getting up to wash out her bowl. Once that was put away, she walked over to the coat rack and looked out the window to see Semeru running around the outer perimeter of the now clear fields. At specific points in his run, he'd stop to do a few sets of exercises like mountain climbers, burpees and jumping jacks, before running another lap.

After a moment longer, determination set in as she dawned her coat, packed her bag, attached her sword to her belt, picked up his spear, and left the house.

Olivia waited by the edge of the field in his path until he eventually made his way back around and stopped in front of her.

"What are you doing," He asked unamused as he looked between her and the spear.

How to say this…. Olivia held out the spear in an effort to offer it to him. "Will you escort me to the mines, please?"

He stared at the offered weapon before taking it, looking it over and glancing at her. "You think it's a good idea?"

She shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

He gave the spear a flourished twirl and smiled as the weapon's weight felt familiar in his hand, even after the break. "I'll follow your lead."

Seeing this washed away any nervousness that hid behind her determination. "Let's go then."

Semeru followed Olivia up a set of stairs, through a large ranch, down a dirt path, and across a short bridge to a brick and stone building that seemed to be built into a cliffside of an ancient forest.

"This is it?" Semeru asked as they walked in to the empty building. It didn't seem like much.

"Yep, the statues over there are giants. The chieftain asked me to look into the different shafts to find out what happened and find a way to free them. Problem is, they're full of monsters and only one is open." Olivia explained as she gestured to the open doorway where an elevator waited.

Semeru walked over to the statues and knelt down to get a better look. "Giant seems to be a stretch."

"I think they might be children. Chieftain is the only other one I've seen and he's significantly larger." Olivia walked over to join him and looked down at the stone figures. "I don't think there are many of them left."

His shoulders fell as he heard this. "Oh…" Semeru shook his head and pushed himself back onto his feet. "Any clues so far?"

"Nothing."

"We'll figure it out," Semeru turned to go and examine the elevator only to stop as he heard an extra set of footsteps.

"Olivia, hey. Good to see you. Charles and I were wondering why you didn't show up this morning," Scott greeted before noticing Semeru by the elevator. "Oh, and you're still here too? I thought you'd left."

"Hey Scott," Olivia greeted before motioning for Semeru to come over and join them. "I don't think you two have gotten to properly meet. Scott, this is Semeru. Semeru, Scott."

"I think we all got to know him better then expected," Scott replied but offered a hand all the same. "Glad to see your doing better."

"Sorry about that. It's nice to meet you," Semeru replied and reluctantly accepted the handshake, though he couldn't help but feel like that name sounded familiar. Where did he hear it before?

"No worries, I've had my crazy nights before," granted they usually were, at night and not noon but hey. "So, taking a quick tour of the cavern? I can appreciate making time for historical sites during your vacation."

"Actually, we were about to try and do some cavern diving to see if we can get more access to the mines." Olivia corrected. "I was telling him about it and he offered to go with and help fend off the monsters while I search."

"Oh…" Well, that felt like a kick in the teeth. "I kind of figured you weren't interested in company since you started doing solo dives." Scott glanced between the two while trying to maintain his more confident posture.

"Hm? No, I just figured it wouldn't be right to ask you to go with since you mentioned that going past the second floor made you uncomfortable," Olivia quickly clarified as guilt set in. "Did you want to come with?"

"Do you know how to use a weapon?" Semeru asked after. Looking after one person who could, arguably defend themselves was one thing. Watching two was a different story.

"Well, no…" Scott reluctantly admitted. "I wouldn't want to get in the way. But hey, Next time you drop off an artifact, lets plan to make it another tavern night. It's been a while."

"Yeah, I've been busy. You should stop by the farm some time though; I finished clearing the field. It's crazy how different it looks with all that open space!" Olivia offered in return which earned a chuckle from the archeologist.

"Of course, just name the day," Scott agreed as the tension in his chest eased. "Stay safe down there."

