[PP-F04] Stars Beneath the Snow

[Scar 0]

The wind of Floor Four cut through him like glass, sharp and clean, carrying the scent of frozen pine. Snow fell in slow, endless spirals from a sky the color of steel. Jack adjusted the collar of his coat, his breath turning to mist as he stepped out from the teleport gate. The sound of the portal faded behind him, leaving only the soft crunch of his boots against packed snow.

Ahead, the village of « Snowfrost » shimmered like a pocket of warmth in a world of white. Smoke curled from chimneys, flickering lamplight glowing behind fogged windows. The laughter of children echoed faintly through the streets, chasing one another across a frozen stream that cut through the heart of the town.

He watched them for a moment, a faint ache threading through his chest. It reminded him of something distant and human, of peace, maybe, or something close enough to it.

The last message he'd sent to her lingered in the back of his mind.

I miss you. I hope I can see you again.

Weeks had passed since then, the words still hanging unanswered in the inbox like an echo trapped in glass. He couldn't blame her. After everything that had happened, the fever, the forest, the confusion between dreams and memories, maybe silence was safer. But still.. he missed her. The way she'd brush his hair back. The way she'd say his name like it was something soft instead of something broken.

He hesitated near a lamp post, brushing snow from his gloves. The light flickered faintly, illuminating the message menu as he opened it. His thumb hovered for a long moment before he began to type.

Scar --> Alinta: It's been a while. I've been keeping my head down, taking things slow. But.. I'm on Floor Four now. The one covered in snow. There's a place called the Starglades, they say the sky looks endless at night. I'd love to meet you there, if you're free. No pressure. Just.. It'd be good to see you again.

He read it over twice, then hit send. The icon blinked once, and that was it, the message vanished into the cold, quiet world. He exhaled softly, half a laugh, half a sigh. "Well," he murmured, "No turning back now."

The path north led out of Snowfrost's cozy streets and into the forest, a vast sprawl of snow-laden evergreens that rose like frozen giants. He passed a few traders on his way out, their breath steaming as they packed sleds with furs and wood. One waved; Jack returned it absently. The air grew quieter with every step, the warmth of civilization fading behind him until the only sound left was the whisper of wind and snow.

He didn't mind the solitude. After everything, it almost felt like a kindness.

The forest deepened, shadows twisting long across the ground. Slowflakes clung to his coat as he walked, glittering faintly in the pale light. The silence wasn't empty, it was alive. The creak of ice. The sigh of branches bending under weight. The soft, rhythmic crunch of his own footsteps. Somewhere distant, a wolf howled, low and long, before the sound vanished into the folds of the trees.

By the time he reached the clearing, night had fully fallen. The trees parted around him in a wide circular glade, their heavy branches framing a sky ablaze with stars. « The Starglades ». For the first time in a long while, Jack let himself stop and simply breathe.

The snow glimmered faintly under the starlight. No monsters. No sounds of battle. Just peace, the kind that felt undeserved, but welcome all the same.

He lowered himself onto a half-buried stone, the cold biting through his gloves. His fingers twitched toward the message menu again, but he resisted. He'd said what he needed to say. Now all that was left was to wait, whether for her, or for the quiet to swallow him whole.

I'd love to see you again. The world's been a little quieter without you in it.

He exhaled slowly, letting the words drift through the crisp air. For the first time in a while, he smiled, faint, genuine, beneath the drifting snow.

* * *

Spoiler

Level 33:
HP: 660/660 | EN: 104/104 | DMG: 23 | MIT: 20 | ACC: 1 | BH: 7 | LD: 5 | True Tier 4

skills

Spoiler

| skills

mod count: 0/5

• KATANA | RANK 5/5
  • [BASE: Proficiency] +7 DMG
  • [ADDON: Ferocity] +2 DMG
  • [ADDON: Precision] +1 ACC
• COMBAT MASTERY: DMG | RANK 3/3
  • [BASE: Proficiency] +6
• CLOTH ARMOR | RANK 5/5
  • [BASE: Proficiency] +20 MIT
  • [ADDON: Athletics] +1 DMG
• ENERGIST | RANK 1/1
  • [BASE: Proficiency] +10 EN
• BATTLE HEALING | RANK 1/5
  • [BASE: Proficiency] Restores +1% of max HP per turn.
• SEARCHING | RANK 5/5
  • [BASE: Proficiency] +5 LD; +5 SD
• SURVIVAL | RANK 1/1
  • +10% received healing. Immune to environmental attacks and effects.

