Damien and Lily were at the front of the group alongside Maya, chatting quietly with her.
"It'll be interesting, going to the village and meeting the people there only to have them forget you exist the very next day," River said to Aspen, thinking out loud.
Aspen nodded.
"No one ever forgets." Celeste said, from the back of the group. "Our physiological fingerprints are embedded in their mind, faint but still there."
Aspen raised an eyebrow and nodded to this as well.
"That's cool," River replied genuinely. He glanced back at Celeste. "Are the villagers nice? I mean, are they naturally hostile, or do they like meeting new people?"
Celeste smiled softly.
"They're nice to us, because deep down we look familiar to them, but they can't place why. That's because they see us, even if the loop resets, for them, deep down, we still look familiar." She told him dreamily.
Aspen stared and smiled.
"Very interesting." She commented.
"She's very philosophical," River commented to Aspen, his voice low enough for only her to here.
Aspen nodded.
"She a prophet," Aspen whispered "so are we really surprised?"
"Not really," River admitted. "But it's still interesting."
Aspen nodded.
"It is," he agreed "I like the way she words things too."
Celeste smiled. "Thank you." She said cheerily.
Maya led them out of the castle and River blinked as the sun directly hit his eyes, but when he adjusted to the light, the valley looked as breathtaking as it was the day before, the roofs of the town just peeking over the edge of the hills.
"There's a path somewhere over here…ph, here we go," Maya said, stepping onto a stone path covered in moss which made it blend in with the vibrant, lush grass. "It's a 10 to 15 minute walk from here."
Celeste smiled.
"But faster if Aspen floats us across the water that separates the Chateau from the village." She said dremily. "That way we don't take the path and we get there quicker."
Aspen pressed her lips together and looked at Aspen.
"Uhm I don't think my abilities are strong enough for four people yet." She muttered.
"Um, I could try to part the water to make a path for us?" River volunteered tentatively.
"Yeah, we can try that," Maya agreed, continuing to walk down the path.
Celeste nodded.
"Like jesus." She said dreamily "but parting the water not walking on it."
Aspen burts into giggles and covered her face.
River grinned. "That would be a great prank to pull on somebody one day, pretending to be jesus."
"Yes it would," Maya replied from the front, laughing as well.
Celeste nodded.
Aspen laughed even harder, wiping the corners of her eyes with her fingers.
"Oh my god," she said breathlessly "I think I peed my pants."
Celeste burst into giggles and smiled.
River chuckled. A few moments later he heard the sound of rushing water and then he saw a crystal clear river peacefully flowing down the valley.
Aspen smiled and looked at the river in awe.
"Wow, do you really think you can make a path in that?" She asked curiously.
"Nope," River replied. "But it doesn't hurt to try."
He lifted his hand up and closed his eyes in concentration. He felt a small tug in his gut, but when he clenched his fist then that tug immediately turned into a feeling of someone hitting his stomach very hard with a sledgehammer.
He gasped in pain, recoiling, making the water that had started to part slowly immediately crash back together, splashing him and the others.
Aspen put her hand over her face, though her face still got wet.
"Gee River," she said sarcastically "thanks for the bath."
She looked over at him and saw him panting and put her arm around his shoulders.
"Are you okay?" She asked in concern as Celeste looked up at the sky.
"It just stings a bit," River lied, giving Aspen a small smile. "It's fine. Sorry that I couldn't do it."
Even though River had gotten punched in the stomach plenty of times at the orphange, it didn't hurt as bad it did when he tried to move the water. Thankfully the pain had now become a dull throb, quickly fading as if nothing had happened.
"You literally realized you even had a peculiarity around a day ago," Maya said. "Don't try hurting yourself when you haven't even practiced your abilities yet, okay?"
River nodded and Maya turned back to the flowing water. She closed her eyes and after a few moments she tapped her foot, making a bridge automatically appear.
"It's physically there, but you guys need to run as quickly as you can over it. I won't be able to hold it for much longer," Maya grunted, beads of sweat already forming on her face.
Aspen grabbed River, in a bridal arry and began running at top speed across the bridge.
When she got them to the other side, she gently sat him down.
"I could've ran on my own," River replied, amused. "But thanks."
Aspen smiled and shrugged.
"You were hurt," she pointed out defiantly. "I wanted to give you time to get yourself together and not add to the pain by running too."
"The pain's gone," River said, feeling perfectly fine. "It was just unexpected, that's all."
Aspen put her hands on her hips and pushed one hip slightly forward more than the other.
"Fine." She said, smiling teasingly "next time I won't carry you like you're my newly wedded wife."
River laughed and got up, brushing the dirt off of his pants. He saw the others run across the bridge, the last one being Maya who tapped her foot again, making the bridge disappear.
She sighed in relief, as if a burden had been lifted off of her. "Alright, let's keep going."
Aspen nodded and Celeste did too, though Celeste's usual pale complexion was punctuated by patches of red high on her cheek bones.
Damiem walked alongside Maya, chatting happily with her, Lily trailing a few steps behind.
River breifly put a hand to his stomach to make sure nothing was broken before setting off after them.
Celeste was at the very back of the group, walking while looking upwards.
"I think this'll be fun." Celeste stated and Aspen gave her a soft smile and laughed.
"Let's hope so." She said quietly
After a few more minutes of walking, River heard the sound of laughter and merriment, and when he caught up to Maya, he saw the village everyone talked so highly of.
He blinked in surprise; this was not the old run-down town he and Aspen were in out of the loop. This town looked brand new, the people there healthy and happy. There were banners and other decor up on balconies and on the exteriors of all of the buildings, and River guessed that they were having a festival.
What happened to make this happy town so abandoned and broken in the future? he wondered as Maya led them down the path.
"What kind of festival is this?" Aspen asked Maya, raising an eyebrow. "All the flags are pink and red."
"The strawberry festival." Celeste said looking around dreamily. "Wait no, i'm sorry, I think I might be wrong…" she turned to Maya knowingly.
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