The Distance Of Our Feelings

The sound of the explosion had destroyed the dream-like afternoon haze of the day, curious townsfolk popping their heads out of windows in order to survey the multicolored smoke as it climbed into the sky.

Shanna paid no mind to any of them, barely even saw their features as she ran at full pelt back home.

Rondy, Rondy, Rondy!

Shanna's mind had jumbled, while that one word continued to intermittently interrupt her thoughts stalling any productive thinking.
Had the assailant returned? Was he okay? Rondy! Please be okay…!

Her hair whipped about her as she continued with great speed towards her house.

"W-wait! Wait for me…! It might be dangerous…!" Was the scrabbling cry from behind her.
She paid it no mind. It didn't matter. When her Rondy could be in danger nothing else mattered to her, and so Norri was quite literally left in her dust unable to match her pace.

As she rounded the street corner, the familiar sight of Noelle's stall told her she was nearly there, even if the elf wasn't there for once.

Rondy, Rondy, Rondy!

Shanna burst through the front door and then storeroom, immediately struck by a terrible sense of deja vu. The room was a complete mess, books here and there and the reek of potion invasively abused the nose.

Unlike the first time however, Rondy was sprawled across the floor in clear view, seemingly the center of the blast zone. Shards of what likely used to be a glass vial glittered across the floor like colourless gems.

She wasted no time in springing inside, gently lifting his body into her arms.

"R-Rondy! Rondy, are you okay!?" Shanna cried out, giving his body a gentle shake.

He was breathing steadily, and then seemed to stir.
First his fingers seemed to twitch back to life, and then his eyelids fluttered open.

Shanna stared into those half-lidded eyes with open relief, releasing the breath she'd been holding in. Thank goodness, Shanna thought to herself, thank goodness… Thank goodness.

As Shanna's gaze wandered back down, she suddenly became aware of his arm reaching up, inches from her face and with fingers outstretched. It almost looked like he was about to stroke her face!

Shanna's face blushed in spite of itself. This was no time for thinking impure thoughts, was it!?
Until… She suddenly remembered a popular story telling device. One where an amnesiac suffered the same accident that caused the amnesia, and then was cured of it! Genius!

She'd watched a few theater acts where that had happened, so maybe it was a real phenomena after all!

"M-Moonlight?" She asked with a hopeful and optimistic beat within her chest.

Rondy blinked once before inclining his head, then closed his eyes. "As I suspected." He began. "The Botanical Supplements with Kalwhart moss and Hopple oat have worked as advertised and vastly improved the state of your skin." He nods again. "Your pores are cleansed and your skin has achieved a 73% higher threshold for clarity and cleanliness.
I will accept any compliments at your leisure." He finished benevolently.

Norri and Merridee entered just in time to hear Shanna's war cry.

"ARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And saw her unceremoniously drop Rondy.

Merridee scratched her face. "I told you it was an everyday thing."

~ ~

"I can't believe you dropped me…" Rondy said tenderly inspecting the back of his head through fingertips.

"I said sorry! I've already said sorry like a hundred times now!" Shanna pouted, closing the medicinal box they kept on their premises.

Merridee had since left, seemingly only there to ensure no outer damages to the other buildings in the neighborhood (and to deliver that annoying quip. What was that all about? Seriously).

As Shanna returned the medicine box back to its shelf she turned to face Rondy once more, who was still prodding at the bump on the back of his head.

"How come you weren't asleep anyway? You said you were sleepy. So you should sleep! Not play about with explosive potions." Shanna scoffed. Through seeing these new sides to Rondy, it was gradually becoming apparent as to why rent was so cheap and as to why they lived on the outskirts.

"I wasn't sleepy." He said.
Shanna groaned. "I'm going to go grey at this rate…"

It was at this moment he chose to perk up. "Ah, well there are solutions to those maladies in the Curious Cures for the Maladjusted-"

"Please! No more of those horrible foods!" Shanna said scrunching her eyes and placing hands over her ears.

He looked incredibly vexed. "Why say it, if you don't want a solution? Childish."
Shanna's cheeks puffed out in response, resembling more than anything, a frog.

As Rondy shook his head, he found himself finally noticing the figure who'd been awkwardly shuffling about by the living room's entrance. "Who is this?"

In all the excitement, Shanna had nearly forgotten all about poor Nori. He slowly raised his head to meet Rondy's gaze.

"I'm Norribell. The uh, the other Alchemist who lives in town." He tilted his head at him. "You… You really don't remember me?"

Rondy became quiet and looked downward.

Intuitively, Shanna found herself stepping in. "There was a potion explosion the other day, and he's had memory loss ever since. I really hope you'll be able to help him, Norri." Shanna said tearing her eyes from Rondy to look at Norri.

