A Dimension in Time

Regrets Wrapped Up in a Bow

᯽᯽ Chapter 19 ᯽᯽

Regrets Wrapped Up in a Bow

Two weeks had gone by and progress had been somewhat made, although it was not as fast as any of them hoped it would be; mainly Snatcher. Progress on the modified Time Piece  was painstakingly slow. It wasn't slow to the point of being unbearable, yet it wasn't a fast job either. Yet that didn't matter, the important part was that they *were* getting somewhere, despite all of it being extremely experimental and still having the likely possibility of failing horrifically. Besides the time that was well spent on research on forgotten knowledge, there was a massive struggle dealing with what was essentially a new 'roommate' on the spaceship. The trio did find a way to manage. However... managing came with its own set of difficulties. Snatcher wasn't used to the things the trio were, mundane things that one of them even bat an eye at. So the aspect of reintroducing these things was very challenging. They were still having trouble with this, even with Cookie around to help. The orange tabby did cool things down whenever she was present. But sadly... There was another problem at stake. Dawn's homesickness kept manifesting itself, but she tried to not let it show... the 11-year old girl had never been away from home this long. And now, without having Moonjumper to reassure her at night in The Horizon, she couldn't sleep without feeling alone in the dreamlike wonderland the cryokinesis prodigy now had full access to. So, to counteract the homesickness and loneliness, the trio made a pack and allowed the snowflake-clipped girl to curl up next to them in their canopy bed instead of her makeshift one by the window. And it's worked for them so far.

Snatcher, even in this current moment in time, had been hard to work with, even when they did their best. His prickly exterior was EXTREMELY difficult to break. There had to be some way to get through to him... right?  Snatcher had already- albeit reluctantly— accepted help two weeks ago though Moonjumper. The magical puppeteer had been watching Subcon Forest while also documenting brief updates in her dreams via letters  in the dreamlike wonderland; it was rare that she'd see him in person now... Dawn could still go to the Horizon, yes, but without Moonjumper it was barren, almost suffocatingly lonely. Yet not all was in vain, nor forgotten. The moon spirit always remembered to leave things for the snowflake-clipped girl, such as the sweet blueberry tea or some sweet treats he'd make from the ingredients in his gazebo. But it wasn't the same as their 'sit down sessions' and talking together. Not at all...

Today was the same in their ongoing routine, albeit it was still messy. Bow stretches and sees that she's the first one awake. Usually that's not the case, she's usually right behind her sister Hat or last. But right now, it didn't matter. Bow Kid got out of bed and went straight for the closet. She grabbed an overall skirt and a sweater with the word "meow" written on the front. The ribboned child then left the bedroom entirely to get the rest of herself ready for the day; simple tasks such as brushing her teeth, styling her hair, washing her face to liven up for what the day may bring. Once Bow exited the bedroom, Rumbi ran to her feet, beeping as if to greet her and happy to see her. "Hi Rumbi, I'm just getting ready, hopefully today things will be better." The ribboned child patted the rumba's flat top, an almost sullen expression consuming her face; even thinking about what had happened made her feel bad. Kissing Rumbi's flat top as a farewell, Bow strolled her way to the bathroom. After she had navigated her way there, she brushed her teeth, combed her curly hair into pigtails and washed her face. Once she was done, Bow Kid went back to the bedroom. This time she saw her sister up, along with Dawn still lightly snoring in their bed. "Morning Hattie, did you sleep well?" Hat Kid looked at her younger sister, giving a tired smile before nodding in response. "Yeah, no nightmares but I don't know what my dream was about other than snowball fights. We all had fun though. I just hope Dawn slept well too." Hat voiced, still concerned for their friend. That's when Dawn finally became awake. "Mhm... huh-? *YAWN*-!" The cryokinesis prodigy yawned, pulling back the comforters sluggishly as she left to grab her clothes and hairbrush. "Mornin' Dawn. How'd you sleep? Any good dreams?" Hat Kid inquired, talking in an indoor voice as not to wake Snatcher up; who, their defense, was nowhere near awake. Out of the four of them, he was the heaviest sleeper. None of them knew if that was because of stress or because he hasn't slept in over 300 years. Who knows, for all they know it could be a combination of both. Dawn sleepily shook her head. "Nah, but that's okay. MJ wrote to me again though, saying the Forest is doing good and nothing has happened yet." Hat and Bow let out a sigh of relief; it's good that there was still time, but bad that progress wasn't going as smoothly as any of them hoped.