AN: Well, this is taking me forever as well. But I swear I've been glaring at AE for days. The most I seem to get down is a handful of words each time, thus I'm taking a break to do something different. I should get more done since I have a month break between roleplay. I'm really excited for Exploration Zero! If there are any roleplayers here... please come play with me?

Kinematics: Exordium

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6. Thanks

"Oh, hey," Maqui stammered when he ran into Hope again on one of those rare occasions when Miss Lightning consented to host a party for Serah so she could keep a sharp eye on her little sister. It was a small event, the celebration of a hunt gone successfully and basking in the fading heat of the summer on one of the those rare days when the clouds gathered up in the sky to keep the warmth of the sun to a minimum. It was those days when all the former citizens of Cocoon came out from their half-constructed homes, grateful for the relief from cool winds.

The Farron household was festive that day, a grill set up in the back yard with Snow, Gadot, and Sazh manning the area, Lebreau having been pushed away to let the men cook for this event.

Because of that, though, it meant the female NORA member was more irritable than normal rather than relieved that she was getting a break, convinced that the men had taken over only because she had recently been sick. That meant she snapped at Yuj more, and that meant Yuj was grouching at Maqui more, especially when he had no one else to really talk to.

"I'd rather go back to bed." Yuj had grumbled as he fetched drinks for Lebreau with the other boy. "If they're really that glad we're all okay and celebrating how we're getting better, then they'll be nice enough to not mind us not being under this burning sun."

Maqui had given him a strange look then. "It's not even sunny today, Yuj."

"Same thing."

Honestly, Maqui had been grateful to be better at all, and even the ache of sore muscles was better than the whole body ache that had accompanied his illness. He had tried to help around the best he could and appease the irritable natures of his teammates, but after a while it was Maqui's curiosity that led him away from the rest of Team NORA toward the group of former l'Cie. Mostly toward Serah and Dahj, really, since Hope seemed to be sitting with Lightning and Maqui wasn't suicidal enough to bug Lightning Farron.

"I can't believe you guys didn't get sick at all." The blond grumbled as he plopped down to sit beside Serah, waving back at Dahj when the little boy gave him an enthusiastic greeting.

Serah's smile was only slightly strained. "Guess I've just got that amazing immune system! Light wasn't sick either."

"No, of course not." But then, he couldn't imagine her sick. Funny thing, though… "None of you guys were sick. Huh. That's some luck."

"Now you're just being jealous." Serah teased, her eyes wandering back to where Snow was laughing with the other cooks. She had a small smile on her lips, the same smile that popped up whenever she looked in Snow's direction, really, and Maqui grinned at that. He was just that much a sap for fairy tale endings… enough it wasn't something he'd ever admit out loud, of course not! "Maybe they were sick because they already got whatever you did when they first came down here."

Somehow, it sounded like an evasion. Maybe. Still, Maqui trusted her to know what she was talking about.

"That must have sucked, then." He lamented. "I think it was my bed keeping me alive the last week. Bed and sweet, sweet blankets."

Serah laughed, her voice light and clear as a bell. "As well as Snow, and Gadot, and Hope."

"You're not including yourself in there?"

"Oh, no." She demurred. "I barely did anything at all. Honestly, I couldn't stand to be in the same room as any of you guys once Lebreau started throwing up. I feel a little bad about it, but the smell was brutal. They're the patient ones who cleaned up after you guys." At that, Serah gave a proud little smile. "If anything, they're the real heroes during all of this."

Maqui laughed. "You're entirely too modest."

"You mean honest." Serah responded cheerfully, before nudging his knee with hers. "Why, did you want me as your nursemaid instead? I'm really bad at it, you know."

"Probably be better than me," Maqui said, reclining back as he smell of deliciously cooked food began to waft over. Spiced meats and grilled vegetables, mmmmm… "Why was Hope over, anyway?"

"His dad was petitioning to get everyone inoculated for various illnesses down on Gran Pulse. Light and Snow went with him at the time." Serah responded easily. "And he didn't want to leave Hope alone, so… I offered to look after him."

"What, and risk him getting sick, too?"

"Really good immune systems, remember."

But that didn't make any sense, since it wasn't as if Hope was really related to the Farrons. Sazh and Dahj hadn't gotten sick, either. Neither had Snow, come to think of it.

Serah gave his knee another nudge, this time just a tad more forceful. "He offered to help look after you guys by himself, though. Stayed with you and Yuj through the end, too."

