Where Are We Going [End Season One]

Loali and I had been up for a while, late enough that I was sure the moon had already changed or was soon to change to its next color. For the past few hours I’d been carving bones that we didn’t need for devices of our own into jewelry, figurines, and little trinkets that someone else could use to store magic, make their own devices, or simply wear. I’d been making some to sell to merchants for a while, after Loali complimented the ones I made for her and suggested I continue to make more as a source of income. Just a few moons ago Illose brought back these bones as part of a hunt, so I had plenty to work on for the moment.

I was idly etching designs into and smoothing out the bones so Loali wouldn’t be left alone in the workshop, which would have been dangerous for a number of reasons, since Itelber and Fridle had to leave earlier to take care of their son Mercen and get to sleep themselves.

She wasn’t entirely focused on her work, though. She occasionally glanced back at me, but always looked away quickly enough that I only caught her darkly blushed face out of the corner of my eye. That was what struck me as unusual about this late moon, unlike other times I’d stayed here with her for several hours past when we should’ve gone to sleep.

“What’re you working on?”

When she turned to meet my eyes, I was greeted with the surprise I’d expected to see on her face.

“Why do you ask?”

“It seemed like you wanted me to. You’ve been glancing back at me a lot.”

“That’s not wh-” She cut herself off, but eventually just let out a long breath. “I’ve been sort of putting off talking to you about that too, I guess. No one said anything to you, did they?”

“Like what?”

“Nothing.” I could tell she was embarrassed, as her face was once again a slightly darker, warmer shade of purple because of a blush. Before I really had a chance to think about why she was blushing, though, she continued.

“You really want to know what I’m working on?”

“If you want me to. Is it something I’m not gonna like?” That question made her pull a funny face, for some reason.

“You’ll probably like it. But I don’t really want you to tell me if you do or not.”

Now I was even more curious, as I could hardly think of a device that would make her so conflicted.

“I mean it. Whether you want to use it or not, don’t tell me yet. It’ll take a while for me to finish it anyway, and I’ll have to go get more materials for it. I’m only telling you because Norte assured me it is possible, so even though I don’t have it complete yet I know I can make it.”

“Alright, I won’t say anything.” I was keenly aware of her nerves because of how quickly she’d started talking, so I wasted no time trying to assure her.

“You promise? You won’t tell me until after it's complete?”

“I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that, because if you do say something it might affect my work. I’ll do a better job if I don’t know either way, I think.”

“Affect your work? I’ve never known you to get that distracted working on a device. You’re kind of single-minded that way.” I sort of teased, intending to lighten her mood a bit, but she shook her head. “I admire that, by the way.”

“I'm serious.”

“I know... and yeah, I promise.”

“Ok,” she said, and sighed as she waved me over to her workstation. She drew out from a shelf a somewhat large nullifying box, one containing a circular, fur-covered ring that could easily fit over my head and sit on my shoulders.

“I’ve just been charging these,” she gestured to a few things on her desk, “but this is a sort of prototype.” She carefully took the circular device out of the box, and grabbed the empty obsidian water cup on her desk to hold it in her other hand.

“So what is it?”

“I’ll show you.” She closed her eyes for a moment, took in a deep breath, and then I saw a rainbow of goopy, swirling light start to play in the circle.

Something about the light immediately looked familiar to me, and when I watched her toss the cup into the light I remembered where from. Norte had been covered in the same light a few times, when they teleported.

Behind me I heard a clink, and on the other side of the workshop the cup had appeared, likely close to the ground considering it didn’t shatter.

“A teleport device...” I responded in awe, and she nodded.

“It is. But my goal isn’t to make a teleporter that can transport things or people across a room, or even all the way across the Night and Luminescent Domains.”

“It’s not? Where would you even go..?” It didn’t take long for the conversation to flood back to me, and Loali confirmed my fleeting recollections.

“I want to make a ‘mosaic teleporter,’ one that will be able to teleport you back to your world.”

I could go back?

“But that’s-”

“Remember what you promised, okay?” I temporarily bit my tongue, which she took advantage of. “Whether or not you use it is up to you, but I am going to make it. I’ve already spent plenty of time considering this to know that I have to do this.”

“You’ve been working on this for a lot longer than a few moons.” I noted, having recalled the fact that she’d been secretly experimenting for a while.

“I have had a few other projects I haven’t talked about, but... yeah. I’ve been working on this for a few years, since about the time you figured out your magic.”

“That long..?”

Has she actually wanted me to leave all this time?

No, that can’t be right. She definitely doesn’t hate me. She’s doing this for me because she wants to help me, and I’ve said plenty of times that I miss home.

I couldn’t ask her any of the questions that came to my mind after that.

Would I use it? Would I be able to come back if I did? I miss my family, but there’s also all the people here, and I wouldn’t want to leave her... but does she feel the same?

I’d promised I wouldn’t say anything at the moment about whether or not I’d use the completed mosaic teleporter, and all of the questions firing in my mind could lead that way. Not to mention, some of them felt near impossible for me to ask out loud, physically.

Does she want me to go home? Would she be happy if I went home? Is she worried about me? Does she not care about..?

My thoughts snapped around as I stood half in a daze for a little while, silent, until eventually I arrived at a thought I had to voice while I had just a small wave of confidence overcome me. We were talking about me potentially leaving, even if that was some time away, so I needed to ask her while I had this chance.

I needed to know, now, before I started agonizing about it while the mosaic teleporter was being built.

“Loali... if I asked you on a date, would you go on one with me?” I didn’t have quite enough confidence to ask her how she felt about me directly, so I had to hope that would do.

“I...” The word sort of leaked out of her mouth, and I could tell she seemed surprised. If I was in her position I could see how the question would seem a bit out of left-field, but it didn’t take long before her shock was replaced with a huge grin. The moment I saw it, I was sure I was grinning too.

“You’ve been wanting to ask that for a while, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, of course,” I responded without a moment’s pause, to which I saw her hold back a chuckle. “You didn’t seem to want me to ask, though, so I didn’t.”

“I didn’t want you to ask.” She responded, and if it weren’t for her smile and the light tone she used the words would’ve made me choke.

“But now you do..?”

“Yes, Danny,” she responded as she continued to hold just a bit of laughter. “If you ask me on a date, I might say yes.”

“‘Might?’”

“That depends on what you have planned when you ask.”

“It’s not exactly fancy, but how would you feel about me making our next meal? I may or may not still have the ingredients I need tucked away at home- I’m thinking of something tangy that mixes well with citrus, a few herbs that have a smell you said reminds you of your childhood, and maybe even ready-to-bake buelaen dough.”

“Oh?” As I expected, she seemed very interested in the idea. This wouldn’t have been the first time that I’d brought out a favorite meal or treat of hers that she’d thought she wouldn’t have for a while, since I had gotten in the habit of tucking away some for her like I tucked away my own. I was quickly envisioning a multi-course meal to start the moon tomorrow.

“If that’s not quite enough, then-”

“No, no, that’s just fine.” She quickly stopped me in my tracks with a sincere head shake, which I was thankful for since I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to suggest. I’d figured it would come to me as I spoke.

“Really? That’s enough?”

“Don’t say it like that,” she said, “but yes. I know it’ll be good, especially since I’ll be bringing a few things too.”

“What? No, I’ll make your-”

“And I’ll make a few of your favorites too. I’ve been stocking up for a little bit, and it just makes sense for me to do something for you too.”

“Thank you.” I took a moment to provide my reply, as I needed a moment to process my delight, both at the thought that she’d been saving food up for me and at the fact that this date was actually happening. “So our first date is in a few hours, then?”

“Hm? Oh-” The sight of Loali’s widening eyes, which instantly told me she’d had no idea how long we’d actually already been up for, nor the fact that the moon had likely already changed colors by now, made me break out in uncontrolled laughter. It probably wasn’t even that funny, but I was too delirious with a mix of joy and slight sleep deprivation to react any other way.

“Danny! Don’t laugh, I’ve just been a bit focused on my work, it’s not funny.” Despite her words, her face was clearly still pretty jovial.

“We’d better... get star... ted on the... food soon!” I called between laughs, out of breath.

“Laugh it up while you can,” she said, “because while you’re napping because you wore yourself out I’ll be making food you can only dream of. Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you if you don't manage to make anything.”

“Game... on.”