Welcome to Gaia! ::

Only once she was certain the Corrupt was gone and would not be returning with allies, Einhornhöhle withdrew Harvey’s phone from her subspace pocket before powering down. With a bated breath, she turned it over in her hand, checking for chips or cracks, and only once she was certain it wasn’t broken she pressed the power button.

It turned on, thank god.

Battery life was somewhere in the 80’s which was another blessing. Melody swiped up on the screen and entered his password before calling her own phone. It was at 7% when the two of them swapped phones however, she couldn’t remember if it was still on silent. “Please pick up…”

It rang once, twice-

She closed her eyes, feeling the apprehension rise, and pressed her other free hand against her forehead which felt unusually warm. Probably the weather whiplash from being outside at the reservoir to going into the dark dank cave, falling into a rift that was as cold as walking into a commercial freezer, and back into the humid evening warmth.

Either way, she was probably going to feel sick tomorrow.

It rang a third time-

Melody cautiously stepped out of the alleyway and looked around. “I uh.” Her voice trembled with a mix of relief and stress.

If it were day time she’d likely recognize the street immediately, but with the majority of the stores now closed, lights off with nothing more than a neon sign in the window and a street lamp spaced out along the sideway about every 75-feet or so as far as the eye could see. “I’m honestly not sure.”

“I’m downtown somewhere,” she pulled the phone away and pushed the speaker icon. “Hold on one moment-” Melody went to the apps and opened Google Maps and turned on location share. “There, you should be able to see where I’m at.”

The icon that marked her location indicated she was about 17 minutes away from the reservoir. “I really hope you’re out of the cave. If not, don’t go where I was taking photos. There was something in the water. Something I couldn’t see.” It would sound a lot more strange if he wasn’t a Squire like she was, seasoned with the weird happenings around Destiny City.

“It felt like I stepped into a sinkhole. Next thing I knew I was in some dark realm with monsters and a Corrupt.” Melody combed her fingers through her hair. “Harvey I was so scared. Please tell me you’re not still in there.”

“No, I don’t need anything.” Once her nerves settled then maybe, but that’d only happen once he was finally here and she could hold him for a moment. “Just you.”

After a moment of searching she sent him another notification, “I just sent you directions to Cafe Noir. It’s only a couple blocks away from me.” Not necessarily one she could recommend since she’d never been but it was still open and from the photos didn’t look like a shady place like several bars.

“I’m sorry, Harvey.” Melody drew in a breath and exhaled slowly. “I honestly didn’t mean to make you worry. If I thought sending a letter with my ring would work, I would have reached out sooner.” But as far as she knew a letter could only be sent to Kiringul and unless he powered up then he wouldn’t receive it.

“I don’t know where that portal took me, but I will say I’m glad it didn’t bring you along with me.” Together they might have been more formidable but her own inexperience with using magic might have put them at risk. Fortunately, things worked out the way they did, much to the Corrupt’s chagrin, but he’d recover eventually.

“At least I was able to keep your phone safe,” she added with a small laugh to try an lighten the mood a little.

Melody rose without protest and immediately wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I’m glad you’re safe,” a sigh of relief escaped her.

She held on for more than what was probably necessary knowing that if her magic had been depleted even a moment sooner she’d be at the mercy of the monsters in that dark frigid realm and she was certain that they were too feral to know the meaning of that word.

Glancing up at the clock behind the cashier’s register she noted how quickly he got here compared to the estimated time of arrival determined by the maps app. “I hope you didn’t run too many red lights or stop signs.” Melody teased with a bit of a rueful smile as she moved to press her forehead against his.

“I’d still like to see the Lantern Festival if that’s ok with you.” She knew it was late already and he’d have to double back, that there was a chance they might miss the start of it. But that was the main reason they went out today.

The venture into the caves was just a way to pass the time. However, if she knew then what she knew now, Melody would have just stayed at the reservoir and tested her luck against the rumored monster there and just not gone in the water.

The cave was supposed to have been safe.

“We don’t have to stay out too late.” Even with the ice water she was still feeling a bit off and would probably go to bed earlier than normal.

Melody followed him out without protest, finding comfort in his hand holding onto hers; a tether to him and reassurance that he wasn’t going to suddenly disappear on her and she had unintentionally done to him.

She nodded to his suggestion and offered a rueful smile, “I can do that.”

When she got into the car, Melody could feel the adrenaline fade more rapidly and the fatigue from being on high alert and riddled with worry settle on the edge of her consciousness. But this event was one that only came around once a year and she would be incredibly disappointed if they’d missed it.

If caffeine was needed she’d get something once they got back to the festival. Or something sweet for a temporary sugar rush so she wouldn’t be up until 3 o’clock AM unable to sleep.

When Harvey got into the car she reached over and took his hand in her own and brushed her lips against his knuckles, a feathered kiss. “I appreciate you coming to get me. Thank you.” To that admission Melody allowed herself to relax in the passenger's seat with a genuinely thankful smile.

“Ok, don’t take too long though.” For one reason or another parting felt a bit ominous after what they just went through. “Don’t get distracted by anything cold, please. If it feels like someone just opened a door and the air feels like AC, get away. It means there’s likely a rift near you.” Unless he happened to be walking past a Baskin Robins then he’d probably be fine, but as far as she knew there wasn’t one nearby.

Melody got out of the car before anyone could get irritated at them for taking too long and hurried over to the open field they were going to go to after a quick visit to the caves.

“If only we came here first,” then none of this would have happened. Hindsight being 20-20, going forward she would just stick to the original plan. Now all the prime spots were already picked and she had the task of finding someplace they could still see the lanterns without having them blocked by trees or people standing around.