That Maqui could understand perfectly, mostly because Lebreau phrased her words the same way. Go thank him; he didn't have to help, you know. Another nudge, and Maqui was getting that Serah wasn't going to let him get away with keeping mum about things or with keeping his fragile teenage boy ego.

"Alright, alright," he muttered as he got up from his (finally comfortable) seat, wobbling only the slightest as she smiled up at him. He stalled, though, pretending to stretch and complaining about his muscles until he saw that Hope had stepped away from Miss Lightning, and then proceeded to head over and greet the younger boy.

Hope, apparently, hadn't been expecting that.

"Hello," he had responded, fingers laced together before himself as he tried to stop from fidgeting awkwardly. It was a strange habit, Maqui noted, especially since he had seen the other boy with the same stance before.

"Just wanted to say," Maqui dove right in, "Thanks, you know? For helping out and taking care of us while we were sick. You could have just pranked us— I know Yuj would have totally done that, and dyed our hair while we were sick or something, so… Thanks for not doing that!"

Not exactly the thanks he meant to give, but it was close enough.

Except Hope looked more alarmed by that than happy for the thanks, "I would have done it anyway — does he really do that?"

Maqui laughed, one hand behind the back of his head to rub at his nape sheepishly. "Well, okay, not if he thinks we're about to die or anything, but yeah. Apparently we make bad patients, and that's his way of getting back at anyone who falls sick. Snow does the same thing, too, actually, although it's more that he tends to start serving us food we hate the longer we're sick. And apparently, according to Serah, it was pretty bad. So you must have a lot of patience to deal with us and, you know, not want to make us suffer more."

The younger teen looked rather flabbergasted, and then flustered.

"W-well, you're not that bad." Hope admitted quietly. "My mom was worse when she was sick, actually. A lot worse. You guys were pretty nice compared to her."

There was a certain tone to those words, one that Maqui wasn't very familiar with but understood empathetically, that made the blond break out into a too-cheerful grin in order to wave away the suddenly somber atmosphere.

"Then you're loads better at dealing with this than any of us!" He exclaimed, spreading his arms wide to emphasis the statement. "You should be our official nursemaid and caretaker. You'd be tons better than Lebreau, you know. She hates taking care of us when we're sick, so it's a good thing we're not sick very often, but she doesn't even like being in the same room with us. Maybe it's because she doesn't want to get sick herself. She doesn't like being sick."

Hope's expression went from pensive and sad to somewhat irritated. "…I'm not a girl, you know."

It probably had to do with the nursemaid comment, but anything was better than Hope looking sad.

"Aww, but you'd be cute enough! I'd totally prefer you to Gadot trying to smother me, so hey — we could get you one of those nurse caps! You know, those are pretty cute and — hey, Hope, c'mon, don't walk away, I'm creating a mental wardrobe for you and I know that Yuj and Lebreau would totally want to help out, hey!"

So maybe the apology hadn't worked out so well as Hope spent the rest of the day doing his best to ignore or walk away from Maqui.

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7. Summer

"Please," Maqui whimpered, "For the love of anything and everything that is good and fun and not insanely hot, just kill me already. Mercy. Mercy, I'm begging you!"

There was a moment of stillness before a slight breeze came on, making the blond twitch in appreciation, even if the breeze was warm and didn't help his overheated skin at all.

"Wuss." Lebreau's amused tone cut through the haze of heat. "You work in the garage, Maqui. You can stand to be in the kitchen for a few hours."

"Your kitchen is made in the fiery pits of hell." Maqui exclaimed, and then pushed the wet cloth away from his eyes, where he had tried to drench his entire head with cool water. It was another bright, sunny, and beautiful day on Gran Pulse, except it was one where no one dared go out under the sun and even those who remained in the shade were staggered by the numbing, muggy heat.

This is humanity at its weakest, Maqui thought somberly. If there are any aliens out there waiting to attack… today would be the perfect time to do it.

No one would be able to fight back if they were attacked, and even Maqui was barely able to sluggishly move about, having abandoned his projects in the garage when he realized the engines and lack of ventilation was just making the heat worse. He hadn't realized people could even survive in such a temperature without frying to death instantly. Or perhaps this was a slow death, as they were slowly cooked from the inside out. Or the outside in. Something like that.

He had made the mistake of collapsing on the floor in the middle of the living area, trying to draw whatever residual coolness out from the floorboards, when Lebreau had found him and declared that if he had time to lie about like that, then he had time to help her in the kitchen.

