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Lately, Thorn has been tending to the garden outside of the house she's taken for herself. She likes to spend her time with company, but it's nice to have a place she can retreat to whenever she needs to recharge. It'll be all the nicer once she's got beds of beautiful flowers planted and grown by her own hand.
There are three rectangular flower planters along each side of the building. She, Skeptic, and Stubborn had spent a few days building these and the others scattered around the village for those who wanted them.
She hopes they'll get to do it again soon. It had been a lot of fun watching Needle and Adversary "chop" down trees with their bare hands. Razor had a fantastic time massacring some of the wood into mulch. Even Fury pitched in, curious to find out if she could unwind living things that weren't also people.
And that's why several of the trees at one end of the village look more like abstract art installations than living things.
Wild could easily grow flowers for any of them, but then there would be no sense of accomplishment. It gives Thorn something to do, too; whenever she isn't working or spending time with somebody else, she's happy to be knee-deep in soil.
"Hello," comes a voice from behind her.
Thorn looks over her shoulder to see Cage walking up, her head smiling from its spot in her open-doored namesake. "Hi," Thorn greets. She dusts her hands off on her overalls. The light grey fabric is streaked and spotted with dark grey dirt all over.
"You've found some poppies," Cage notes. Her eyes flick to indicate the flowers Thorn had just finished planting.
With a smile, Thorn gets to her feet. "I did. There were some beyond the stream. I just brought them over today. Pretty, right?"
Cage carries herself closer to get a good look at them. "They're beautiful," she says.
Thorn runs a hand back through her hair to find the rubber band keeping her messy ponytail in place. She removes it and shakes her hair out with a soft little sigh. "Thanks. If they do well here, I was thinking of getting some planted around the whole village. What do you think?"
Giving a thoughtful hum, Cage's body hefts the bird cage up higher so she can survey the place. Thorn cocks her head, another question on her lips, but she waits for an answer to the first. Finally, Cage says, "Yes, I think that would look nice. This place could use a little more life."
"That's what I thought, too!" Thorn claps her hands together. The cuts on her palms, no longer bleeding but still red and raw, sting with the contact. She shakes the pain off without giving it much thought. "So, hey, I've been wondering something."
The bird cage is turned so its occupant can look at her again. "What's that?"
"Not that I'm judging, but why do you still use that thing?"
Cage glances up towards her body through the metal bars. "Oh. Well, it's convenient. And it's not uncomfortable, if that's what you're worried about."
Thorn begins half-heartedly trying to dust some of the dirt from her clothes. It doesn't make much of a difference. "I guess I'm just surprised you wouldn't rather be carried by hand."
Cage lets out a short laugh. "Maybe, but there's a lot of stuff around here. It's very easy to trip and drop me."
Thorn straightens up, eyes wide. "People have dropped you?!"
"On accident," Cage clarifies. Her face reddens. "I've dropped myself, too. It's easier to hold onto a bird cage than a disembodied head, I've found."
Accident or not, the thought is horrifying. Thorn places her hands on her hips. Her tail thrashes behind her in agitation. "You have a bit of an excuse, but the others should be more careful. Who dropped you?" she demands.
Cage shrugs. "It's okay, really." Her eyes flicking off to the side for a moment. "I don't have to worry about patterns this way."
Thorn feels her shoulders sag. She knows the things every one of the Vessels went through, including Cage. The major pattern of loops-to-resetting-to-loops has been broken, but any one of them could fall into new patterns now. Even in freedom, some things are out of one's control.
She gets it. It's one of many thoughts and feelings she had when she was part of Her. Thorn has not carried those feelings with her to her new body in their entirety, but it's easy enough to guess what Cage must really be worried about: the lack of control, and the fear of slipping back into what brought her so much pain.
With a sigh, Thorn crouches down beside the planter full of poppies. "I get it," she says as she looks over the flowers. "If it makes you comfortable, that's all that matters."
She plucks one of the freshly planted poppies and stands back up. Missing one won't be a big deal; there are plenty more in there. And worst case scenario, she can always get more later.
Thorn twirls the stem between her fingers and offers Cage a soft smile. "We're all afraid of going back to the way things were before, I think," she says. "But at least now we can watch over each other."
Cage's body hefts her head up higher until her eyes are level with Thorn's. "Do you think things would have been better if we hadn't separated?"
It's almost an unnecessary question. Whatever Thorn thinks, she knows Cage and the others think it too—on the surface, at least. Still, it's nice to be able to talk these things out. In the future, as they all spend time their own ways, the answers may start to diverge more.
"Well..." Thorn tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "In a way, I suppose so. We were never really meant to be like this, were we?" She pinches a silky petal with her thumb and forefinger. "But it's what Quiet wanted. I remember how She couldn't—we couldn't bring ourselves to understand that, when we were all together."
In truth, there's a part of her that still doesn't understand it. The Long Quiet is no less than any of His Voices, just as the Shifting Mound is no less any of Her Vessels. It wouldn't have been a betrayal to leave without granting each part of themselves their own bodies.
But Quiet maintained that he'd feel selfish for not letting the Voices have their own freedom. That's the thing She loves about the Long Quiet, even if it frustrates Her; he still thinks too much like a mortal, even as he knows what he truly is.
Thorn has to admit, though, that it's nice living like this. Even with all the pain and struggles each of them have to deal with, this has brought a certain sense of freedom that Thorn relishes. It's also very nice to be able to touch the many parts of Her and Him in the ways they can now. Something about it feels much more intimate and vulnerable.
Cage chuckles. "He's always been sentimental, hasn't he?"
Thorn's fingers release the petal, leaving it part of the whole. "That's what I like about him," she agrees.
She steps forward and extends a hand into the bird cage. Wide eyes look up at her as she tucks the stem of the poppy behind Cage's ear. The red petals stand out starkly against her light hair.
Cage's face is likewise red as she pulls her hand back. "You look pretty," Thorn says with a smile. Cage blinks up at her, lost for words. Thorn attempts a wink, but a sudden bout of embarrassment overcomes her and she ends up blinking rapidly instead.
Giggling at her own shyness, Thorn grabs Cage's free hand. Cage is still watching her with those wide eyes. A smile spreads over her face as Thorn leads them towards one of the many water fountains around the village. It'll still be some time before lunch and she wants to sit and relax in the grass while chatting with Cage.
There's been plenty of time for Cage to learn how to navigate, but she still moves with a slow and steady precision, as if afraid she'll trip and fall. Which… isn't too out of question, apparently. Thorn squeezes her hand. She has no problem with matching Cage's pace.
She's chosen to go to the fountain topped with five stone birds. Water pours from open beaks into the singular basin below. Thorn likes the fountains; there's something relaxing about the steady flow of the water. The soothing sound of it has helped ground her during bad days.
It's also fun to stick her hand in the falling water. She has, on occasion, stuck her head under a stream for a drink. Thorn knows that's probably from the Witchy side of her that still exists (she's seen Witch do the same things, after all).
The two of them settle in the grass beside the fountain. Thorn drapes an arm over the basin, letting her fingers dip into the cool water. Cage sits across from her and follows suit. "That feels nice," she remarks.
Thorn swirls the water with her fingers. "It is," she agrees. "We should head to the beach sometime. I think I'd like to go swimming."
Cage blinks up at her. "There's a beach?"
"Yeah! Wild told me." Thorn says with a happy twist of her tail. "She said it's pretty far off, though. It'd probably have to be a day trip. Unless Apo ever feels like giving us a hand..." She sighs. "She can stand as tall as the mountains and does she even use those long legs of hers to travel? No! I don't get it."
With a chuckle, Cage glances in the direction of the temple. "If I were the kind of god she always thought herself to be, I think I might find it demeaning to ferry people around."
Thorn pouts. "Even if we asked really nicely?" When Cage shrugs, Thorn says, "Even if Broken asked really nicely?"
"You can always try," Cage says. "The worst she can do is say no." She pauses, a sly smile on her face. "Since smiting is against the rules."
That sends the both of them into a fit of giggles. Once she calms back down, Thorn says, "Some of us could probably ride over on Den."
"Hm. What about Cheated?" Cage asks.
"He's still working on teleportation, I think," Thorn says. "It tires him out, and I'm not sure if he's tried it with other people yet."
It had taken him long enough to try it out in the first place. Although a few people claimed to have seen him pull it off on accident, Cheated was convinced that they'd all been messing with him. Thorn was there when he decided to try to teleport just to prove that he couldn't. She still laughs when she thinks of how shocked he looked after appearing on top of one of the roofs.
Cage pulls her hand from the water. "Then it's a good thing we have nothing but time." Her hands fold into her lap and she closes her eyes in thought. "And maybe it wouldn't be so bad to do some traveling. We don't need this place."
It's true. The village is comfortable and convenient, but it isn't necessary. It wouldn't be hard to keep themselves fed and sheltered with Wild's help. What would it be like without her? Or, rather, what would it be like for the people from Echo's world? How self-reliant did they have to be? Did they like to travel?
Thorn splashes the water a bit with her hand. She could ask him, but the thought gives her pause. He hasn't made much of an effort to talk to her or any of the other Princesses. For obvious reasons.
If she were to approach him, there's no telling what he might do. Maybe nothing, but she knows how manipulative the Narrators were during the loops. He still wants the Shifting Mound dead—that means he wants her dead. It just isn't a good idea.
When she claws her way back out of her thoughts, she finds Cage peering up at her with a worried frown. "You zoned out for a moment there. Are you alright?"
"Sure, sure. Just… tired." She doesn't mean to lie. It just doesn't feel worth getting into.
Cage keeps watching her for a moment before smiling. "Hey. I have an idea. Let me braid your hair."
Thorn perks up. Braiding isn't anything new amongst the Princesses, but she's never been very good at doing it herself. That's why she usually opts for a messy ponytail whenever she wants her hair out of her face. But if Cage is offering, then…
"Sure!" She withdraws her hand from the water and shakes it off as she turns to sit with her back to Cage. "Can you see alright from there?" she asks over her shoulder.
"I can manage," Cage replies. She starts combing her fingers through Thorn's hair, gently easing out the tangles and knots. It would be faster if she had a comb, but Thorn doesn't mind.
Having her hair touched like this is relaxing. She wonders if this is what it feels like when the Voices get their feathers preened. Safe, comforting, loving… Thorn closes her eyes and sighs in contentment.
"You're purring," Cage notes while parting Thorn's hair down the middle.
She can feel her tail bristle as her face flushes. "Am not!" she protests. Cage just chuckles behind her. Thorn raises a hand to her mouth and giggles. "Okay, maybe I am, a little. I can't help it. This feels nice!"
"Good." Cage keeps working with her hair. Thorn can feel nimble fingers separating sections and beginning to weave.
It is so nice. Whatever tension built up in her body from the day melts away with Cage's care. Thorn's tail drapes itself over Cage's thigh. The rumbling in her chest is soon accompanied by the soft sound of humming from behind her.
Time passes. She can't say how much, but it can't have been too long because lunch isn't ready by the time Cage finishes with her hair. Then again, Thorn isn't entirely sure that she would have heard the bell ring with how lost in sensation she was.
"I'm done," Cage announces, waking Thorn from her trance.
Two braids hang past her shoulders. Thorn shakes her head from side to side to feel them move. She takes one in each hand and pulls them around to admire Cage's handiwork. Each one is thick and beautifully done. "Thank you," she says brightly. "These look so good!"
Cage smiles at her. "You look pretty," she says, a mirror of Thorn's words from earlier.
A grin spreads across Thorn's face. "Can I pick you up real quick?" she asks.
Cage blinks. "Sure."
Thorn very gently takes Cage's head in her hands, and then she raises Cage until their faces are level with each other. The poppy tucked behind her ear looks as cheerful as Thorn feels right now. The red suits her, she thinks.
She holds Cage steady as she brings her own face forward. Cage lets out a happy little noise as their lips meet. Thorn doesn't kiss her for long, but she kisses her deeply.
Both of their faces are as red as the poppy by the time Thorn pulls away. "Wow," Cage says. "I should braid your hair more often."
Giggling, Thorn sets her back down. "I wouldn't say no," she says with a wink (she's secretly proud of herself for not messing it up this time).
The two of them while away the time just chatting, there beside the fountain. Soon enough, the sound of the bell rings through the village, announcing the start of lunch. Thorn and Cage head towards the courtyard together, arm-in-arm.