In her room in the Briarrest Cabin, Aya sat cross-legged on her bed, her ears tied loosely back with a pastel pink ribbon, and her Meadowcut sleeves rolled up neatly to the elbows. Open on her lap was her copy of the menu recipes for the Concord Summit, its pages lightly joined by penciled notes and tiny cute illustrations. She had opened the page for tonight's dinner service menu and was studying the recipes.
"Ask about the thyme oil, then double-check with Petra. Then don't forget the temperatures…"
A few small taps of her pencil followed. Then a knock at the door broke her concentration.
Immediately, she stood, smoothed her skirt, and opened the door—
"Ah—!"
It was Richard Calloway.
He smiled, albeit a little one. "Hey Aya! Good afternoon!"
Aya blinked her eyes then smiled back. "Oh—hello! I didn't expect—um, I mean—good afternoon, Richard."
"I was wondering… do you have a minute to talk? Or am I interrupting anything?"
She quickly shook her head. "Oh, no! Not at all. I was just reviewing the dinner recipes… Chef Tulliver's notes can get a little intense, so I was taking it slow."
Richard chuckled. "Figures. Always studying, that's very like you at this point."
Aya laughed slightly. "Oh—w-well, I don't want to miss anything important…" then she stepped back gently and gestured inward. "Would you like to come in? I, um… I can make us some tea while we talk, if you don't mind?"
"That sounds nice," he said with a nod. "Thank you."
Aya walked over to the small desk tucked neatly beneath the window, where a cork coaster and a silver-tipped vacuum flask sat waiting. She unscrewed the cap and peeked inside, steam still faintly rising from the tea inside.
"I prepared this earlier from my blend box," she said, looking at him. "It's mostly white tea, with a little elderflower and mint, but—ah, do you have any preferences? I didn't ask…"
Richard smiled, stepping just inside. "I… honestly don't know much about tea. Sorry. But I'm pretty sure I'll appreciate whatever you brewed."
"Oh! Then I'll let you try this one," Aya said with a little bit of relief. "It's gentle on the tongue, just a little sweet."
She poured two modest servings into mismatched ceramic cups—one with a strawberry motif, the other a simple blue. She held out the blue one to Richard.
"Here you are."
"Thanks, Aya," Richard said as he took the cup carefully.
Aya then moved to the corner of the room and tugged an extra chair out from beneath a coat rack.
"I-I'm sorry, it's not really set up for guests," she said, ears tilting a little. "I wasn't expecting someone to drop by like this…"
"It's no problem. This is more welcoming than most places I've sat in all week."
She blushed lightly and took her own seat, cradling her cup close as the steam curled past her nose.
They remained silent for a moment, both staring at their cups, until Aya looked up at him and spoke up curiously. "So… what did you want to talk about?"
Richard took a slow sip of his tea first, nodding a little to himself. Then he lowered the cup and looked up at her. "Well… I was wondering if you might want to walk around Rosequartz Town with me for a bit. You know… check things out."
"Oh—ooh! That sounds nice… Are the others coming with us?"
Richard scratched the back of his neck, chuckling quietly. "Actually… they can't join… and you're the last one I asked."
"Mm-nay~? Really?"
"Yeah." He shrugged. "Ciela disappeared after lunch service—probably went off to find Professor Barlowe. June and Petra were in the lounge with Orin. Playing cards. Loudly,"
"Really? With Orin?" Aya asked in slight surprise.
Richard nodded. "Somehow managed to drag him into it, even though he was very clear about not wanting to join."
"Oh dear crumbs," Aya giggled into her cup.
"So, yeah," Richard continued, "I didn't want to bother them. And well, I didn't really want to spend all our downtime just sitting around. We're in Rosequartz, you know? Kind of feels like a waste not to explore it even a little."
"I understand," Aya smiled.
"…So I figured," he said, voice a little softer now, "maybe you'd feel the same?"
Aya hummed after she took a few more gentle sips from her cup, eyes drifting toward the cabin window. "…I do," she said as she nodded slowly, smiling faintly. "That would be nice."
Richard's ears perked a little, tail giving a slow wag behind him. "See? I knew you'd get it."
Then he leaned forward slightly. "The Summit's fun and all, but outside of kitchen work, it's just… a lot of people talking. Meetings. Panels. More talking. Feels like everyone's trying to out-educate each other."
Aya let out a giggle at the way he said 'out-educate'. "I do see where you're coming at."
