Note to Readers: As of August 1st 2024, three chapters will be published every sixth of the month (next: September 6th). Similar to my other fanfic, Inside Out: Envy's Adventures, which has a new chapter published every third.
Everybody woke up very early the next morning - so early that breakfast wasn't even served yet. So while Ryder and Lily went to the washrooms to get ready, the pups decided to entertain themselves with a card game Ryder had brought for them. Following Chase's suggestion, they played in Chase and Ryder's room. By the time Ryder and Lily came to see them play, Rubble had won the most games, which was very unexpected for them all.
"Wow, Rubble," said Rocky. "You're good at this."
"Thanks," replied Rubble. "Skye, your turn."
But Skye didn't respond. Throughout the games, she had been very distracted, thinking about the events of the previous night. What did Lily find Red Nexus suspicious of? And should Skye just tell the others what she had found out? Would it disturb them to know that she found Lily, the woman she had idolized for so long, suspicious of things that were not yet confirmed?
"Hello, Skye?" said Marshall. "It's your turn."
"Huh?" said Skye. "Oh, okay." She played her turn, and then Chase asked her, "Skye, are you okay?"
"Um, yeah, I'm good," replied Skye. Chase, being a good police and detective pup, felt as though there was something she was hiding, but decided not to pursue the subject, as Lily then came in bearing a large tray of food.
"Breakfast's here!" she announced, then looked around the room for a place to put the tray. "Where do I put this?"
"Here, Lily," said Ryder, carefully taking it from her and setting it down on his bed.
"Thanks, Ryder," said Lily. "The woman with the pink headphones from yesterday was also at the breakfast area, and she seemed to be giving me a very suspicious look. I think she knows it's me."
"Why wouldn't she know?" asked Ryder.
"Because people usually recognise Lily Cadieux as the archaeologist who wears a black mask. I'm never out in public without it."
"And that's why you didn't wear your mask when you came to visit us, right?" Ryder smiled as he confirmed his theory. "You wanted only us to be able to recognise you, with or without a mask."
Lily appeared surprised by this accurate statement, so Ryder added, "I've been thinking about it since you wore your mask when you left the Lookout, and it occurred to me that you didn't wear it before that."
"Man, I knew I should've worn it outside," Lily laughed.
The pups, meanwhile, had abandoned their card game and joined Ryder and Lily. They saw three white plates on the tray, one with miniature croissants, the other with several pieces of what seemed like bread sliced through the middle, and the third with butter and two different jams. Aside from that, there were two cups of black coffee, one jug of juice, and plastic cups.
"Woah, this looks good!" said Rubble, licking his lips. "But, um.. what are those?" He pointed to the bread.
Lily chuckled and picked one up. "This is a tartine. It's like an open-faced sandwich that you eat with butter and jam. Here's the butter, and this is the jam - you can choose between marmalade and strawberry..."
Lily and Ryder started sorting out the food and drinks, and the pups helped them. Soon, everyone was eating and chatting away. The card game had been messily put aside but was cleaned up after Ryder nearly tripped over it. While they were eating, Lily and Ryder discussed their plans to visit the Walker Excavations later.
"So, the plane lands at about nine o'clock, so we'll have time to go out for breakfast," said Lily.
"Why are we going out for breakfast?" asked Ryder, holding a croissant up.
"There are many breakfast options in France," replied Lily. "You should try as much as you can since you're here. Besides, what we're eating now is considered a 'light breakfast'. It won't exactly make you full."
Ryder thought about this as he sipped his coffee. "Okay, then," he finally said. "But when will we go to the Excavations?"
"You're staying at a hotel, right? You can check in first, and in the afternoon, we'll go to the museum. I'll give you the location. Oh!" Lily suddenly said. "We can also meet there if you want. At the museum."
"Hmm... where will you be when we're at our hotel?" Ryder asked her.
"I'll be at my apartment. As I've said before, it's about as close as you can get to the Excavations. I'll drive there, and you could take a bus." Lily took a sip from her cup. "So?"
"That sounds okay," replied Ryder. He took a bite out of his croissant. "Mmm!" he said. "This is delicious!"
"Right?" agreed Lily. "So buttery."
A female, monotone voice then rang out, almost the same one from the airport. "Please note: we will land in Paris, France in 30 minutes. Thank you."
"Yes, we're almost there!" said Rubble with jam on one side of his mouth.
"Rubble... your face," Skye pointed out, indicating the stain.
Rubble felt the sticky jam and licked it clean, while the other pups laughed.
Ryder chuckled and said, "Come on, pups. Let's get ready for when we arrive. We'll have to go clean up first."
The pups got up and left the room. Ryder turned to Lily and said, "You can go back to your room first, Lily. We'll clean this room up."
"No, it's okay," said Lily. "I can help."
"Okay, then," said Ryder. He got up and made to follow the pups. Before he walked out, he turned back to Lily. "And Lily? Thank you very much for inviting us here. I guess we kind of needed it."
Lily smiled. "You're welcome, Ryder," she said, then did a little hand dance while saying, "If you ever need a little vacation, just yelp for help!"
Ryder laughed and went out.