"We will, see you around," Olivia replied before looking to Semeru. "Ready?"

"I'm waiting for you," He countered as he turned to head back to the elevator.

"Right sorry," she turned to follow him and once both were safely in the moving cabin, she activated the elevator by flipping the switch.

"He seemed, interesting," Semeru mused with a frown. "I had thought this place was abandoned. Does he usually come around here?" His tone held more accusation than his words.

"Scott? Yeah, he's fun. Very friendly," She chuckled as she thought over her last trip to Fishensip. "And he's an archeologist, he's actually the reason I started visiting the caverns in the first place. He had me go with him while I wasn't able to dive during the fall."

It was then that it clicked in Semeru's mind.

"I had to promise to stay away from the docks because Scott thought Semeru was a shark."

That's where he heard Scott's name before. Again his free hand reached for the scar along his face as the rest of the memory played in his mind. Before he could speak the elevator stopped and the waist height barrier moved out of the way, granting them access to the 5th floor.

"Here we are," Olivia whispered as she walked out along side Semeru.

He looked around to find about what he expected. Carved stone walls and open space that was dimly lit by torches. Wait… "Did you place these torches?"

"No. Now that you mention it, they were here when I found the place," She admitted as she cautiously approached one to get a better look. The flame was actually well above the torch which was attached to the wall with metal clasps. Her nose twitched as she sniffed the air. "Methane?" It wouldn't be too farfetched, Scott mentioned that this place was a mixture of scientific and magic technology. Probably similar to the solar orbs and pillars…

"I don't think I have a translation for that word," Semeru reminded as he looked at the torch as well.

"It's a fuel source." Olivia's eyes widened as she realized what she'd said. "I knew pufferfish was looking at the town for crude oil drilling because the island is mineral rich but If they find out about this." Olivia nervously began to pace. "This is bad, they already wanted the farm before. If they find out about this, they're just going to push harder. Hell, they may even start pressuring the ranch or try and push the mayor for digging rights here." Maybe they don't know yet. Maybe she could keep it a secret… who was she kidding they were blood hounds for money and this was a jackpot. "Damn it all."

"Olivia, I need you to calm down and tell me what's going on," Semeru urged as he had trouble keeping up with her panicked speaking.

Olivia stopped, though she tapped her foot to get any fidgeting out of her system. "Right okay so. With everything else that's been going on, the roots, the petrified giants, and a nature goddess in hibernation due to pollution that keeps talking to me in my sleep; there's also a company called Pufferfish that's been trying to buy up the town in an effort to start drilling oil. It's the same company that caused the oil spill that corrupted the coral tree and caused its roots to," Olivia exhaled as a sense of defeat kicked in. "Well, you already know what happened there… I've been trying to fend them off. I have to if I'm going to give the goddess time to heal. Scott and I were able to keep them away from the museum but they want my farm so they can drill. If they find out it's nestled between the coastal oil deposit and the cavern methane deposit. I don't think they're going to 'ask nicely' anymore…"

Semeru opened his mouth a few times as words failed to form. Where to even start? He knew there was something different about her, given her petal laden transportation. He'd seen that plenty of times and magic wasn't a foreign concept to him, but it never really clicked before that she was the land-dwellers Oracle. "So, what do we do?"

"I-" she forced her mouth shut and thought but no answer came. "I don't know. I don't know what they're planning or if they know. It's been available for weeks now. Anyone could have seen this and came to the same conclusion. They have teams of lawyers and workers around the globe who can make plans and act on them at all hours of the day and I have. Me." She weakly gestured to herself. "And honestly, that's not a lot to work with…" She flinched as she felt Semeru pat the back of his hand against the top of her head.

"I'm here too. We'll figure it out. For now, though, I think I recall someone saying there's a difference between being high strung and prepared…" he reminded as he forced a weak smile. "If there's nothing to be done, we need to focus on what we can do."

