Chapter 33: Quiet as Snowfall
Despite the decision to get some rest, Tusk was still awake by the time Alain and Naomi had dozed off, the two choosing to sleep together by putting their sleeping bags together. According to the clock on his Runner, it was just past midnight. Tusk had never been one to sleep for long thanks to his training, so he took the time to give Villkiss another look and check what he could fix before Ange returned. 'Did activating its special systems cause the burnout?' Tusk wondered as he shone a flashlight over one vent. 'Alain said he got hit with an EMP net, so it makes sense Wyvern's circuits were damaged. But this is burnout from strain. Is it because Villkiss has been "asleep" for so long?' Tusk then looked to the Wyvern, putting a hand to his head.
"And then that one's confusing me even more." He said aloud. "Alain got its systems working, but now its so damaged we can't even take a good look at it to see what that means. Still… he actually landed a hit on the Crimson Nightmare. Maybe he really can do it." A sudden, off balance flapping caught his attention as he turned to see Vivian coming down for a landing. She seemed awfully tired as she flopped to the ground, breathing heavily as an irate Ange climbed off.
"Come on Vivian, get up!" Ange shouted. "We still haven't checked up north. This isn't the time to be laying around!" Vivian gave a tired whine in response, which earned her an annoyed growl from Ange. "Come on! Get a grip will you?!" Tusk sighed and hopped off of Villkiss, walking over and putting a hand to Ange's shoulder.
"Ange, you shouldn't force her." Ange brushed Tusk's hand off and shot her glare at him before looking back at Vivian.
"Wake up you damn lazy lizard!" She barked. Vivian let out a shriek and bolted off towards where Alain and Naomi were starting to stir, nearly trampling Alain in her bid to get away. One look at her as she cowered behind him told Alain all he needed to know.
"How could you say that?" Tusk asked. When he put a hand to Ange's arm, she wrenched it away.
"Let go!" Tusk's expression dropped a bit as he could see the exhaustion in Ange's face.
"Ange, you're tired. You should sleep."
"What good would that do?" Ange growled. "Are you saying we should stay in this bullshit place?"
"He's saying you should rest and think this over." Alain said, folding his arms as he and Naomi approached. "What good is it for you to wear yourself and Vivian out going up and down this city? We'll get out of here, but it won't accomplish anything if we kill ourselves doing it."
"There's no reason to wear ourselves out looking either." Naomi added, rubbing some drowsiness out of her eyes. "There's no one else around."
"We don't know that!" Ange snapped. "That computer could have been lying! I want to know what happened to Arzenal! To Momoka and the others! There's no way we're in some other world."
"And what do you think Momoka would say if she heard you were running yourself ragged like this?" Alain asked.
"Don't act like you know her!" Ange yelled.
"I know her well enough to know she'd tell you to rest." Alain countered.
"Don't all of you have to get back too?" Ange bit, walking past the lot. "That woman's waiting for you. Right, Knight of Villkiss?"
"Yeah." Tusk nodded. "I'll protect you and Villkiss even if it costs me my life."
"It's no use." Alain said as Ange's glare intensified. "Knight of Villkiss applies to the current Villkiss Rider."
"For Libertus, right?" Ange huffed. "You're just like Salia that way. You're only interested in using me. You're just Jill's dogs."
"No." Tusk said. "I swore because it's what I want to do!"
"Really?" Ange picked up a stone and chucked it towards Villkiss, the rock pinging off its head. "If we are stuck here, maybe that's a good thing. That whole Libertus thing was a joke anyway."
"So it's a joke to you?" Alain growled. Naomi gently gripped his arm, but there was a fury in Alain's eyes that didn't fade as he approached Ange. "What about it is a joke?"
"I mean think about it. Destroy the world and free the Norma?" Ange sneered. "You'd let as many people as possible die to achieve that goal. Who would you be saving in the end? It's laughable."