But the kitchen, as it were, was exponentially worse.

"If you can't handle the heat," Lebreau said in smug satisfaction. "You don't deserve to be called a man."

"Done deal," Maqui responded. "I'll go back to being called 'boy' and you let me out of this blasted kitchen."

Well, it's not as if he had ever been called a 'man' unless he was being told to 'man up!' anyway. What was with that term? It's like he didn't deserve it whenever he wanted it, but whenever there was something he didn't want to do, he was told he had to do it because he was a 'man'. It wasn't fair and he was more than willing to give up on the term altogether.

"Dream on." Lebreau pipped in nonchalantly, and then pulled the wet cloth away from Maqui completely, making the boy whine in protest even as she pointed to the fan she had already turned on for him. "Snow's spending time with Serah, and both Yuj and Gadot had to leave early this morning. I need help in my kitchen and you're going to deal with it, because you'd just be napping otherwise."

"That is a blatant lie." Maqui said flatly. "It's too hot to nap today."

She threw an apron at him — the flowery and girly one that she and Yuj had gotten for her as a joke several years ago for her birthday. After she had beaten their heads in for what she had exclaimed was a 'sexist gift', Lebreau seemed to take sadistic glee in making the men of the household wear it while they were in her kitchen.

"Don't say too hot," Lebreau said smugly where she was standing mixing sauces. "Until you've finished with the half dozen batch of steaks and help me bowl the soups. I've already pre-prepared everything, so all you're going to have to do is stand in front of the stove for the next two hours."

She gave him a mockingly sympathetic pat on the head. "Too bad you're not old enough to mix drinks, but I suppose that responsibility falls on me, then. So I'll be out front. Where the air conditioning is. Make sure not to let any of the food burn, Maqui!"

Maqui only whimpered as he stared forlornly at the bright and flowery apron.

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8. Restless

Team NORA had always been active in… just about everything. Whatever was going on in Bodhum, they had a few sneaky fingers in all the honeypots. Of course, they weren't exactly the type to the invited to high class events or military meetings despite being their own little group keeping the town safe, but that didn't mean they didn't know things.

Lebreau attributed it to her bar, and had claimed quite smugly from time to time that people confessed to all sorts of things while under the influence, of even just because they felt they needed to. A bartender had to be kind and empathetic and a good listener, not just someone who could mix drinks and cook food. She never revealed what people said, but gave hints when trouble was coming up.

Gadot claimed it was because of NORA's reputation, and a good many citizens would come to them for help because they not only had an impeccable record but looked like they could handle the toughest of situations. And really, both him and Snow had taken on enough army guys to prove that again and again that they were tough.

Yuj would claim that information flow came from the gossips, and he had always been popular enough with the ladies that they would talk about all sorts of stuff with him. Complement their dress, their hair, and soon enough they'd be spilling all sorts of hard to find information and gossips and 'shh, you can't tell anyone else about this, okay?' And it was also true that a good many rumors had more than a grain of truth to them, and it helped NORA stay out of trouble and away from the rotten eggs.

Surprisingly, Maqui always denied contributing to that flow of information. He didn't want any part in it and knew that the others had to covered. He wasn't the most social, after all, wasn't the best with words like Lebreau or popular like Yuj, and he definitely didn't give off that air of being able to take on the world like Snow and Gadot did. Instead, Maqui had always been a little uncomfortable with the information that he acquired.

"Can you fix her?" It was an elderly man this time, with hair pale from age and saddened eyes that wrinkled at the edges when he smiled at the rustic velocycle. "I know she's old, but I paid a fortune to have her brought down from Cocoon… she was damaged in the Fall, but… you should have seen her go back in the day. She deserves a new chance down here just like the rest of us."

It was those kinds of jobs that Maqui didn't talk to the rest of his team about, despite his usual boasting about projects that he was proud of.

Instead, he stepped back and eyed the antique vehicle with a critical eye, taking the broken gears and the outdated parts exposed where portions of the outer plates had broken open. It would be more cost efficient to buy a new vehicle, even with the inflation that existed because of the limited amount of supplies they now had. The entire thing was a wreck, really, despite Maqui being able to see how it could have once been beautiful.

He might have said no right then and there had it not been for the smile on the man's face whenever he looked in the direction of that wreck.