Olivia found herself staring at him for a few moments longer than she should have. Causing her face to turn pink as she cleared her throat. "R-right. Uhm. Eh-hem. That's true. Then, we should focus on the dig."

Despite the lingering fear, Olivia tried to focus on the mines. Which actually worked out rather well. The monsters were certainly still an issue but any that got close enough to attack were just as quickly cut down by her self-appointed bodyguard.

The 6th floor was easily found and explored, leading to the entrance for the 7th.

Even with all that effort, time held its weight and an alarm on Olivia's phone sounded.

She quickly pulled it out and turned off the alarm. "It's already 8pm. We should start heading back." She announced as she put her phone back into her pocket.

"Already? Seems like we only just got into a rhythm," He replied while eyeing a gelatinous blob in the distance that was slowly making its way over thanks to the alarm.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what it is about this place but time seems to move faster here," She admitted before gesturing to the slow-moving creature. "Careful."

"I see it," he affirmed and waited for it to get in striking range. One swift slashing motion cut through the creature and nicked its core, causing it to spontaneously combust.

Semeru's calm confidence was replaced with deadpan annoyance as the two of them were splashed with transparent blue ichor. "Great."

"Is it?" Olivia replied while grimacing and trying not to laugh.

"Clearly not," He grumbled as he flicked his spear to clear off what goop he could from the weapon.

"I would say we can just use the hose before going inside, but the outdoor water line is off for the season. Even if it wasn't, it's freezing…" Olivia admitted as she started heading back to the rope leading to the 6th floor.

"I'll help clean up afterwords," He offered as he followed behind.

Again she winced. She really didn't want to track this gunk into her house… "Well." Hmm. "I think I have another idea."

"I'm open to suggestions," Semeru admitted as they climbed the rope.

"There's a bath house not too far from here," Olivia admitted as she made it to the 6th floor and waited for Semeru to join her. "That might work better than just using the shower at my place. We'd both be able to wash up instead of having one of us stand around as a mess, allowing the gunk to potentially dry on, while the other used the bathroom."

"Makes sense," he agreed as they made their way to the next rope that led to the 5th floor. "Though it baffles me that your species has survived this long. You can't stay in water for long periods of time but do have to regularly soak in it for health and hygiene. You also can't breathe water but you need to drink it to survive. But! If you drink too much water it can still kill you. It's mind numbing how many double standards your health requires."

"Too much of a good thing is a bad thing, seems pretty simple to me," Olivia countered as they climbed their way to the 5th floor.

"Then maybe it was never a good thing," He smirked as he followed her over to the elevator.

"Oh, so is water not a good thing then?" Olivia teased in return, waiting for him to get into the elevator with her before flipping the lever inside.

"Alright, you win," he conceded as the elevator hoisted the two back up to the surface. And into an otherwise empty building.

Olivia led the way once more, out of the cavern, across the bridge and up a path, back to the ranch from before. "The hot spring is this way."

Semeru looked at his hand as he flexed it, causing the once soft goo to crack. "The sooner we get there the better, it's starting to dry."

"It's so gross," Olivia bemoaned as they turned down another path. "Maybe next time we don't do that?"

"Okay sure next time I'll let it hit you instead," He halfheartedly suggested before shaking his head and instantly regretting it as he felt the drying goo crack along his neck. "… I'll just throw the spear next time."

"Good plan, I like that plan a lot better," Olivia stated as they approached a decent size building with a tall fence surrounding the area behind it. "We should be careful with taking our shoes off."

Olivia opened the door before bending over to take one shoe and sock off, Placing that foot into the building, then freed the other foot and stepped the rest of the way inside. "There we go, less mess for the owner." She said as she picked up her dirty shoes and moved out of the way for Semeru to do the same with some extra support from his spear, to stay balanced.

"So how does this work exactly?" He asked as Olivia closed the door behind them, and walked over to an area blocked off by fabric curtains.

