It was middle of the night when they both woke up with sudden jerk and Nona tightly hugged Tress for all he had done and checked if he was still there well and alive. He turned back into the ball state, so it was difficult to judge what mass of his body did he leave behind. She was so worried about him but at the same time she had never been more proud of anyone else in her life. She saw him as her younger brother in that moment to which Tress argued that he had rather be the older of the two. Tress had his own concerns of the journey which since they are so deeply connected was hard for him to hide from her. The thought that if he had not gone with her, what would she do, it was his first dive and it was not as if she had become any veteran, it was just her fourth but the sheer chaos had even him concerned and the spat they had there was not the signs he would have wanted to see. Obviously as she heard him, she showered him with complements and assured him that from now on he could be there to witness every journey with her, which he thought was never even a question from then on. Something else that concerned him but he could not put his mind to it due to her obstruction was the sheer absurdity where she lights up, what does and why is the purple mark on her shoulder now not even a question to her. " I can't get to remove it, I tried, one time maid saw this and took to removing it herself, it did not work but I convinced her it lighten up so it will be removed over time, that was almost two weeks ago." Nona recalled those events.
Now both the goof balls had woken up in the middle of the night what was there to do. She took him tip toeing around the house to the smallest balcony that was accessible from the ladder up the attic but without going to attic you just turn towards the balcony. It was a wooden floor protruding out enclosed in glass , it was a window but the ones that extend outward. Tress had been here for two days now and had not left her side as she laid on bed and when both of them reached there, the stars in the night sky were shining the brightest. The sheer enamor they had caught his attention but he could not help notice that under the light of stars, her eyes looked greener than usual. As he noticed that eccentricity, she told him that it is her this year's goal to not keep looking at them like she is doing now as she has been obsessed with stars ever since she was born. " can't really blame you, maybe if I had space like this, I would have dared fly high and not come crashing to ground." Tress had found something that finally made him believe that trip he made was certainly worth the additional effort. " Color me all the shades I do not like, really you had try to reach those stars." Nona was shocked and amazed that the Tress just a couple of days ago or even almost a life ago was just going to drown essentially finally felt some desire other than being attached to her. This made him realize how curious was the case that, he could fly anywhere, nobody would see him yet he remains by her side not even going to other room where she is.
In that moment Tress had a shiver down his fluffs. He felt those gears of Nona turning, she was fired up, The stress of what had happened yesterday? What happened out there in that place, It was gone. She was ready to bring him another travel trip, " let me guess another short trip?' Tress was not having any of it, "You want more?, even after all the mess we just endured not even couple of hours ago." "three actually" Nona corrected. " It is almost morning, you got school tomorrow, let's just get some sleep." Tress taking a protective stance there. " You have been spending much time with my mum, you sure you never leave my side?" Nona out here asking real questions. It was not that Tress was worried about school, he had underestimated the challenges and with each jump, Nona was starting to gather momentum in wanting to travel far and wide. If not kept in check when could it actually mean trouble. Tress in these moments forgot a teeny- tiny thing that was he was projecting his thoughts out loud. Nona after hearing those suddenly went quiet and in deep pondering she was about to say....
"BOOOOO!!!!!" It is I Antony, you have awaken me from deep caves.
Tress screamed so loud in her head that she almost screamed twice as loud as her voice reverberated in that box. " I heard footsteps, I knew who tip toed their way up the folding stairs" Antony teased. " It was me", Nona admitted guilt.
" not like there was other thing to say", Tress doing narrator's job. " No, no it was your fault", Nona chuckled. "hahha, prove that" Tress with a smug voice
As papa Astor picked her up and took her down in the bed once again. He saw her wearing that sweater and his smile mellowed out, his expressions softened. "You look lovely in this sweater princess, have a nice sleep." As the door closed and Nona found her mission of wanting to go another adve... . "Absolutely no." Tress with reaffirmation. Atleast let me complete my sentences here. With no choice left Nona blurted out a threat, " I am sleepy and I am still wearing the sweater so this is happening whether you come or not (please come , please come)." Her little honesty might just have won Tress over as he nestled himself in her hands and the quiet night continued. The hours ticked by........
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29/01 Part Two
Waking up is rather easy when someone takes a torch to your face or so they thought when they woke up and saw the first thing a football sized ball like lamp just suspended there with nothing to hold it in place. As Nona stood up, They saw that their was not one but multiple such lights giving the idea that they are floating but are rather arranged in a very particular order. As Nona tried to wander around and play around with the light, soon as she held it in her hand, the surface beneath her vanished and you guessed it she was falling again. Tress flew to get her out of trouble again, She threw the ball out of her hand immediately the surface came back underneath her. "OUUCHHH!! that hurt".