"So our parents died for nothing? Is that right?" Tusk said, speaking as Alain opened his mouth. The young man's hands tensed, and he turned. But his shaking arms told of the anger he had to be feeling. "Our people… the Ancient People never gave up in their fight against Embryo. Dad and Mom fought their hardest to make a world where people like you and me who can't use Mana, can live. Them and everyone else who fought back then, the people who left behind another generation after them, they died for that wish! Our parents, our people, their wishes… that's all a joke to you?!"
"Tusk… I didn't." But it was already done. Tusk turned back to the camp and stalked off. Alain sighed and followed suit. Naomi was the only one to give Ange an at least sympathetic look.
"Sometimes it pays to take a moment. And to see what other people are thinking." Naomi said. "We're all worried and stressed out… it's not just you." Ange gave the pink-haired girl a look, letting it be clear she wasn't in the mood for a lecture. "I'm not going to lecture you. Just… think about how Alain and Tusk feel. You should at least sleep… though my advice is you should also think about things. Those two know what they're fighting for, and so do I. Do you?"
As Naomi turned and went back to the makeshift camp, Ange eyed her as she talked to the still agitated Alain, who looked to calm down a bit as he rolled over on their joint sleeping bag, if still frustrated. Ange had the feeling she was better off waiting until they were asleep before she went back over there. 'What I'm fighting for?' she thought. 'Do I even know that much? Come on… what's wrong with me?'
The dour mood of the camp didn't improve much with the coming of morning. Especially when it began to rain. Nobody talked to each other much and the breakfast had been tense. Tusk and Naomi had started working while Alain had gone with Vivian to look for anything else they could use. Ange, realizing her presence wouldn't contribute much, had moved elsewhere and sat down, watching Tusk and Naomi perform their maintenance in silence.
"Geez am I wishing we had more supplies." Naomi mumbled, pulling her head out from Wyvern. "It's one thing to get a Para-mail working after it's circuits go out, but honestly it'd be faster if we could just replace them outright. Though, Wyvern did work after getting hit with that EMP."
"Yeah but…" Tusk pulled back from checking inside Villkiss and reached into his toolkit. "Both of them seem burned out from strain. Besides, both have been fixed countless times. Wyvern definitely isn't in the state it was when the Ancient Humans first found it. Hmm… where's the soldering kit?"
"Well, that's a new thing." Naomi chuckled. "Alain did mention he's had to replace a ton of parts on the big guy. Something about whatever they were made from being impossible for the factories to replicate. Jasmine always charged him out the ass for new parts."
"He did always talk about Jasmine's price gouging whenever he stopped by." Tusk mused. "So, just to ask, what's your story? I mean, I know it's Arzenal so there isn't much, but… you are a kid from that time."
"Used to be a test pilot." Naomi said. "I don't remember a lot from back then, since I'm one of the younger ones in the team. Just knowing I had parents always felt weird growing up. But for me, I always just indulged myself in Para-mails and how to work on them. I made Halberd myself. All to see if I couldn't make a Para-mail that could keep up with Alain and Wyvern."
"No wonder it looks so different." Tusk said. "CROSS has made a couple of their own Para-mails over the years, but I've never seen such a unique looking frame before."
"Admittedly it used to be an Arquebus." Naomi stated. "But I modded it so much Mei said there was no way we could keep calling it one." Naomi paused in her work, feeling those bad memories come up again. "One day a few months ago, things went bad. It was a routine test flight for some new parts. I had to have the worst luck ever because a Singular opened right on top of the testing sight. I tried to hold the DRAGONs off, but the modded Glaive I was using was barely up to snuff. I… I was shot down."
"Oh… Alain did mention that." Tusk said. "That someone he knew was in a coma… and that he couldn't tell anyone about it."