"Well, the baths are in here. There are a few rental washing machines as well. Normally you'd rent a locker and some robes to wear while you wait, but we need to do things a little out of order with our current situation. It would be rude to leave our shoes in the locker as it is." She admitted as they walked into the stone floored room.

Rows of mirrors and handheld shower heads lined the walls. While the wall closest to the entry way had a few coin operated washing machines along it. "You go ahead and get started. Once you've finished rinsing off your clothes, go ahead and toss them into a machine," Olivia offered as she took off her coat and laid it down next to one of the washing stations. "I'm going to go and get us some soap and some rentals to change into."

"Sure," This seemed backwards. What happened to the land-dweller sensitivity to nudity… They would all bathe standing side by side with no issue? After thinking it over, he decided to pick a station across the room so their backs would be facing each other.

He turned the knob and warm water flowed freely bringing a welcomed sense of comfort and relief as the remains slowly washed away.

"Here," came Olivia's voice once more. By the time he looked over, she'd already left after setting down a neatly folded robe and towel with small plastic bottles sitting on top.

"Thanks," Semeru fought back his curiosity and instinct to look around in favor of undressing. Sure enough, one of the machines already had a coin in the slot, waiting to be pressed in to start the machine. He plopped his clothes inside and started the machine before heading back over to the station he'd picked before.

Ignoring the small shifts and motions in the mirror was much more difficult than he'd initially anticipated. This only made him all the more grateful when the mirror fogged over with steam from the hot water. It felt a little safer for his eyes to roam and as they did so, another doorway blocked by curtains caught his attention.

"What's through that other doorway?" He asked while scrubbing soap through his short silver hair to remove any remaining contaminants.

"Hm? Oh. That's the hot spring. We don't have swimsuits with us so, we can't use that." She explained before bobbing her head making a slight splashing sound as it moved in and out of the way of the running water. "You could rent a swimsuit but, I wouldn't really recommend it. Though, if you're curious, maybe we can come back another time."

"Maybe," Semeru quietly agreed as he took some time to simply enjoy being as close to 'in water' as he could get. He wasn't one to get home sick… but. It had been a while.

Thoughts of home filled his mind as time passed. A buzzer went off from the washing machines and sopping foot steps walked over to move wet clothes to the dryer. Yet it wasn't until she spoke some time after, that his thoughts were interrupted. "I'm going to wait in the other room." Olivia announced as the sound of her shower grew quiet.

"Alright."

"Make sure you get out soon. Check your hands to make sure they're not getting pruney." She warned over the soft rustling sound of fabric.

Semeru looked down at his hands and sure enough the tips of his fingers were wrinkled. Seeing this caused him to click his tongue as he rubbed the tips of his fingers together to see if that would help. To no avail though, they were just as misshapen as before.

Even then he stayed in the water just a little longer. Just a few more minutes of that sense of home. He was supposed to go back eventually. Well. Actually. He was supposed to go back once he figured out walking, and that was two weeks ago.

He drew in a deep breath and held it a second before exhaling as he turned off the water. After toweling off, he put on the provided robe and walked out to find Olivia sitting at a short table with a kettle and tea cup.

"Making yourself at home I see," He joked as he walked over.

"Theres a small self service kitchen over there. And a jar to leave payment for the services you use," Olivia gestured a little further into the small building. "If you'd like to try some you can get a cup."

He looked between the kitchen and table a few times before walking over to get a cup. Once he made his way back he sat across from her. "The jar seems like a good way to tempt a thief."

"Perhaps," She shrugged. "I don't think I've heard of that issue since I've been here though. The honor system seems to work."

"Small miracles then," He replied before Olivia went ahead and poured tea into his cup.

"There, careful it's hot. Take small sips."

"Good to know," he carefully picked up the small cup, sipped at the liquid and made a face.

Seeing this caused Olivia to laugh. "It might be an acquired taste if you've never had it before."