" Are you fine? Why must you do such stupid things" Tress finds his concerns validated not to his liking.
" Yes I am fine, it did not hit as hard as I thought it would" Nona sighed relief
The light that Nona held started shining really bright, almost blinding like looking straight as sun from mercury. " Tress can you do something about it."
"I can engulf it, maybe my body can reduce its brightness" As he chowed it down in one motion, the ball shape of Tress was back to being the fluffy mattress he was. " So you can regrow." Nona was relieved. Now they had to make sense where they were and looking around she saw the lights spiraling downwards. It was like a staircase and first time Nona would willingly and gracefully walk down. " Without all the screaming too." Tress with his words of wisdom. Thanks Tress.
As they kept walking in circles the steps grew large and lights dimmed. They finally seemed to have hit the bottom but it was empty again, black this time. As They both walked around the place, The light from Tress's body illuminating the space when suddenly something jumped on them. Not visible in the dark as it neared the light you could make out the pale white almost paper white face and black hair, screaming something far beyond these two's understanding. They tried getting up, but it seemed more climbed on them. they were almost half of Nona's size but they just kept screaming and screaming. " I get it how you feel when I am screaming", Nona apologized. It was as if they were now targeting her more and more and she had the brilliant idea of shrouding themselves in darkness to.
"Throw the light ball away" Nona shouted
As soon as Tress threw the damn light away he got free but they still were not letting Nona go to which Tress went into the crowd and lifted her up. Suddenly then things became calm as new light balls shined carried by similar looking people but cloaked. Things seemed to have calmed down behind the one person everyone gathered as he came up to speak to Nona and Tress. He bowed to Nona and pointed her towards the top, his stout almost pencil thin limbs making his whole body stretch. As she looked up the portal was there. "It was not there when we first arrived was it", Nona was puzzled. She has now understood the value of just checking her surroundings all too well before making decisions. "NO". Even Tress was baffled. As that figure bowed again, so did the people, beings behind him.
She was like a goddess to them. As they repeatedly bow to her, she saw other cloaked figures climbing the light ball based steps up. " Are they chasing the portal?" " If so where they have reached its not even half way, their bottom lights are already out." " And if we go back through the portal it might vanish." As the even shorter figures again circled Nona. She bent down and held their bone thin hand and it started glowing. It made Tress even more suspicious but he tried hiding it with surprise as those people saw what could be equivalent to a miracle to them, the buzzing and screaming became loud again. As people in the back came closer and light dawned on them, her light dawned on them. The purple spot on her skin started glowing and the leader man raised his hand shouted with pointing towards Nona. Tress came in between them in case there is something hostile. But the kids there took her hand as the whole crowd walked infront of her taking them somewhere. They reached a place where their were hundreds of balls just there with many young people about Nona's height igniting light in them. As they saw her, they brought the ball to her which as soon as she held in her hand, it ignited. The collective gasp which included Tress too made her take a step back and even when she dropped the ball, the light kept on growing.
Seeing this they started bringing all the balls to her. As she ignited all, she started to get tired seeing this, Tress started egging her on about returning but those people seemed so happy, their pencil thin frames seemingly filling up and pale white skin retaining some of the light. As the tedious process went on Tress understood what they wanted. It was a star that never died out, these small balls would die out someday or next. Tress figured if he inhaled large amounts of these balls and then Nona powered them since balls seem to get brighter maybe they had keep sucking off off each other. Nona liked the plan but as soon as Tress started the process, people attacked him, which made him curious is to why. These are supposedly empty balls right. It is then he saw some balls fall from sky did he understood that these are remnants of their people which they later fill with energy. Then the young ones take it in trying to find permanent source that's why these people were trying to give their life to it. As in true Tress fashion, Nona heard him and started to cry which made Tress sad and more determined to do it.
He started to engulf these faster and signaled Nona to be ready as soon as he engulfed all, He dashed towards Nona, looking bigger and bigger as he closed in. He lifted Nona up and flew as fast as possible, the stretch taking toll on his body. As they reached near the portal, Tress spit it out and Nona prayed for them which made Tress pray for them and in that moment it happened again, he saw her whole body light up as she powered through the large sphere. As it caught ignition and light started becoming unbearable they dashed towards the portal and once again as Tress took a moment to look back, there was the chief bowing to them seemingly thanking them. They had just become someone's star.
Passing through the portal, they both woke up standing out of class, wearing the sweater, what was going on. As the teacher stood over their head, and shouted at Noelle for being out of class and then told her to continue standing out of class and both of them were not having it.
Both- "Need some sleep."