"Maggy told me all about it after I woke up. How my status had to be kept a secret so the NMB didn't crack down on Arzenal for 'wasting resources' on a 'damaged asset.'" There was no hiding the bitterness in Naomi's tone as she sifted through her own tools. "And of course, now I've got one massive debt to pay off to Jasmine for the care. Alain handled a lot of the expenses himself, but he couldn't do all of it."
"Sounds exactly like him." Tusk mused. "Hell, the entire reason he stayed behind on Arzenal was so he could keep helping the Norma. Though from everything he's told me, sometimes he regretted that decision."
"He makes sure he's on top of the board for a reason." Naomi chuckled. "Nobody in Arzenal wants to be the girl known for 'attacking' the Ace. He worked his butt off to get there as much because he's that good as it was to keep people off his tail. Can't be forced into anything if nobody can buy him out… though I'm sure Jasmine always inflated the price on his head every time someone asked."
"Some of the guys always talked about how the Norma could be… aggressive." Tusk said. "Some of them liked it. Always scared the crap outta me as a kid though."
Naomi gave a chuckle as Tusk focused on his work, and as she did the same, she started thinking. 'The fact I barely remember my parents is… I don't like it.' Naomi could certainly blame the fact she was just young at the time; she was only seven years old back then. And it wasn't like she could be expected to remember so much. All she could really remember was her parents had been kind, warm people. She could remember being told stories, her mother's gentle embrace, and the promise that one day they'd be able to live a better life than they were on Arzenal. 'It feels more like a dream than something from ten years ago.' Naomi sighed and set her tools down. She looked off, spotting Ange moving from where she was watching them and dip below a bit of the ruined road.
"I'm gonna take a bit of a break." Naomi hopped down from Wyvern. "If Alain and Vivian get back before I do, tell them I'm… talking some things over with Ange."
"Alright." Tusk tensed up for a brief second but nodded either way. Naomi at least hoped a part of the young man thought it was a good idea to let her talk it over with Ange.
Walking over to where Ange had vanished, Naomi found the other Norma sitting in the ruined tunnels of an underground shopping center. Or at least a space that looked like one.
"You okay down there?" Naomi called. Ange glanced up at her, then huffed. Naomi lowered herself down, sitting down near Ange. "Annoyed?"
"He's just ignoring me! Talk about immature…" Ange muttered. Naomi gave a soft chuckle, which earned her a glare from Ange. "He's just always…" Ange's face reddened as she thought about each time Tusk had against all logic planted his face between her legs. But also, how despite those incidents he was also nothing but earnest with her. "He didn't have to get so angry."
"Well… I get how he and Alain feel." Naomi said. "I barely even remember my parents, but I get it. They're both carrying a burden passed to them without a choice in the matter. I'd be angry too if someone told me everything my parents fought and died for was worthless."
"You're not?"
"Part of me is." Naomi admitted. "But I can't be as angry about it as those two. The least I can do is be understanding about how they feel. If you were in their positions, wouldn't you feel the same way?"
"I guess I would." Ange sighed. A small glint caught her eye, Ange hopped up from the rubble to one of the still somewhat intact stalls before them. On a surprisingly intact rack of items, she found a hairpin done as a bright silver butterfly over a pink ribbon. "This is cute."
"Held up pretty well for 500-year-old stuff." Naomi mused, looking over a few of the accessories also on the rack. "Jasmine would kill to have stuff like this in her shop. How much you think she'd charge for some of it?"
"Probably a few thousand." Ange joked. As she looked at some more of the trinkets, Ange found herself thinking to some months ago, back when Vivian first tried to make friends with her by offering the keychain that was now the sole decoration in Villkiss's cockpit. "Hey, Naomi… do you think things like this would be good for an apology?"
"That's all up to you." Naomi said. Ange looked around, smiling when something caught her eye.