"Seems so," he wasn't sure if it was one, he'd be acquiring. He never was a fan of plain slow cooked seaweed, and this was reminiscent of that but in all the worst ways. he usually preferred his food with seasoning, vegetables, and meat. Anything to give it more flavor. Not just the after essence of one ingredient.

Waiting went on for some time as the two sat around until the dryer buzzer chimed. Each took their turn to get dressed as the rental robes were left in a bin to be washed by the bathhouse owner. Dirty shoes were collected as well and carried back outside to be, reluctantly, put back on so they could make their way home.

"Well, that was a productive day," Olivia mused as the two walked in and all to quickly took off their shoes again. leaving them by the door.

"Yeah. And we get to do the same thing again tomorrow," Semeru replied as he looked at the stray couch cushions that were still laying on the floor by forgotten blankets.

"Try not to sound so excited," she teased before following his gaze to look at the same thing. Olivia frowned. "You know, why don't you take the bed tonight? I can sleep on the couch."

"What?"

Olivia shrugged. "You've slept on the couch the whole time you've been here, you should take the bed for a night."

"That's not nessesary, the beds in the barracks aren't any more or less comfortable," Semeru countered, though his back screamed at him for it.

"Maybe but," She paused to gesture to his spear. "You're the one actually fighting so if we're going into the cavern, it's important that you're well rested. That's not happening with the current arrangement."

"And you need to be well rested since you're the one that knows what we're looking for in the first place. It's your bed. Go rest," He continued to insist in spite of his own aches.

Olivia paused and thought it over. "Hmm… Well, what if there were two beds?"

He rolled his eyes at that. "If there were two we wouldn't have this issue."

"Perfect," Olivia chirped as she quickly walked over to collect the blankets and pillows from the floor then retreat to her room.

"I need those still," he grumbled as he followed after to find Olivia fiddling with her bed.

Her blankets were peeled back so the two longer pillows at the head of her bed, could be moved to create a make-shift wall down the center. The two smaller pillows he'd been using before were put in their place and blankets filled the remaining gaps of the wall. Once that was done her blankets were put back into place over the new barrier.

"There. Two beds," Olivia gestured to her solution. "They're just, close to each other is all."

"Olivia."

"What? We've tried at least five other options now and none of them are working. What's one more attempted a solution?" She frowned as she stared him down.

He looked from her to the bed and back. "Fine. But if it doesn't work, I'm going back to the couch."

"Deal," Olivia agreed with a nod. Short of him rolling off the bed, it should work.

Semeru shook his head and walked away, going back to the bathroom to change into his sweatpants and t-shirt for the night. By the time he made it back, the lights were out and Olivia was already in bed.

Slow shuffled steps made their way over to the empty half and settled in. He reluctantly had to admit, this was more comfortable. The long day caused him to yawn as sleep overcame him and with it a sense of comfort and warmth.

Warmth…and an odd sense of pins and needles. After several hours of rest his eyes reluctantly opened as he inhaled a floral scent. Why was one of his arm's numb?

He stiffened as the answer came into view. Olivia. Surprisingly, or not, pillows do not make a particularly effective barrier. It seemed he'd kicked or flailed enough in his efforts to get comfortable that the pillows were shifted out of place, enough so for the two to both end up in the middle of the bed where the barrier had once been.

Well, that settled that. This plan didn't work and he should go. He should. And yet legs stayed tangled and arms remained in place holding her close to him.

"Too much of a good thing is a bad thing, seems pretty simple to me,"

"Then maybe it was never a good thing,"

"Oh, so is water not a good thing then?"

His hand slowly ran along the back of her shirt as he realized that he was starting to almost, enjoy the sense of static it brought. Maybe… Maybe in moderation, this wasn't a bad thing? Perhaps it could even be a good thing? or a very good thing...

This thought cut short as Olivia nestled closer to him, sending a shiver up his spine and just that quickly he worked to loosen his grip on her and got out of bed. Taking a pillow with him so he could head back to the couch.

Whether it was good or bad, was a debate for another time.