"It'll take time." Maqui said slowly, and then added. "A lot of time. And it'll be expensive—"

The man waved the rest of that statement away. "I just needed to know if it was possible. Most people I went to just told me to get a new velocycle…"

"Gotta admit, that would be my advice as well. It'd be cheaper and far more effective. Vehicle prices lately may suck, but it wouldn't suck so badly as trying to get this one fixed up." Maqui scratched at the back of his head sheepishly. "But hey, if you're set on this one. I can do it. It'll just take a while. Has to be a side project and everything, especially with the way people need things fixed up now."

The man looked so grateful that Maqui had to turn away with embarrassment.

"As long as it's fixed up again. I want her to be able to see the surface of Gran Pulse with everyone else."

That evening when the man had already left and Maqui went through the engine trying to see what could be salvaged or whether he had to get a new one altogether, he came across some strange markings on the metal underneath stains and a layer of rust. He took a good handful of minutes with a rag and several strong chemicals before revealing a series of scratches into the metal… a crude 'RL (heart) ML'.

He pulled back his rag and decided that he'd keep the engine, even if that increased the fixing time.

Further tinkering found other personalized details all over the bike. There was a different sound when he tried the ignition, a different feel of of leather on the seats, and the shape of the steering wheel was something he had never come across before. Something soft and feminine that didn't look anything suiting the customer's personality. There were faded marker stains and worn areas where someone's foot must have tapped it smooth.

And… pictures. Pictures taped to the dashboard, pictures stuck by the window, and pictures in compartments that depicted a the man as he must have looked younger, with a pretty lady draped over his shoulders with a wide grin and usually pulling at his face as he tried not to look indignant about it. She may not have been the most striking of ladies, but there was a happy and mischievous air about her that somehow was infectious enough that Maqui couldn't help but grin back at her whenever he found another one of the pictures.

One of the pictures buried underneath all the others was the man in a stiff Sanctum uniform, the lines on his shoulder demoting at least a colonel in rank for PSICOM. Beside him was the very same lady, this time looking more subdued and tired. Ill, despite the proud smile on her face.

Maqui stopped looking at the pictures at that point, feeling like he knew where that story was going to go. He carefully collected the stack of photos and wrapped them carefully in a plastic bag, picking just one of the pictures out to laminate and place by the dashboard. Just one of those finishing touches that needed to be done after the engine was fixed and the casing sealed over again… and perhaps a coat of paint, as blue as the lady's gown and her eyes, just accented over the chrome.

It would take a while… a very long while, but this vehicle was special. And it deserved special treatment.

He retired to the kitchen that evening sweaty and dirty, only stopping to snag a sandwich before he went back to work, although he slowed his movements to listen to Snow's serious timber.

"—We'd need to know at least a colonel in ranks in order to get into that Sanctum banquet. Those are invite only, even to the catering staff."

"Well, they're not going to welcome us. It's not as if everyone in the entire town doesn't already know us." Lebreau grumbled out afterward. "We might have been able to get into all the previous events before, but we're known associates of l'Cie. Like it's some kind of crime to support the heroes who saved the planet."

"Hey, now." Snow sounded more jovial as he addressed her. "It's not as if we can force them to see that they've been saved, right? They gotta figure that out for themselves."

Maqui scooted into the kitchen, edging around Gadot and attempting to keep himself quiet as to not attract any attention. He had work to do, and knew that if they found him just standing around in the kitchen—

"Maqui!"

The teen froze and grimaced as he turned to face Yuj. "Hey, guys! What's going on?"

"What have you been up to all day? Didn't you have the day off?"

"Ahh…" Maqui raised a hand to rub at the back of his head sheepishly, trying to keep the nervous timbre out of his voice. "Really? I hadn't noticed! I just got caught up in the workshop, you know how it is. So many projects, so little time!"

Yuj gave him a skeptical look but didn't pursue the matter.

"Don't happen to know any Sanctum Colonels, do you?" Gadot joked, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against a corner of the room. He and Snow usually ended up standing in corners if only because they would take too much space otherwise and then the rest of the household got irritated trying to traverse around them.

"Me? Colonels?" Maqui gave a nervous laugh. "Seriously? Why would I? You guys know me! No Sanctum Colonels or anything like that, no siree."

He made his excuses and wandered away from kitchen with nothing more than a slice of toast, determined that whatever information the gang needed, they'd be able to get it without having to resort to him and his clients.