With the sun starting to get lower, Tusk had switched to a flood light to give him a better view of what he needed to work on in Villkiss. Alain still hadn't come back with Vivian yet, and he was starting to wonder what was taking Ange and Naomi. A brief sound he for a moment through was just some shifting parts hit his ear, but Tusk found it was a bit to far away for that. Looking down, he saw something hanging from the edge of the platform he and Naomi had set up. A golden ring on a similarly colored chain.
And next to it was Ange attempting to creep away.
"Ange?" Tusk stifled a snicker as Ange froze up as she realized she was caught.
"I just… thought it would look good on you is all." Tusk hid another laugh at Ange's embarrassed stammering. Hopping down from the scaffolding, he opened his flak jacket to put it on.
"So how's it look?" He asked, Ange turning and taking a second to look Tusk over. She had to resist the urge to glance at a snickering Naomi, who watched from around the corner along with a familiar head of navy hair. 'Now he's here too…' she thought.
"I think it looks great." Ange said.
"Thanks." Tusk chuckled. "You must be tired. I'll make something to eat."
"Hey." Ange spoke up. Tusk turned back to her, and Ange sighed to try and work up the courage. "I uh… I'm sorry." Tusk yelped in shock.
"You know how to apologize?!" In time with Tusk's shocked outburst, Ange was barely aware of restrained laughter as Naomi clamped her hands over Alain's mouth.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ange snapped. Tusk smiled and approached her with his right hand out.
"I'm sorry for being so harsh, too." Ange took Tusk's hand, and apology, with a smile of her own. Vivian lumbered over and Ange put a hand to the DRAGON's snout.
"Hey, Vivian. Sorry about last night. I said too much." Ange said, Vivian giving a coo. "Thank you, Vivian."
"Well at least we can say this is some progress." Alain snarked, trotting out from the corner he and Naomi were hiding behind. "Now that we've got that covered, there's a place Vivian and I found that I wanted to show you guys."
"What kind of place?" Tusk asked.
"The kind we're gonna need your Air Runner to hook up to." Alain said. "Trust me, it'll be great! Better than roughing it outside at least."
The place Alain led them too was a building that while outside looked as aged as the rest, hadn't quite fallen victim to the decay of time just yet. To Ange it looked like an old-style castle. Like something one would see in the historical district of Misurugi. By the time they arrived it had also started snowing. Thankfully Tusk got his Air Runner's power supply hooked up to an external breaker he and Alain located at a generator shed just as it was really starting to come down. Once hooked up and the power was flowing, a sign at the top of the building lit up in bright purple neon.
"Hey Wyvern, what's it say?" Alain asked.
"Hotel Mu La Flaga." Wyvern stated. "It seems you've located a decent shelter."
"Just wait until you see the inside." Alain chuckled as he pulled open a long-rusted door inside. Once inside, they were met with an immediate wash of warmth from the now active heaters. Naomi whistled as she looked around the lobby, finding it surprisingly well kept and furnished for such an old building.
"Fancy. Think this place served rich people or something?" Naomi asked as she leaned over the receptionist's counter, the front of which was marked with a sign listing prices for different rooms. "Themed bedrooms? Neat!"
As they explored further, they found further amenities such as a restaurant, indoor and outdoor pool, sports grounds, and even a natural onsen that made Arzenal's look like a common bath.
"Definitely all for rich as hell people." Alain mused. "Ange, was there anything like this in Misurugi you knew about?"
"The palace is the closest thing I could compare it to." Ange said. "I'm just glad we have a roof, beds, most of all a bath! Camping out much longer would kill me."
"Eh it's not so bad." Alain countered. "Anyway, if the kitchen is usable, we can do something with the supplies we got aside from campfire cooking. I've learned a thing or two from Ersha when it comes to improv cooking, so let me handle it."
"Should I really trust that?" Ange countered.
"If it's Ersha teaching someone, don't worry." Naomi said. "You've had her cooking before."
"I'm not saying Ersha is a bad cook. I think she's great." Ange stated. "I just don't trust Alain to be as good."
"You wound me, your highness." Alain's joke earned him an amused sigh and light smack on the arm from Ange. "Look, I'm no Ersha or Momoka, but I can handle my way in a kitchen. Tusk, wanna help me while the girl's bathe?"
"I can't guarantee I can match up to a maid or the rumored Mother Hen of Arzenal." Tusk shrugged. "But I can try."
"I'm just glad I'll be able to wash off at last." Ange sighed, Naomi nodding as she and Vivian followed her off.
"You never realize how much you miss something until you don't have it." Vivian then gave a coo that said she agreed completely with Naomi's statement.
With the girls off to bathe, Alain and Tusk got to organizing some of the food rations they'd looted after clearing any of the long since rotted to dust food he and Tusk found in the hotel pantry. In line with being a resort, the restaurant seemed to be deal mostly in fresh food. Obviously not something that would preserve over centuries of time, though the boys did find some canned goods that were still useable.
"Mostly just fruit preserves and fake crab." Tusk murmured, shaking his head.
"We'll make do." Alain said, throwing off his flight jacket and redoing his usually loose ponytail into a higher and tighter one to keep more hair out of his face. "Along with Ersha's lessons I've learned a few things about mixing field rations."
"Don't I know that one." Tusk mused. As Alain fired up the stove and took to chopping up some of the preserved meats, Tusk let out a mutter as a thought came to him. "Hey, so… just out of curiosity, on Arzenal, what's it usually like with you and the Norma?"
"Now you're curious?" Alain then gained a smarmy grin as he realized just why Tusk was asking as Tusk blushed in turn. "Is this you asking how you can get closer with Ange? Alright buddy, spill it, how far have you two actually gotten? You two did spend a few days alone on that island."
"We… almost kissed. Once." Tusk's tepid response earned a low, disbelieving sound from Alain. "It's not like we get a ton of chances! After Misurugi I was at least hoping the next time I saw Ange wouldn't be during an invasion."
"I can get that. But… it's not good to let things linger for too long." Alain said. He had a rather somber look as he started chopping food for prep. "On Arzenal, nobody knows how much time you've got. Your life is basically one big countdown from the time you're twelve. Not knowing which sortie is going to be your last means there isn't a ton of room to be slow about things with others. Relationships form and burn out pretty quickly."
"Sounds… rough."
"There's barely even time to grieve when a squad mate is shot down." Alain continued. "You lay their grave and any possible remains and then have to move on, continuing the fight until your number is up. A lot of Norma either break from the stress or find… other ways to stave it off. Like Zola."
"You've mentioned things with her before." Tusk said. "I just remember when we were kids, she always hung around your mom. She was nice… like a big sister to everyone."
"In a way she still was. But after Libertus, something in Zola just… broke." Alain sighed as he stopped chopping. "From then on she became the hedonistic, wild hound of a Captain she became so proud of. But… she was also a good Captain. She could be rough, and hell if I was against how she sleazed on some of the girls, but she looked out for everyone and made sure the squad always made it back alive. She at least had some standards. Like never going beyond feeling up a rookie. It's a shame I have to say that is a good thing."
"Eesh." Tusk winced at the idea. "But… I was asking about you."
"I…" Alain let out a breath as he thought it over. "Well for one if we lived in a place like Misurugi I'd get all kinds of looks. I am the furthest thing from monogamous that could ever exist."
"Not like there's much of a choice huh?" Tusk mused. "You were the only guy there."
"Oh, trust me, it could be hell." Alain groaned as he shook his head. "Dealing with a bunch of hormonal girls isn't nearly as fun as the guys in Garuda may want to think it is. I have rules about that kind of engagement for a reason. But… among me and the girls in Garm, I'd be lying if I said out of everyone in Arzenal, they're the ones I care about the most. They're my family. Course it's not always simple…"
"Do tell." Tusk chuckled as he decided to let Alain get this one off his chest. It wasn't the first time he'd let the other young man ramble about his troubles on Arzenal.
"Salia is… complicated." Alain sighed. "It's no damn secret to me or anyone else how she feels, even when she thinks she's doing a good job at keeping her feelings under wraps. But she's always been hung up on Villkiss. I finally learn why and now can't even have the talk with her I meant to until we find our way back. Ersha and Naomi have been friends of mine for ages, of course. Ersha's always there to keep me in check and make sure I don't snap. And Naomi's the kind who brightens a day up. Never met someone possibly more enthusiastic than Mei when it comes to Para-mail."
"I didn't think it was possible to match a Fang in that regard." Tusk's joke got a laugh from Alain.
"Good one." Alain sighed again, a more relaxed one. "It's been a bit more complicated with some of the others. Zola had… bought out Hilda, Chris, and Rosalie ages ago. She did it to keep them safe but also to have her fun with them. Not that I didn't hang out with them. Chris kicks my ass at video games all the damn time. She acts all shy and meek but I swear if she were more confident, she'd whoop everyone's asses at damn near anything. But she's also always been afraid of dying. She's a good pilot, everyone in Garm is, but she never got over it."
"She was… right, she's Brett's daughter." Tusk hummed. "She always was hanging out with that other girl… what was her name?"
"Rosalie." Alain said. "Always been a wily one since we were kids. You might remember, always outgoing and quick on the draw? She's also a really shitty gambler. We started calling her "Stingy" because of how bad she is with money. But… if there's anyone I think was good to be around Chris, it's her. She always tried her damndest to get her out of her shell. Not at all surprising they're that kind of close." 'And as I more recently found out, completely opposite when in bed.' He thought, though Alain wasn't going to say that portion out loud. "After Zola died, I guess whatever little barrier was left was gone and… well, I've been getting closer with them as of late."
"And what about Hilda?" Tusk asked. "I got the gist when I met her during the Misurugi op, but what about before that?"
"We… didn't get along much." Alain admitted. "Since she got to Arzenal just after Libertus, like a lot of older arrivals she didn't adjust that quickly. And I guess me being a guy made it worse for her to manage. Though everyone joked at some point the little "slap and slap" would eventually devolve into something in the bedroom. Even Zola thought so. Though now I'm sure her dislike was pretty genuine. I guess to her, I represented a form of freedom in Arzenal she felt she couldn't have if she wanted to survive. But now… well I can certainly say I probably deserve if it she decks me in the face next time I see her."
"That's the thing someone does if they care." Tusk mused. "Still… I'm surprised. With so many people you need to get back to, it's surprising you're so calm."
"I have to be. Getting myself out of sorts wouldn't help… we already know what happened last time I lost control." Tusk grimly nodded as they got back to the cooking. "Short answer … if you and Ange find a chance of some kind, my advice is don't waste it."
"Hm?"
"Look, I've dealt with things enough I can pin down what's happening pretty easily. You two obviously care about each other, a lot. So… don't waste an opportunity to say it if you can. You'll only regret it if you miss out on it."
"Yeah… I think you're right." Tusk murmured. "Thanks."
"No problem. Also, run the knife under hot water before you cut that onion. It'll keep your eyes from stinging."
"Gotcha."
"Ahh, it's been too long since I was in a bath like this!" Ange sighed as she sank into the warmth of the onsen. And the large size meant there was even enough room for Vivian.
"You're certainly making it clear you used to be a princess." Naomi mused, sinking down next to Ange and giving her own relieved breath. "But I can't say something like this isn't bad. Especially when it's cold outside."
"Definitely. Almost makes me forget the situation we're in." Ange leaned her head back, eyes on the ceiling. "Do you really think we ended up in a parallel world?"
"If Wyvern says so then I believe it. I don't think the big guy knows how to lie." Naomi said, her curtain of hair fanning out around her as she sank lower in the water. "Like Alain said, it's also the option that means our friends are alive. And I'll take that chance over being thrown 500 years in the future. Of course, getting back to our world is the problem. Hopefully fixing up Villkiss will let us pull it off."
"And what do you think? About the whole Libertus thing?"
"Honestly I've never thought that far ahead in my life." Naomi's admittance brought Ange to stare at her in surprise. "Life is short on Arzenal. Jasmine being about forty makes her ancient by our standards. We Norma don't have the luxury to think about our lives years from now, not when our next sortie could be our last. Just making it to eighteen like Alain and Ersha is considered uncommon, much less as old as Zola and the Commander. I'm lucky to have avoided that the first time." As Naomi ran a hand along an arm, Ange then noticed there were more than a few pale remnants of scars on the girl's body. "But something like Libertus… if we can make a world where Norma can live peacefully, I'm not really sure what I'd do. I suppose I could settle down with Alain and the other's. There's no separating our little family of choice at this point. But… I dunno, maybe I'll take up working as a mechanic? I've always liked machines and working on something other than Para-mail sounds nice. What about you?"
"I… I've never thought about it either, honestly." Ange sighed and sunk low in the water. "I've been so focused on just surviving these past few months, I think I've honestly forgotten how to live. Or maybe that I've never really known how to live my whole life. When I look back on my old life as a princess, as comfortable as it was, now I just can't help but hate it. Talk about naïve. All I would've done is kept that rotten world going in the end. It's ironic I can almost thank my brother for outing me as a Norma."
"But… do you regret having parents who loved you enough to risk their entire country to protect you?" Naomi asked. "Sure, in the end it's hypocritical they'd protect their own daughter and keep the system going. But when I can barely remember the time I spent with my parents, and then hear one of my squad mates had some willing to hold a secret that'd make an entire country collapse if it got out? A part of me feels a little jealous."
"My mother and father… even if they didn't know better, they weren't bad people. It's not their fault… my mother even gave her life to try and save mine." Ange lifted her arm out of the water, staring at the ring. "If there was a reason for me to stay alive, then making sure she didn't die for nothing might be it."
"And what about for the ones who are alive?" Naomi asked. "You've got friends in Garm, Momoka is always with you. And you have a pretty good guy in Tusk. Not that I have the best sense, since the only other guy I know is Alain. And he's admittedly not the best measuring stick."
"Tusk and I… what are we?" Ange wondered. "How do you all do it? I know it's pretty unusual since Alain is the only guy but… how?"
"I guess that's another thing we don't put a lot of thought into at Arzenal." Naomi mused. "When you don't know how much time you have, it's best to be honest with the people around you. Salia drives me and Ersha up the wall because she just will not tell Alain how she feels about him. Though we all know. Even him. I guess for us, we all decided if we cared about him, there was no point in hiding it or trying to keep him to ourselves either. Love is… weird sometimes."
"You really feel that way about him?"
"Yeah. I love Alain, with all my heart." Naomi said so with such warmth in her voice it made Ange feel bad she had such trouble being honest in her own right. "The way I love him is… different from the way I love the others like Ersha and Salia. They're my family but he's someone more special than that. When I woke up and he was the first person I saw, I felt happy. Like a part of me knew he was there the entire time, just waiting for me to come back."
"Love, huh?"
"Look, if there's a chance for you and Tusk to… figure this out, then don't pass it up." Naomi advised. "If you miss your chance you may end up regretting it if something happens. You never know."
"A chance, huh? Yeah… I think I'll take it if I find one."
"Hey, how's it going out there you two?" Alain called from past the door, making Ange flinch. "Tusk and I finished cooking, so come on in when you're ready!"
"Will do!" Naomi replied, chuckling as Ange sunk low again. "Oh c'mon, you've been around him long enough to know he wouldn't just walk in."
"It still bothers me that he's so damn casual about it!"
"Well… ten years on an island with nothing but women y'know?"
"Fair point."