-Nearby there was a certain scent… it wasn’t an unpleasant one though, in fact. It smelt quite delightful! Like a meal being cooked at the moment, maybe that would take her mind off of the nightmare. But who was cooking it?-

“Wait, you’re not a human trapped in a penguin body? You’re a penguin that can turn into a human?” -Eureka was both confused yet Intrigued… very intrigued at that. She had known of the opposite, a human becoming an animal thanks to geux, but she had never seen the opposite before.- —>

“There are so many interesting people here, it almost feels like I’m exploring the underground labyrinth myself. Except everyone here seems mostly friendly and not wanting to kill me.”

“I’m not sure. I don’t think we’ll ever know unless we somehow followed a bee around all day, maybe they eat some of the pollen they collect or maybe they eat something else.” -Even if there were things Eureka knew, there was still much she didn’t as well. She was still from a different time. —>

“W-well I guess that’s one way to put it. I don’t think they…do that with the flowers though, they get pollen from one flower, and bring it to another one. I think, it’s hard to get close to them without them scattering so I often don’t get to see.” —>

“Well that’s because you interrupted their pollen gathering or threatened them. I’m sure you would do the same if someone threatened you or interrupted you while you were working. But look, they’re working now.” -Indeed they were as the beefs flew from the flowers to the beehive nearby. —>

“H-Huuuuh?! No, don’t kill the bees! They’re not demons either! Have you never seen any before? Here, let me show you.” -The blonde gently takes Ashe’s hand and leads them closer to the seemingly calm swarm of bees who had gathered around a small, vacant flower patch.-

“Do you know what pollination is? It’s when insects like bees help make flowers grow! I can show you if you’d like, I think I see some bees over there in the distance after all!”

“Hmm… Well I know they pollinate flowers and make honey from it, but I’ve never watched a bee make honey so I’m Not sure how they make that. But saying it’s bee… feces, sounds wrong.”

“Umm… what? I don’t think that’s how they work.”

-The blonde could be seen in the kitchen of a small, almost cramped house. There was very little people in it but there was almost no space for movement. Yet there she was seemingly making herself a lunch for her future travels.-

-The Soleil seemed to take a breath of relief upon hearing the slow down of ticking. She didn’t know exactly what it meant but maybe it meant she was feeling more relaxed? At least, that’s what she gathered from the other’s much more calm remark- “Ehehehe. Of course, I always want to help! —>

-The blonde didn’t know exactly what to do… she had never experienced this before after all! Though she still wanted to help, to make sure the other would be ok. So she scooted closer to her.- “H-hey, everything’s going to be ok, I’m not sure what’s going on exactly… —>

-There was a very good scent coming from close by… was someone cooking something? Either was it was probably best to at least see what was happening-

“She really does remind me of noir, she used to travel a lot too! I hope noir is still alive out there, I haven’t seen her in a while after all.” -She chuckled to herself slightly, though a hint of sadness could be heard in her delivery. As if going back was more hassle than it should be. —>

“H-hey… are you ok? The ticking sound from before is starting to speed up.” -The blonde walked closer to the other, concern in her voice as she sat herself right next to her. She didn’t want to touch her, for fear that it would make things worse.-

“Huhhh?! Witches are evil gods? But there are so many kind witches! Like nachi, and madam granny! Sure there are a few bad witches but I don’t think they’d be benevolent gods right? That doesn’t sound right…”

“You’re creators? Are they a god of some kind? They sound like it from the way you talk about your creation.”

“You don’t know what a homebody is? It’s someone who likes staying inside more than going outside. A-and she’s not a vampire! She just doesn’t go outside much is all.”

-Slowly Eureka composed herself, taking a deep breath as she looked at the other with a smile on her face.- “She’s a homebody who hates the sun, she has red hair and usually wears a hood over it. She’s also usually a bit slouched in her posture as well ehehehe~”

-The blonde started to shake a bit, bad memories bubbling toy the surface, events she’d rather not remember.- “Eh-ehehehe… that’s… that’s something I don’t want to talk about right now sorry. All I want to say about it is that I’m glad it’s all over now.”

“Well… I’ve seen how people react when things go into chaos. They’re scared of the unknown and when that unknown expands they try to be rid of it. It’s sad…”

“I’m not sure. Maybe they were scared of magic and any who did magic. People are really scared about things they don’t know after all.” -She speaks as though she had experience with it before, though there wasn’t any sense of magic or mana from eureka.-

“Oh that’s- …Wait, timekeeper cookie? You’re a cookie? Did a witch make you? I’ve never seen sentient food before! I guess that’s why you’re so small compared to me ehehehe~”

“Oh! It’s Mother’s Day? I didn’t know that was a thing, happy Mother’s Day! I hope my mother is doing well! Maybe I’ll get to see her again someday.”