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9. Haze

What Maqui couldn't seem to get used to was the weather. Not just the heat of summer and what he assumed (and greatly dreaded) would be the cold of winter, but just the changes within the span of an hour or a mile. On the colder mornings, it might be clear for a block before the entirety of the next block disappeared into a hazy fog. It was a rolling weather, prone to fits of temperament making it even harder to navigate the already difficult terrain when Maqui was actually allowed off the settlement by himself for a while.

Never far, of course, and still well within certain boundaries. But sometimes he just wanted a moment to appreciate the wilderness of the soon-to-be-tamed area. Clearing the space to build a settlement? Of course it was going to happen. But before they could take everything down and put up their chrome spires, Maqui wanted a moment to remember how it looked like before it was touched once again by Cocoon citizens. It wasn't as if he didn't have the free time (although he constantly proclaimed himself to be far too busy), and Maqui wasn't the type interested in the beach like the others were… maybe it was because he had grown up on the beachside.

But that was an odd excuse when the others still seemed enchanted by the water. Not that he wasn't! But he wasn't the type to go swimming every chance he got. Sometimes, yes. Other times… well.

He gave an exaggerated sigh, struggling through the lack of visibility that the fog had pushed in. The last ten minutes were torture trying to wade through, his surroundings white and endless. He didn't even know what direction he had been going in— how could he know when he couldn't see the settlement? Couldn't even see Cocoon in the sky? Maybe staying in his original location had been better…

"Maqui?"

He startled, whirling in a circle trying to squint through the white haze.

"Who's there?!" He demanded, bringing up a… well, his phone was sufficient weapon, right? In case of crazy people who might… know… his name…

Okay, maybe the weapon-phone wasn't exactly warranted.

"What are you doing out there?"

And there was a shimmer in the fog, bright color as a figure stepped toward him, the fog rolling away as he got close enough. Hope. What was the other boy doing here?

Maqui lowered his phone and gave a nervous laugh. Nope. Totally hadn't been trying to use the phone as a weapon. Of course not. He brought a hand to the back of his neck, trying to look for sheepish and cooling the red flush that was developing.

"What do you mean, what am I doing here— what are you doing out here by yourself? Do the others even know you're out here?"

Hope only blinked in response. "Yes? I told them I'd be out and back within the hour."

Within the hour. Well, the fog had been settling itself comfortably around this place for the past ten minutes and didn't look like it wanted to leave any time within the next hour.

"Sure you can do that in this weather? I mean, it's dangerous for kids to be out here by themselves!"

At that, the younger teen looked vaguely irritated again, and Maqui was reminded when Hope had last been mad at him during the late summer party. It was cooler now, enough for people to start bundling up in the mornings and evenings.

"Then how come you're here by yourself?"

Maqui puffed up his chest with a grin, the hand around his phone coming up to his heart proudly. "Because I'm not a kid, obviously!"

It only took Hope a moment to look incredulous at that statement before he deadpanned, "You're lost, aren't you."

"Aww, what makes you think that? I'm not lost! I'm out exploring! Mapping the area! Scouting! Making this place safe for everyone else—!"

"NORA base is on the other side of the settlement." Hope said easily, pointing steadily in a direction. "That way."

Maqui couldn't help but squint in the direction Hope indicted, trying to find some sort of landmark that might prove the boy correct. It couldn't be, right? He couldn't see a thing through this fog! How would Hope even know…?

"I make sure I'm prepared when I come out here," Hope explained, shrugging when Maqui's inquisitive expression turned on him. "I bring chalk. It's easier to leave marks on trees or rocks or even the ground when the weather changes like this. That way I always know how to get back, and where I'm going."

This time, he tilted his head toward a nearby group of rocks that Maqui could barely make out in the fog, but there was a distinctive orange chalk line with an arrow at the very tip.

…Why hadn't he done that?

Hope rolled his eyes at the older teen's gobsmacked expression, and then reached out a hand to grab at his wrist.

"C'mon. I'll take you back to civilization. But only if you stop calling me a kid."

"That's a lame deal." Maqui complained, allowed he gladly let the younger drag him along. "Snow calls you kid all the time!"

"Yeah, and trying to get him to change his habits like like trying to pull teeth— or wishing a Chocobo into existence. I've got other things to do that would be more productive than that."

"What makes you think I'll be any easier?" Maqui stumbled slightly, but refused to show it when the silver-haired teen looked back at him curiously. Instead, he schooled his expression into a grin he had seen Snow attempt many times; the type that usually got the older man out of all sorts of trouble. "C'mon! You gotta tell me!"

