𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 // 𝙁𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙢 𝙓 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 12 {𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚒𝚍𝚜}

"Shii... who are they?"
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You stood nervously as the two girls inspected you and Masaru.

"Um... my name is (Y/N), and this is Masaru." You gestured over to the boy by the side of you. He had a stern look washed over his face, seeming to not completely trust the girls yet.

"They're looking for someone and I said I'd help them out!" Akshita explained with a grin.

"Oh Shii... you're always helping people and never helping yourself... or us for that matter." Tara groaned, a little unwilling to help the uncanny pair. "You two look like trouble, why are you here?" She placed a hand of her hip as Esta seemed to just silently observe them.

"Well... um... we're just looking for someone who might have passed by here. Akshita told us she might have been a subject of one of her letters." You explained sincerely, hoping they would not cast the two of you aside.

"Tara.. let's let them stay.. it's not a big deal if it's just for a little while." The shy twin spoke up, placing a hand of Tara's back to ease her paranoia.

"Hm... well if you stay here then you have to work for us as long as you are here!" Tara spoke, striking a deal for exchange of living there.

Masaru turned to you and nodded. It was obvious he didn't mind work, it would probably keep your mind off thinking too much anyways.

You turned towards Tara and nodded. "Alright that sounds fair enough."
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And from there on, you and Masaru began to work on the twin's farm, and it was no easy task. In the morning you would have chores to complete and in the evening you would help Akshita sort through letters that might have mentioned Echidna or where she might have gone.

You continued to lose track of time, instead focusing on completing tasks and finding a letter that would help find Echidna. Every day felt like you were getting closer to home even though you had not moved any closer to her compared to the previous day. You felt the unique twins and the bubbly pink-headed girl become more like family to you as days passed and eventually became weeks. But one day, you were snapped back to the harsh reality of your situation.
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"Hey (Y/N)! Can you help me with this!" Tara beckoned you over and you dropped the basket of crops you were collecting to help her carry a barrel of goods.

You lifted the other side of the barrel and Tara beamed at you through her gritted teeth. "Thanks." She mustered out as you both placed it down by the rest of the things going to the market tomorrow. "It's been great having you and Masaru around, I don't want you both to leave!" She pouted, as it was obvious that her initial speculation of them had washed away with the becomings of friendship.

"Well, we still haven't found anything about Echidna... so who knows how long we'll be here..." You sighed, trying not to think about how much time you've wasted here. Every day felt normal... you liked the farm because it reminded you of the chores you would do at home... in Hebrata.

Dad... please wait a little while longer for me...

You snapped out of your thoughts when Masaru came running to you with emphasis. "What? What is it?" You asked with a small tilt of your head, Tara giggling at the two of you for some strange reason that you knew you should not ask about.

"Akshita... she found a letter about Echidna." He spoke and it was clear upon his expression that he was excited of the prospect of moving forward with this journey. Masaru had enjoyed the stay less than you, and had felt that you were becoming too complacent with the lifestyle. He knew how much you wanted to go home and wouldn't settle until he could help you complete that goal.