| expenditure

Spoiler

TOTAL SP: 165 | SPENT: 125 | UNSPENT: 40

1. SKILL: KATANA (30)
   1. ADDON: FEROCITY (4)
   2. ADDON: PRECISION (2)
2. SKILL: COMBAT MASTERY (13)
3. SKILL: CLOTH ARMOR (30)
   1. ADDON: ATHLETICS (4)
4. SKILL: ENERGIST (8)
5. SKILL: BATTLE HEALING (4)
6. SKILL: SEARCHING (30)

 

equipment

Spoiler

basic clothes [#000000] | TIERLESS | VANITY
[desc.]: What every new adventurer wears.

basic leggings [#000000] | TIERLESS | VANITY
[desc.]: What every new adventurer wears.

 

 

[Alinta 0]

2 Weeks Ago

He had messaged her…Alinta received the message during one of her walks around the Town of Beginnings. He wanted to see her…there was a pang of yearning in her heart at that - it had only been a few days since she fell asleep next to him after whatever he experienced in the forest. Nursed him back to health…only to wake up to find herself cuddled up against him in bed. She wasn’t sure how she got there, but guessed she had crawled in next to him at some point. Alinta longed to stay there, soaking up his warmth. The beat of his heart against her fingertips - but he had asked her to leave…and it would have been selfish for her to stay. So with a final kiss against his forehead she had slipped out of the room. Hoping he would reach out again.

 

Hearing nothing; Alinta bit the bullet and told him how much she had missed him, and for him to respond…

 

It meant more than she realized.

 

Alinta wanted to get something for him, a treat, a way to bridge the gap that had formed between them. So she headed to the teleport plaza - Tolbana…Tolbana had a place that had lovely cakes.

Arriving at Tolbana, Alinta caught something she wished she hadn’t seen.

Scar, undeniably Scar - his presence, warmth, quirked smile. A single step forward to reach out to him, he was here…She could talk to him she could-

“ReD RoSe, rED RoSe~”

Her heart stopped, seeing the other woman clinging to his arm. Wasn’t that…Alice? 

Wasn’t she… in the field with him that day, when he had tried to invite Alinta to a - what she thought was a date. Why was she here? Why was she hanging off of Scar?

“S-Scar?”

The two disappeared.

 

Alinta stood there, in the middle of the gate, staring at the space where he had been. They were supposed to be partners right? Although after that night Alinta hadn’t been sure. She wanted to be able to talk to him about it. But…

It felt like a shard of glass had been jammed into her gut. She felt like she was choking, what did she just see? There had to be an explanation right? All she had to do was message him and clear up any misunderstandings, right? So why? Why couldn’t Alinta bring herself to do so? Because she was terrified of what the answer would be.

He looked…happy at least…
 

Alinta wasn’t sure how long she had stood there for, she knew several people had asked her to move, but it wasn’t till she felt the chill of night that she finally turned heavy footsteps away from the plaza.

 

Present.

 

A message from Scar had the woman drop everything she had been doing to get to Snowfrost, dressed in her usual attire, no time to change into something fancy or flattering - but wearing a thick warm coat that suited the floor. The woman was practically running toward her destination. Wanting to see Scar again. Wanting to wrap her arms around him and squeal in delight as he smiled and offered her all the sweetest words and softest kisses.

 

But…by the time she had left  Snowfrost -almost arriving at her destination, Alinta realized… she shouldn’t  be rushing to see him. Right? The last time she saw him… he had that other woman on his arm. Her steps slowed in the snow till she came to a stop. 

 

The clearing was just up ahead. Starglades…. Wasn’t…that supposed to be a romantic spot? Was he naive? Or just cruel? “Damn it Alinta…” She muttered to herself. “You’re better than this.”  She was sick of being the lovesick fool. Chasing after everyone and everything.

 

Alinta → Scar: I’m not making that mistake again.
Alinta → Scar:You can’t lead me out to another trap.
Alinta → Scar: I saw you with Alice. I truly wish you happiness, but please don't play with me like that anymore.

Her heart constricted as she sent the message, the star glades were only a few feet away. Past the next line of trees and she could see him. She could see the person she missed so dearly. But… who was to say that Alice wouldn’t be there too? That she’d be singing and dancing and shouting - Alinta had been hurt so much in the past before, tricked, denied, and lied to. She had hoped Scar would be different, maybe he was - Maybe she was wrong.

 

But…could she risk it?

Standing there, in the still of night, shivering from the cold Alinta stared at the Starglades. Despite her cold words there was a strong desire to continue forward. She sniffed, bringing a shaking hand up to wipe her face. Why?

Why couldn’t she bring herself to turn around and go back to the safety of the city? Why was she stuck here? Ankle deep in snow, unable to move forward or backward.
 

“I…I just want to see you again…”

WC: 832

[Scar 0]

The snow fell in whispering waves, soft enough to muffle even his heartbeat. The Starglades had always been silent, a sanctuary buried in frost, but now the stillness felt heavier. Lonelier.

Jack adjusted the collar of his coat, gloved fingers flexing at his sides. The cold bit at the edges of his knuckles, a grounding sting that reminded him he was still here, still waiting. The flakes that landed in his hair melted instantly, running down his temples in thin, icy rivulets.

He didn't know why he'd picked this place, maybe because the stars here always seemed brighter. Maybe because he thought she'd like that. He'd imagined her face when she arrived, imagined her smile breaking through the cold like sunlight through mist.

But when the chime of his menu broke the silence, everything inside him stilled.

Three messages appeared in succession, her name glowing faintly in blue.

Alinta --> Scar: I'm not making that mistake again.
Alinta --> Scar: You can't lead me out to another trap.
Alinta --> Scar: I saw you with Alice. I truly wish you happiness, but please don't play with me like that anymore.

Jack sat there in silence, staring at the glowing words. His mind blanked at first, like his thoughts had been struck from him. Then confusion began to surge in waves.

"Mistake?" he muttered under his breath. "Trap?!"

His throat tightened, fingers curling slightly. He scrolled back up, reading them again, as though he might have misread them somehow. But the words didn't change. The tone, it was hurt. Raw, wounded, distant.

"Alice..?" he questioned softly, his brow furrowing as his voice cracked the silence of the room. He tried to remember. Tried to connect the dots.

He hadn't seen Alinta since that day, the one where she'd nursed him back from near collapse in the forest, He remembered how peaceful it had been waking up beside her, the sunlight faint through the curtains, the warmth of her touch before he'd asked her to go. He thought it was for her safety, to give her peace. He thought he was doing the right thing.

But now,

Then it clicked. That day, weeks ago, in Tolbana's main square. There had been an event going on at Tybalt's house, and Alice had quite literally latched onto him, looping her arms around his without warning and dragging him off toward the teleport gate. He'd brushed it off at the time, because he hadn't thought much of it, not in the safety of a town. But now, remembering how it must have looked from the outside, his stomach sank. No wonder she thought that of me.. he realized bitterly.

Jack ran a hand through his hair, tugging slightly as the weight of misunderstanding hit him like a blow. "Damn it.." he whispered.

He reached for his menu, hands shaking slightly as he typed, each word pounding with urgency.

Scar --> Alinta: Wait! There's no trap!

He stared at it, exhaled sharply, and kept typing before she could vanish from his reach.

Scar --> Alinta: There's nothing going on with Alice!

He paused, staring at the faint digital glow. It wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.

The world around him was still and silent, save for the whisper of snow and the dull beat of his heart. Somewhere out there, she was walking toward him, maybe even second-guessing whether to keep going. If she turned back now, he might not get another chance.

He pushed himself up from the half-buried stone, snow cascading off his coat as he steadied himself. His boots crunched against the frosted ground as he started forward, toward the narrow path leading out The Starglades. The trees were bare and skeletal, the pale moonlight slicing through their branches like silver glass.

His breath came out in ragged puffs as he ran. He didn't care about the cold, or the exhaustion from waiting. The only thing that mattered was reaching her, before the distance between them became something he couldn't close.

As he moved, the memory replayed again and again: Alice's laughter in Tolbana, her arm looping around his, her dragging him through the square toward Tybalt's event. He hadn't even realized how close she'd gotten until now, how easily the scene could've been misread by someone watching. "I should've pulled away," he muttered bitterly. "Should've said something."