To her surprise, Norri was looking more unnerved and nervous than even Rondy when he was at it his most extreme levels of anxiety. His breathing had become strained, and he clutched at his arm so hard she could see his knuckles turning white.

"Norri… Are you…?" She left the statement hanging, somehow unable to commit to asking the question.

In response Norri shook awake and gave her a false smile. "Oh, sorry, sorry!." He said. "This is sudden, but I just remembered I have something else to deliver actually..."

Shanna's eyes narrowed doubtfully. "But I thought it was just the delivery for the Mayor…?"

"Yes, exactly- I mean no! Not exactly, no, uhhm, one other delivery. Yes, and it's urgent so…" He nodded his head so fast, his glasses threatened to fly off his face. "So that being the case, I'll be off!"

Shanna barely had time to register his words, before he zoomed out of the living room.
She was still thinking of a good response when she heard the front door shut.

Incidentally, her good response was as follows.

"Since when!" She said. "He didn't make it sound like he was busy when he was playing around in barrels! It actually seemed the opposite!"

Considering it further, maybe something about seeing Rondy had unnerved him? Resting her head in her chin, her whole body tilted as she continued to ponder over his strange reaction and hasty retreat.

"Everyone's so inconsistent…" She thought aloud.

Rondy's head seemed to jerk at her words.

"…All I've been doing is disappointing people..." Rondy muttered curling into himself and hugging his knees. It took everything Shanna had to not object to his boots being on the sofa.

"That's not true at all, Moonlight." She said shaking her head. "I think you're doing quite well despite losing all your memories. Everyone is here for you." She said with a resolute bob of her head. He unfurled from his sitting position, and started walking out the room.

"Moonlight?" Shanna called out, trailing behind him.

He headed up the stairs. His slouched body suddenly stopped mid-step he turned to look down at her.
"'Everyone'… Who is everyone, to me exactly?"

It had been an ill choice of word, Shanna was now realizing.

"I-I didn't mean that you knew all these people." Shanna said scratching the side of her face. "I mean, I barely talked to anyone else before yesterday." Barely needed to talk to anyone before, she considered, finishing the final trail of her thoughts. Before the explosion, she'd mostly tuned everyone else out. Selfishly, all that had mattered to her was her partner's love and attention.

"You may not have. But that's not the case for me." Rondy said solemnly. "I definitely used to know these people."

In the brief pause that followed, a thought connected to Rondy's words.
"Wait, are you saying Norri knew you?" Shanna said in surprise.

Was that why he'd left? He'd been so hurt that Rondy had forgotten him, the pain too much even. W-w-was Norri in love with my Rondy, Shanna couldn't help but think. No that's stupid. Erase that thought right away.
Even in a situation like this Shanna's brain couldn't help but fire on all cylinders erratically.

Rondy's foot reaching the landing was what brought her back to reality. She hurried up the remaining steps just in time to see him enter the room on the right.

"L-Look Moonlight…" Shanna began. "Don't worry about the memory loss. We'll get it back when we fix you." His expression turned severe.

"'Fix'…?" Shanna mentally kicked herself for yet another terrible word choice. Maybe this was why her lyre spells weren't working. Because her real world soothing skills weren't much good either.

Rondy shook his head. "Nobody wants 'me'. They want a Rondy I've never even met. A superior, better version… And all I continue to do by being here is disappoint people."

Having finished his piece, he then shut the bedroom door.

Shanna found herself unable to move at first, gaze still lingering where Rondy had just stood. 

She was completely shell shocked by his words and all the weight they carried.
Until a different thought begged for her attention.

This guy………….. Went into her room.

If it had been 'her Rondy' she would've no doubt allowed it through bright and eager blushes.

Therein lied the problem she supposed. 
This current Rondy was definitely not he.

So as loathe as she was to interrupt Rondy, especially after his final words… She was not quite ready to entirely surrender herself to his whims.

She knocked on the door once, twice, thrice, and so forth.

Eventually the haggard form of Rondy opened the door, clutching one of her large strawberry-shaped cushions and wearing a bright turquoise blankie upon his shoulders, seemingly in place of the cloak.

"That's my bedroom, Moonlight…" Shanna said looking down and twiddling her fingers.

Rondy simply dragged himself across the hallway into the opposite bedroom, strawberry cushion and teal throw and all. Shanna raised her eyebrows. Well… If getting her room back was the cost of a cushion and blanket, then so be it she supposed.

Before Rondy's prior words could rattle her further, movement from the window sill drew her attention, and she looked over just in time to see a brown leaf flutter to the ground.

Her mouth fell open in dismay.
The flower was brown all over, its leafs wrinkled and crumbling at the faintest breeze.

The Atristus flower was dying.