Tangled: Stardust and the 12 Zodiacs (Varian Fanfiction)

Chapter 14: The Explanation and Demonstration

"We're baaaack~!" Rapunzel shouted as she, Eugene, Soul, and Varian walked back to where the caravan was parked, seeing Lance and the girls sitting around a campfire.

"Finally! We're starving." Kiera cheered. Catalina nodding beside her.

"What took you guys so long?" Lance questioned as he took the fish basket from Eugene, who was avoiding his best friend's questioning look.

"Let's just say, someone went for a swim." Soul answered for everyone as she folded her dress, taking a bowl from inside the caravan and squishing the berries they gathered, making berry juice.

"Why are you only wearing a tank top and shorts?" Catalina asked the astrologer as Soul poured the juice into a bunch of glasses.

Varian, who was busy taking out plates and utensils for everyone, tensed up a bit as he heard the two's conversation.

"I had to show someone how things were done. " Soul vaguely answered, smiling smugly as she turned to look at the slightly embarrassed alchemist behind her, leaving Catalina with a confused look on her face.

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"Are my eyes deceiving me? Not that I don't mind, but this is new." Eugene stated as he stared at the lavender-haired between Catalina and Kiera, conversing with the two girls.

"Hmm?" Soul hummed as she looked at the ex-thief stopping her conversation with the two girls about the best berry combinations as a juice. "What's, uh, wrong?" She shyly asked as she felt Eugene staring at her.

"Oh, uh. Nothing's wrong. It's just, you don't usually eat with us. " Eugene replied, but quickly backed it up, saying that the girl can join them anytime as he saw the sad expression creeping up on the girl's face.

"We're so happy you can join us this time, Soul. We've always invited you, but you usually decline." Rapunzel softly said.

Soul smiled at the princess as she muttered a small thank you. "I'm sorry for declining. It's just that... I guess I felt a bit out of place most of the time. Plus, I'm used to eating alone." She said she played with the glass in her hands. "Also, it's not like I'm good with conversations either. I'm sure nobody would want to hear me talk about the stars and other science stuff."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that! Varian here talks about his experiments all the time, and we still listen to him." Lance exclaimed, hugging the poor boy next to him, almost causing Varian to spill his juice on the ground.

"Lance! Careful!" The alchemist narrowed his eyes at the older man as Lance threw his hands up in mock surrender.

"Oh! Before I forget, how did you and Varian survive the fall?" Eugene asked as he took a bite of his fish.

His question made the lavender-haired girl tense up. She knew this was going to be brought up sooner, but she didn't expect it to be so soon.

Varian sensed the girl growing uncomfortable at the others stares, including Lance and the girls' surprised looks. So he subtly shot her a comforting smile, which the girl, thankfully caught as she gave him a smile of her own even if it was forced.

"Wait, they fell?" Lance asked, his eyes wide. "What happened when you guys were in that cave?"

"Well, when we entered the cave, Raps found a lever on the wall and an entrance opened up with a staircase leading down, and once we reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a crystal door with Virgen-"

"Virgo."

"Yeah, whatever. Then we arrived at a dead end when hair stripe stepped on something- "