The regret burned hotter than the cold ever could.

Then, a silhouette.

Through the trees, just ahead, the faint outline of someone standing still in the snow. The moonlight caught on strands of red hair, their color muted by the cold glow of the night. His breath hitched.

Even from a distance, he knew.

"Ra-" His throat caught mid-word. The air was too thin, his lungs too tight. He coughed, pressing a hand to his chest. But the sound didn't stop him.

He moved faster.

The snow dragged at his boots, but he pushed through it anyway, each step heavier than the last. "Raven!" he called again, voice finally breaking through the storm's hush.

When he reached her, he didn't stop to think, didn't give himself time to question whether she'd push him away. He just pulled her into him, arms wrapping tight around her shoulders, lifting her slightly off her feet as his momentum carried them both a step back into the snow.

"Raven.." he breathed out, catching his breath against her hair. His voice trembled, not from the cold but from everything left unsaid.

He felt her tense in his arms, a moment of hesitation that felt like a lifetime.

"I don't know what you saw," he said quickly, his words tumbling out faster than he could control. "But it's not what you think. There's nothing between me and Alice, there never was. She just-" he stopped himself, trying to catch his breath again. "She grabbed me, dragged me to Tybalt's place. I didn't even know what was going on. I thought it was just some stupid event in town."

His voice softened. "If I'd known you were there.. If I'd seen you-" he trailed off, swallowing the rest.

The silence that followed was unbearable. He could feel the snow melting where their bodies touched, the heat between them almost enough to fight the chill around them. Her heartbeat thudded faintly against his chest, uneven.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, finally. "For how that looked. For not reaching out sooner. You didn't deserve that."

He stepped back slightly, his hands still on her shoulders, his eyes searching her through the veil of snowfall. "You mean more to me than you think, Raven. And I'd never-" he exhaled, shaking his head, "-I'd never play you like that."

His words came quiet now, gentler, steadier. "You have to know that."

The snow kept falling, heavier now, collecting in her hair and across his coat. The Starglades shimmered around them, a world frozen in place, stars glinting faintly through the breaks in the clouds above.

For a moment, neither spoke. Just faint wind, the steady rise and fall of their breathing.

Then, softly, as if afraid the words might shatter the stillness between them, he said, "..I missed you."

* * *

WC: 1186

[Alinta 0]

It hurt.

It hurt because this felt final. More final than the moments he had asked her to leave that small little room in the inn. More final than when she saw him be whisked away with another woman in his arms. She knew she should move, but Alinta couldn’t. She stood there, shaking in the snow. Nose red from the cold, from the tears that trickled down her face, silent salty trails of pain that couldn’t be kept within her trembling frame.

 

Scar --> Alinta: Wait! There's no trap!

Her vision blurred as more tears filled her eyes. Oh how she wanted to take those few steps, cross that small divide that would lead her into his arms. But the maddening laughter of that woman, the picnic…the player killer, it all replayed fresh in her mind.

Scar --> Alinta: There's nothing going on with Alice!

Alinta wanted to believe that, she shurt her eyes and drew in a shuddered breath. How he begged her to stay that day in the inn, strong calloused hands gripping onto her as he struggled to find peace even in his dreams. If there were truly nothing going on…why hadn’t he reached out to her? Why did he say he missed her and never replied since?

 

Alinta→ Scar: Who was that strange masked magician Pker? He was familiar with Alice, do you know him?

Alinta→ Scar: How can I believe you?

 

She wanted to believe him, she wanted to hear everything he had to say. She wanted to feel how his hands would dance over her face. But… she had been hurt too many times before. One last look to the glade, her heart, and the man who had claimed it denied. Alinta turned to head back into the city. A tilt of her head up toward the sky. No clouds. The moon high, full, and bright - showering the field in a faint glow, somehow soothing. Stars glittered above, like tiny crystals that had been meticulously placed there. It…really was a beautiful scene. One she would have liked to share with him.

At least she’d have the memories.

"Raven!"

Alinta turned, and was almost knocked over. A single step back from the man to steady herself as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. Alinta’s breath hitched - she flinched, afraid and she shifted her head, looking around for anyone else who might have followed, might be ready to strike. Trembling hands reached up to cling to his arms. No…no one else was here?

It…

Wasn’t a trap?