“It’s so wonderful to see you again Umbra! Though I didn’t expect to see you so soon! Were you looking for penumbra? She’s such a cute cat! It reminds me of when I saw noir a few times months ago!” -She seemed almost too excited to see the other again, but that was Eureka. Very excitable.-

-Eureka’s head turned to the mysterious shadow, though that voice sounded so familiar… Still, she seemed to be the cats real owner so she gently set it on the floor so it could walk to its owner.- “That voice… it’s that you Miss Umbra? It’s hard to see with all of the shadows everywhere ehehehe~”

“Penumbra? Ehehehe, that’s a wonderful name!” -The blonde continued to rub the others head gently and lovingly. Even if she had never had a cat as a pet before she knew how to care for them well.- “But we should really find who your owner is, I bet you miss her a lot.” —>

-As the cat meowed the blonde looked down, seeing the lacy collar around its neck.- “Oh! You do have an owner? I’m sorry if I misnamed you! But let’s see what you’re called…” -Eureka gently moved the collar away from its “fur” to get a look at the collar closer.-

-The girl the pulled out a notebook of sorts, one with the image of flowers on it as she stared writing something down.- “If I may ask, what’s your name Miss? Oh! And don’t worry about this, I forget a lot of things so I write them down so that I can remember them!”

“Witches? Yes it does! Though they don’t reveal themselves often, I heard a lot of nobles don’t like them and would have them hang if they found out.” -Witches were a lot less free than in other worlds, which fit the time period of when she was from at least…-

“Technology? Umm… I know what cars are! That was like, the big thing from what I saw But I guess that wasn’t even from my world, ehehehehe. In mine we had horse drawn carriages! I love riding those.” -…Yikes, so definitely not a tech witch that’s for certain.-

“Ehehehehe~ you’re so soft! You remind me of noir too! I wonder if you have a name? Maybe you’re a stray? Hmmm, I’ll call you midnight! Because you seem as beautiful as the night sky!”

“Oh, it’s the kitty from before! Here kitty kitty!” -The girl gently scooped up the shadow cat in her arms, cradling it gently as she gently patted its head.-

“Ehehehe, that’s so cool! Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, my names eureka! Eureka de Soleil, it’s a pleasure meeting you Miss.” -Eureka paused, doing a polite bow to the other before dusting off her dress slightly. Seems she knew her manners well!-

“How strange, I usually never see fruit so cold unless it’s in really cold climates! With your talk of ro…bots and other stuff you must be a really interesting person Tron!” -She clearly wasn’t from this time, or at least, didn’t know a lot about it. —>

“A little bit yeah. Aside from some stuff wrapped in some weird material most of it seemed empty. But I assumed you put your food somewhere else so I didn’t question it too much. After all I’d be a bit silly to put your fruits and vegetables in such a cold place.”

“Did they not know how to clean it? That’s strange, I assume it’s like cleaning a chest or a box full of stuff. In fact, I did clean your food box, er! I mean your fridge when I was going through it. It looks pretty barren too, I can get some food if you need it.”

“A time traveler…? Wait, that means you can traveler through time right? That’s so cool! Can you do it on command or do you need a ritual to do it? Maybe preparations are needed too?” -Well she was really interested now, and how could she not be? —>

“Oh! I can help with that! I’ve helped find similar things before so finding these relics shouldn’t be super difficult! But um…who are you? Do you maybe like clocks a lot given you were doing the *Tick-Tock Tick-Tock* thing?”

“Uh… why would anyone want to do that to your fridge? …and um, what’s a fridge? Is it that weird white box where you kept your fruits in? But it was so cold! Most fruits would go bad if they’re left out like that!”

-The girl pulled it out again so the other could get a closer look. It was a small price but definitely a well made one. It was gold through and through, whoever she was must be somewhat rich at least.- “Oh! It’s a dowsing pendulum, if I focus on something I can usually find it with this. —>

“Ehehehe. That’s really kind of you to say, Miss! Even still, I’m not the brightest girl you’ll meet. And I’m certainly not super smart either. But writing things down helps a lot with remembering things like names or chores.” -Neither does Erueka, she used to before visiting galleria. —>

-As the tick-ticks ceased her pendulum stopped its swaying, eventually falling still in the others hand before she put it away.- “Huh? You don’t? Then I wonder why it was reacting to weirdly to those noises, maybe it wanted me to see you?” -She never fully understood how it worked. —>

“Oh! It’s so I don’t forget things! People call me an airhead at times because I can’t remember things too well unless I write them down. People call me stupid because of it, I guess they’re not wrong completely. After all, a smart person wouldn’t have to write everything down to remember it.” —>

-The young girl looked around for any sense of what she thought was lost, only come across said cookie rocking her head back and forth in the same motion as the ticking. Never one to be afraid of asking for help, the blonde eagerly spoke up.- “Excuse me? Did you need help with something? —>

-Eureka smiled warmly at the other as she took the flowers, there were unlike anything seen nearby, and definitely were cared for with love. As the feline like shadow jumped onto the other’s shoulder the blonde couldn’t hold back her excitement.- “Awww is that a kitty?! They’re so cute! —>

“Oh ok! That’s good to know!” -There was an awkward silence between the two for much longer than there should have been before Eureka pulls out a small note book and pen.- “Servbots…are not puppets… What’s your name Miss?” -Was she writing down information?-

-The blonde girl’s pendant, almost as if it was out of her control, started swinging back in forth to the beat of her words. Tick-Tock Tick-Tock- “Huh? Why is my pendulum acting so strangely? Is there something lost here maybe?”

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚? 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣,