Noel stepped out in the early morning light and sneaked around the other side of the inn, then ran to the woods, down the trail to the Mosaic Rosetta, and rested her hand on it.
"What did I know about myself before now?" her thoughts raced as she peered into the world inside. There were four portraits, one of Maria, one of Kokoso, one of Byrd, and one of Cathryn, with another four, the two that were filled were the Seasons, followed by one of Mother Goose, one on another side of Historia, and then four others, one of herself, but the other three were a mystery. Noel's portrait had no words under it, besides the Maria gave her the name.
Noel stepped away, backed up, and sat across from it, "Why can't you just show me who I am, what I was?"
She alone, trying to remember until she heard footsteps racing toward her.
"Noel!" Noel stared at the ground and closed her eyes and she heard Maria approach, "We thought you ran away again."
"Not even the Mosaic Rosetta can tell me what I knew about myself, back before...anything." Noel sighed and stood back up, "Sorry, I guess I was just here so long, sulking, I forgot to come back."
"Why didn't you ask someone to join you?" Spring whined.
"It's dangerous to step foot inside the woods by yourself." Byrd added.
"I know...I told myself I wouldn't be here long," Noel turned to the others, but not looking up at their faces, "but there was this nagging doubt, that if I found something, I...I don't know, if I'd found out that I was with them, I think I might have ran away...confront them...but I had this idea in my head, that if I looked, I'd see there was something reassuring, but there was nothing, just a few words, 'Noel, the name Maria gave you', that was it...nothing else."
"Well, you don't need the Mosaic Rosetta to tell you that we're your friends, right?" Kokoso crossed his arms, grinning, "Don't worry about what it doesn't tell you; take heart in what we've told you."
"Kokoso's maxim of the day?" Spring teased.
"And you giggled like an idiot when I said what I did last night," Byrd pointed out, "and I gave you a warning that it'd be sappy and cliched! This takes the cake."
"And the milk, too." Cathryn added.
"And the coffee?" Spring ventured, "Oh, please let there be coffee!"
"You don't need coffee." Autumn smirked.
Noel looked up at her friends, smiling, "Thanks, guys!" she said quietly as she embraced Maria.
"What a contrast to how she first interacted with us!" Kokoso marveled, "I do believe we've all grown close-" he stumbled back as Noel wrapped her arms around him and turned to Byrd, who was snickering for a few seconds, before it was his turn.
"Kokoso, want to call it?" Spring asked, crossing her arms.
"You don't mean to say team hug, do you?" Kokoso wondered.
"No, let's skip that and just eat." Byrd suggested.
"Too awkward for you?" Kokoso challenged.
"Don't start it." Byrd warned.
"Ha, ha, fine, fine, I'm pretty hungry anyways." Kokoso relented.
"Team's dad isn't one for hugs," Cathryn acknowledged, "everyone keep that in mind."
"So, guys, last night I had this really weird dream," Kokoso began, "you want to hear it? So, I was a fruit-"
"No one said they wanted to hear it!" Byrd admonished.
"He's got a point." Maria said, smiling, "So, what was this about being a fruit?"
"Wait, what?!" Byrd turned to Maria, shocked, but otherwise stayed quiet as Kokoso continued.
"So, I was just hanging there on a limb, and then Byrd swooped over and tore me right off the limb, and all of a sudden...I was the limb!"
"And then?!" Spring leaned forward, exaggerating enthusiasm.
"And then nothing, I was the limb, and the tree, and the ground...it was actually quite strange...at the end I was myself again, under the tree, except I was a bunny."
"That actually reminds me of my dream." Cathryn remarked, "So, I was me, sitting by the fishing pond, and when I cast my line, I was the fishing rod, and then I was the fish when it bit, and then I was me again, eating the fish."
"Oh, cannibalistic." Spring rubbed her hands together, "Now we're getting dark."
"Ha, nothing compares to when Byrd pulled Kokoso off the tree." Maria laughed.
"I had a dream it was my birthday," Spring sighed, "all I wanted was a pony, and for a minute, I had one, but then it was an ox when I looked at it...I guess I pretended it as a pony?"
"I had a dream I was a dragon." Autumn smiled, "It was nice."
"Well, while we're at it," Byrd leaned back in his chair and took a pause, "in my dream...my wings were gone. It was so weird, as weird as when I first had wings, to be honest, I had an unsettling feeling that everything we've been through was a dream."
"I had a dream I was a werewolf." Maria shrugged, "Big lumbering arms, swinging them like a yeti."
"We do share the claw weapons," Autumn nodded, "but it's highly unlikely you'll ever be a werewolf."
"How about you, Noel?" Maria watched her friend curiously.
"I...uh...I didn't have any dreams." Noel admitted.
"No dreams, really?" Maria drummed the table under her hand, "How about...well, look, these don't have to be recent dreams, just one you remember."
"No...nothing." Noel shook her head and sighed, "Guess I'm not normal, huh?"
"Well...I'm sure it's not completely unheard of," Maria said hopefully, "and even if it is completely unheard of, our standard for normalcy is on a low bar anyways."
"Yeah," Kokoso laugh, "I tripped on that bar, didn't I? Still made it over."
"Just barely!" Spring teased.
"What do you know, you weren't even there, yet!" Kokoso laughed.
"So, when are we taking a test run into the city?" Noel inquired.
"I was thinking at dawn, so we can do the usual routine, get some sleep, and show up at a time when we can see well." Maria proposed.
"That works." Kokoso raised his hand, followed by the others.
"Then we'll go on our test run tonight, after Spring, Kokoso, Noel, and I bring back Cathryn's shopping list of materials." Maria stood up and Spring, Kokoso, and Noel stood to follow her.
"Okay, I woke Maria up." Noel informed, approaching the others on the beach. Kokoso had his hat, and Maria mentioned a hat before Noel ran back out.
"So, we'll all be going, since we're just going to go and hang out for a bit?" Spring wondered.
"That's the idea." Noel sighed, "It's been a while...guess this is kind of my home, might bring back some memories."
"You're home right now." Byrd reminded her, "Don't forget that."
"Right...this is only a former prison for me, then?" Noel wondered.
"That sounds about right." Byrd folded his arms and stared past Noel, "About time you showed up, Maria."
"Ha, yeah, I was having good dreams, though." Maria laughed.
"I...I wish I had dreams," Noel sighed, "I wonder if I've always never had dreams...they sound like they'd be a lot of fun. I guess before I met you, I hadn't smiled either, my face is used to it now."
"There's more than one way to have a dream," Noel flinched in mild surprise to find Maria's hand on her shoulder, "it can just be something you really want to do, or something you want to happen, like getting your memories back."
"Then...I have more dreams than I thought." Noel stared at Maria for a few moments before turning to the others, "Now, we have two flyers and five passengers."
"I guess that means I'll finally have to piggyback someone." Spring stretched out her wings and gazed over the ocean, "It feels like we're taking a really big step here."
"We are." Kokoso sighed, "Well, time to see how long we can stand around before we run out of magic."
"What happens if we run into ships?" Noel wondered.
"We outrun them, outmaneuver them," Byrd shrugged, "same as whenever Kokoso brought someone back to the village, I'd carry him and the newcomer, with Cathryn on my back...cumbersome, but it worked."
I don't think I could carry three people." Spring frowned, "I don't have talons like you."
"True, but you can carry two people, right?" Byrd inquired.
"Yeah...maybe, only one way to know!" Spring started flying up and pointed at Noel, "You're probably the lightest here, an obvious choice for piggybacking...and Autumn."
"Okay," Byrd sighed, "Cat, hop on."
The slow rising sun painted the sky a rosy color as the seven friends flew across the ocean, in the distance they could see several battleships.
Noel watched the city's skyline and distant ships intently, trying to remember anything related to the current sights, but found nothing. When they landed she still found nothing interesting around them.
"Byrd and I will hover," Cathryn decided, "we've been spotted before, I've no doubt someone will recognize us, everyone should stay in groups threes or twos, to avoid undue suspicion."
"I got dibs on Autumn!" Spring announced, "You and I have lots to catch up on."
"Hmm, now you're making me hungry." Autumn hummed, walking away alongside Spring, "I wonder if we can find a restaurant, I could go for some fries and ketchup."
"I'll stick with Maria," Kokoso decided, "we haven't been around recently, but there's no way they can instantly recognize us and our lack of presence, even though His Majesty likes to think he's watching us every second of every day."
"Um, I would join you guys," Noel swallowed and backed away, "but if someone recognizes me, I'm sure they'll know that I stole this suit...I hope I stole the suit, but if I did, that means they won't be happy to see me."
"There's plenty of buildings to hide in," Kokoso waved for her and Maria to follow him, "apparently Maria and I both found an abandoned store, books and random oddities were all over the place, but we never met there, she scrounged around during the day but I spent my nights there, I wonder if it's still around."
"It was to the right." Maria pointed and Kokoso chuckled as he started down that way. The doorway had fallen in, leaving a narrow opening between the floor and the door, and inside the place was covered in dust.
"Okay, nothing suspicious in here." Kokoso called from within.
"I'll watch the street," Maria pointed at the hole, "you go on ahead."
Noel nodded and crouched down, sliding an arm in, balanced on her other hand, she squeezed inside, "Okay, I'm in." Noel sighed, leaning against a wall. She watched as Maria slithered in with practiced ease.1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QIxOxuFpc
"It's safer in deeper." Maria stood up and started for a dark tunnel.
"U-um," Noel raced over and grabbed Maria's hand, "we're not even staying long, wouldn't it be better to stay out here?"
"I guess, but we brought our weapons, may as well enchant them, the dark is the best to do that, in case someone decides to peek in." realization crossed Maria's face as she stared at Noel, who stood gazing at the aged floorboards, "Noel, are you scared of the dark?"1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDTqZwIKg15
"I don't know why...but I am." Noel looked up at Maria anxiously, "You can't even see where you're going, you don't know what might be there, waiting to pounce on you!"1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDXCSzFoZx
"Noel...I'll go first and-" Maria started forward but Noel pulled her back.
"Look, I'll go first, but give me room if something jumps on me." Noel shuddered before taking a step into the darkness. She took several small steps before finding and sliding down against a wall, "Okay, I'm here."1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbBocvXwgA2
Maria stepped into the room and walked ahead, "Where are you?"
"Against a wall just ahead of the doorway. Ah!" Noel sprang away from the wall, "There was something on my face!"1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYNh9AMxh5O
"That was probably my hair, I was going to sit next to you."1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeKMjzgiERG
"O-oh...sorry." Noel crawled back over, shaking as she sat next to Maria.1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2gRYXQecu
"Here's some light." Kokoso sat in front of Noel and flame erupted from his shield.1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRDgbiI0zX
"That's much better, huh?" Maria remarked.1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEGiZOuqmgi
"Yeah...I just want to fall asleep." Noel sighed, leaning against Maria.1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMm0RazzWXM
"Ha, ha, I think the only way you're leaving is if you crawl out by yourself." Kokoso noted.1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ63bq6DoGB
"Oh, right...I guess I'll try to dream."1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWabezowQ4L
"That's daydreaming." Maria informed quietly.1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMAbzI5jkA
"Daydreaming." Noel parroted softly, "Sounds...fun."1051Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ823lOtwrX