"Yeah! So I thought, maybe we could sneak in a bit of real fun while there's time. Roam around a little. Try some stuff, check out a few shops… And hey," he lifted his cup slightly. "If you find something you like, maybe I can help you snag it. As a souvenir, or whatever! Wouldn't hurt."
"Really? That's so nice of you, but… oh no, you don't have to! I can buy my own souvenirs!"
Richard shrugged with a grin. "I can, though. That's the thing. I'm just saying, I want to make the most of being in Rosequartz, y'know? For everyone. Especially the ones working their tails off."
Then he pointed at Aya. "Even the ones with very adorable tails."
Aya flushed a little, shifting in her seat. "O-oh hush…" she muttered, though her fluffy tail could barely contain her excitement after such a compliment.
She then looked down at her cup to think for a bit, before looking back at him.
"Well… perhaps, after this tea time… if it's still okay with you, I wouldn't mind tagging along?"
Richard smiled at her answer. Then he took another big sip from his teacup first before responding. "I was hoping you'd say that."
One quick tea time later, Aya and Richard now strolled side by side through the bustling cobbled streets of Rosequartz Town, where lanterns were already being lit along storefronts, and where a pair of musicians played violin and lute near the fountain plaza.
"Look at that stand," Aya pointed gently, eyes lighting up. "They're selling stuffed pastries with warm honey glaze... I've heard about those!"
"I could smell it before I even saw it," Richard said with a grin. "Dog-nose perks."
Aya giggled before they continued on. After a bit, her ears perked as they passed a window filled with ribbon-wrapped jars of jam and colorful sweets.
Then—she stopped.
"Ooh," she gasped softly. "This place…"
It was a modest sweets shop with pastel trim and a decorative candy sculpture hanging over the door. Inside, jars of jelly drops, candied peels, and fudge can be seen neatly arranged with an almost artistic flair.
Aya didn't hesitate and stepped inside, practically floating.
Richard followed, hands in his pockets, watching as she gravitated to a shelf lined with paper-wrapped sweet buns. "Wow, Aya. You really are a walking sugar compass."
"They're vanilla clove buns," she whispered. "I've only had them once before, when I was little."
"They tasty?" Richard asked.
Aya nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Of course they are!"
"Want to try that then?"
"Hmm… maybe, but also perhaps we can look around a bit more?" Aya asked as her head scanned more snacks.
Richard let her go ahead while he stood behind, content with admiring the sight of her hopping towards a different shelf adorably.
After a few more careful inspections and a lot of indecisiveness, she finally picked one and turned to the counter, gently handing it to the store clerk.
But just before she could pull out her coin pouch, clink!
Richard had already slid a few copper zennies across the counter.
"Hey—!" Aya blinked, startled. "Richard!"
He smirked. "What? It's just a snack."
"You really didn't have to!"
"I know. That's why it's nice and easy."
Aya puffed her cheeks playfully, her soft pout making her look more flustered than upset.
The shop clerk, a plump beaver-folk woman with a cherry-shaped pin on her hat, chuckled from behind the counter. "Aren't you two cute. If you're lookin' to try more, we've got a discount for couples~"
Aya immediately flinched, ears shooting up, her cheeks going scarlet. "W-we're not—! I mean—! N-not a couple! N-not like that!"
"We're just workmates! A couple, like a pair of workmates," Richard half-joked.
"Right! Yes! That, we are! Workmates!"
Richard just laughed under his breath at her reaction, "We'll still take that discount, though. Right, Aya?"
Hearing that, Aya couldn't help but just look up at him, absolutely betrayed.
He winked. "I mean, if we're allowed to still grab snacks."
The clerk grinned and waved it off. "All's fair in sugar land. Pick what you want!"
After a few choices, this time some from Richard's input, with him also paying for them, they left the shop with a small paper bag full of extras: some sweet, dusted almonds, plum tarts, and two butter-filled croissants still warm from the oven.
As they walked on and on, Aya, cheeks still pink from the "couple" comment, nibbled on her croissant in slow bites, despite her earlier protests.
"You know," Richard said while looking at her with a bright grin, "for someone so flustered, you're not exactly hesitating with the snacking."
Aya nearly choked mid-bite. "I-it's because it would be rude to let it go cold!" she insisted.
"Sure, sure," Richard replied, his dog's tail swaying slowly behind him. "Totally not because you're enjoying it."
"You—!"
With her hands still holding her snack, she gave his arm a few harmless little thuds with her fists.