"How about because I could have left you lost out there?" said Hope, but there wasn't any heat in the words. "Or that I managed to rescue you from the fog? Because I'm leading you back and I actually think you might be more reasonable than Snow?"

"Hmmm…" Maqui made sure to draw the sound out as if in deep consideration. "Nope, don't think so!"

The path was getting brighter already, and the blond realized that he really had been walking in the wrong direction this entire time as he started to see the slightest glow that would indicate city lights.

"I could still leave you here, you know."

"I'll settle for you telling me what you're doing out here." Maqui quickly amended, purposely pitching his tone to sound more cowed than he really was. Hope wouldn't leave him… right?

There was an amused laugh from the younger boy. "What are iyou/i doing out here?"

"Hey, I asked you first!"

"And you're the one who got lost."

"Ouch," Maqui placed his free hand over his heart dramatically. "I never even admitted it, and you're not going to let me live it down? Well, okay then, I can tell you what was doing out here— I'm the type of guy who likes long walks on the beach— er, plains. Dangerous areas. Yes. Dangerous areas because 'danger' is my middle name and I intend to be fully honest when I write this all up later on in life and say that I've been doing feats like this for years—"

"I was out here taking pictures," Hope interrupted, stopping in his steps as if already guessing that Maqui would just continue on his rants if he wasn't stopped. "I used to take pictures of places like Sunleth when I was younger, and I wanted pictures of this place before they tear it down to— build things. Does that answer your question?"

It almost felt like cheating to get what seemed like such an honest answer from him when Maqui hadn't exactly revealed his reasons for being out there. The mechanic gentled his grin into a smile, and revolved his wrist out of Hope's grasp, reaching forward a little more to grab onto his hand instead, ignoring the start from Hope.

"Sure thing," He said. "And now you're welcome to lead the way, oh saviour who has come to rescue me from the fog!"

The continued, and it wasn't until the shapes of familiar buildings could already be made out that Maqui added:

"Oh, and. If you don't mind, let's not talk about how I got lost, yeah?"

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10. Transformation

The last bit of summer was hot and sweaty and endless, right up until it suddenly did an about face within three days and made way for golden leaves and the cool breeze of oncoming cold.

"This," Maqui groaned from where he was lying comfortably on a quickly tried hammock between two anemic looking trees, letting his arms hang loosely off the sides of the netting as he closed his eyes behind the goggles he had pulled over his face to dim the blinding light. "This is the best thing ever."

Yuj snorted from where he was lying on the thin lounge chair they had stolen off Lebreau earlier that morning. It was Yuj who had decided to play hooky from his shift today, and had dragged the younger boy along because he had supposedly been cooped up in that garage for so long he was sprouting mushrooms.

"I can't believe I thought I was going to burn into a crisp the moment I stepped outside last week," Maqui muttered, the words slow with lethargy. "This whole summer…"

"We're going to have to get used to it. Can you imagine it getting cold, though? If we couldn't imagine the heat before, how cold is it going to get in the winter?"

"Don't want to think about that." Maqui's voice was barely audible over the goggles on his face. "I like this weather. I'd like it to be like this forever, okay?"

There was blessed silence for a few moments before he scrunched up his nose and the feel of something against this face. What…?

He blinked against the smooth weight against his face, the colour that filtered through to this vision vibrantly orange-red.

"Whoa." He said as he realized that it was one of the leaves from the tree they were resting under. Unlike the rest of the yellow-orange hue, this one looked a dark red even if the light that filtered through was a lighter colour. He reached up to grab at the stem, twirling the leaf in his fingers and examining just how beautifully maroon it was. Different than most of the forests at Sunleth, it seemed, which stayed green all year thanks to the scientists managing the environment.

He pulled up his goggles and looked up at the tree, squinting now with the knowledge that he might have overlooked just how colourful the leaves had gotten.

Spread above him in a canopy was an array of colours from green to yellow to red, gently swaying in the breeze. Nothing he could see looked anything like the leaf he was holding, though; none of the colours were that deep, and most looked almost splotchy.

"The tree's not going anywhere, man." Yuj's sleepy voice called out from the side.

Maqui took a few moments to stare some more before he conceded, "Yeah."

He kept the stem of the bright red leaf between his fingers as he closed his eyes, enjoying the coolness and once again allowing the wind and the rustling of leaves to lull him to sleep. Thoughts could wait until later.

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