Richard laughed. "Ow, ow, mercy, Miss Ribbuns!"
"That's what you get," she muttered, giving his shoulder one last tap before stomping a foot, though she didn't seem very intimidating when paired with the rest of her gentle appearance.
"Alright, alright," he said between chuckles, nudging her elbow with his. "You done? Truce?"
Aya huffed softly through her nose, then gave a tiny nod. "…Truce."
Richard smiled. "Good. Because we've still got a whole town to see. C'mon, before dinner service calls us back!"
Aya looked up at him, smiled, and nodded. Then with a little hop in her step, she followed him forward, and then they wandered.
From one cobbled lane to the next, Aya and Richard strolled under garlanded awnings and through little side markets lit with hanging glass lanterns. A flower cart had also passed them by, its petals fluttering like confetti. They also paused to listen to a few buskers as they played a slow, lulling melody.
They also lingered by a bookshop window where cookbooks and other kinds of guides stood proudly on display. At one stall, Aya admired some ribbon-wrapped candies while Richard poked through hand-carved music boxes.
They didn't buy much. But the way they stopped, pointed, smiled, laughed, it all made the town feel much more alive for them.
Then, as they curved around a plaza lined with comfortable looking benches, they came upon the familiar Rosequartz Town train station. And just before they passed, a fresh train rolled in with a low, chuffing whistle. Slowing down while its engine's steam curled along the platform like mist.
Richard slowed as he admired the machine, his ears perked, and his tail still. "Huh… that's a sight."
Aya, still munching on the last bit of her butter croissant, tilted her head. "Do you like trains, Richard?"
"Oh not just trains," Richard replied, his eyes still fixed. "It's how fast the world's moving. Advancing."
"Advancing?"
He nodded. "Think about it. A few decades ago, our folks were still getting from town to town by slow carriage. Now steam engines run through half the Wonderforest. Public transport, affordable, even. It's wild when you think about it. Just... how far things have come."
Aya couldn't respond right away as she thought for a moment, ears tilting slightly.
"I… I suppose that is amazing," she then said at last, giving an awkward chuckle. "I don't really know much about the history of all that but… it's there!"
"That's alright," Richard smiled. "It's enough to just notice it sometimes."
Then Richard straightened a bit and tilted his head toward the road. "We should probably start heading back. Get a bit of rest before Ciela starts calling us to go get ready for service prep."
Aya nodded, brushing a few crumbs from her skirt. "Right… good idea! Let's go, then!"
They turned and began walking past the edge of the station, the train now fully stopped and passengers beginning to disembark. Right away, suitcases began thumping onto the platform, feet started shuffling over stone, and voices grew louder as they mingled together.
And then—
Ka-thunk!
Something hit the ground loudly… like strong, hard leather against stone.
"Ow—my foot! Stars, kid, that's my foot—!"
Aya's ears raised in alert at the noise. For the first few seconds, she dismissed it—just someone fumbling their bags, maybe stepping where they shouldn't.
Just the normal travel chaos.
But then—
"Darn it, Vesper. Told you not to get too comfy on the train," the voice said, half-muffled, playful but tired. "Now you're all sleepy you couldn't even lift your own luggage, huh—"
Aya stopped.
Her ears tilted towards the direction, straining. Then her head followed as she turned sharply, eyes scanning through the slow-moving crowd.
And there! Near the middle of the platform, stood two figures.
One bent down, rubbing her foot. The other standing above her, picking up a large fallen suitcase.
But what caught Aya's attention most was the flash of familiar ears from the one carrying a suitcase.
Black… with some red tones.
Unmistakable.
"...Raveena?"
The name barely left her mouth loud enough to call for a person.
Then—
"Aya?"
She turned at the sound of her own name. There stood Richard, a few paces ahead now, looking back at her. "Is something wrong?"
Aya blinked, then her head flicked once more toward the figures, but they were already hidden behind a wave of both newly arrived and boarding passengers and porters, moving carts and umbrellas blocking her view entirely.
She stood there, frozen for a second longer, then quietly shook her head.
"…I-It's nothing! I just thought I saw something," she said, walking toward him.
Richard gave her a curious look, but said nothing more. He simply let Aya rejoin him before they continued walking.
As they walked, Aya looked back once over her shoulder, to at least try to get a glimpse again. But the crowd had fully swallowed whatever it was, so much that she'd lost track of even the exact direction.
Then she sighed, lightly.
"Probably just imagining things…"