 

“J-Jack…”

The pain of longing was too much for the woman, a simple inhale and the familiar calming scent of Lavender was a cathartic relief for the woman. “Scar…Jack…” Breathing both his namesakes with hitched and trembling breaths. She could feel the heat of his breath upon her head. He scrambled his words. Who was Tybalt? Was he the masked man?  “Who is…”

He tried to explain himself, and he sounded sincere. Not just in his words but his actions, the way his grip tightened around her. The way he practically lifted her off the ground - no easy feat - in an embrace that coiled around her and locked her tight to him. The tremble, the agonizing way his heart pounded hard against his chest.

He finally stepped away from her - giving her room to breathe. “I was waiting…” Alinta said quietly, downcast eyes finally looking up to meet his crimson gaze. Unwavering and hurt. She could see the pain reflected in his eyes. The bags underneath them.

“You…” What could she say? Alinta reached out to cup his cheek. “Mean a lot to me too. But… I can’t know that.” How could she?  “But…” She stepped closer, forehead pressing against his chest. “I want to listen. I want to hear everything. What happened that day…why you asked me to go…why I didn’t hear anything from you.” Alinta tried to be strong, tried to keep her voice steady, but she couldn’t help but cry.

Tears of relief.

And tears of pain.

WC: 671

[Scar 0]

"...But I can't know that."

Those words hit him like a blade driven straight into his chest. His heart ached, and for a brief moment, Jack couldn't even breathe. Everything he'd held onto, the hope that maybe, just maybe, he could make this right, felt as though it was crumbling beneath his feet.

Then she stepped closer.

Her forehead pressed gently against his chest, her warmth sinking through his armor, through the layers of doubt and silence that had built between them. His hands moved instinctively, wrapping around her trembling frame, holding her as though she might vanished if he loosened his grip. For a heartbeat, the world stopped, the snow, the pain, the endless noise of Aincrad's dangers, and all that existed was her.

"I want to listen. I want to hear everything. What happened that day... why you asked me to go... why didn't I hear anything from you."

Her voice quivered, soft and fragile, but there was something in it, a trace of the woman he remembered that night, the one who could face storms and smile through them. Jack swallowed hard and brushed a few stray strands of red hair from her cheek, his thumb tracing the trail of her tears she'd yet to wipe away.

"Can you come with me really quick?" he asked quietly. "Please."

He didn't want to speak about any of it here, not in the open, not where the ghosts of their misunderstanding still lingered in the air. Without waiting for an answer, he gently took her hand and began to walk, his steps slow, deliberate, almost hesitant, as though afraid that if he went too fast she might pull away again.

"I promise," he said after a pause, his voice nearly a whisper. "It'll just be us. No one else."

The snow crunched softly beneath their boots as they walked. When they reached the forest's edge, the trees opened up to reveal a vast expanse of silver and black, The Starglades. The canopy broke apart overhead, exposing a canvas of stars that glittered brighter than any city light could. It was quiet, peaceful, untouched. The kind of place where truth didn't have to hide.

Jack stopped by the half-buried stone where he'd sat earlier that night. He gestured for her to sit, his expression careful, almost reverent, before he dropped into a squat in front of her, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I don't really know where to start," he admitted, his gaze lifting to meet hers. For once, the usual steel in his crimson eyes seemed dulled, replaced with something raw and unguarded. "But I guess.. here's what I do know."

He took a breath. The air was cold enough to sting his lungs. 

"That day.. the day you went to the eighth floor, it wasn't me who sent you that message." His hands tightened into fists. "I didn't even remember sending it. Later, I heard that if a player was incapacitated, someone could manipulate their menu. Use their name. Their messages. That's the only thing that makes sense. I think.. She was behind it."

He didn't need to say who. The memory of Alice's manic laughter, the chaos at Tybalt's event, hung heavy in silence.

"I can't remember much of what happened after," he went on, standing slowly as though the words themselves were too heavy to carry sitting down. "Just fragments. Blurred shapes. Voices that didn't sound like mine. It was like I was trapped inside my own head, watching, unable to stop it. But I remember seeing you there, somehow. Like a light cutting through the haze. I don't know what that means, but it felt.. real."

He turned away, his eyes lifting toward the sea of stars above them. The glow bathed his face in soft light, outlining the tired lines beneath his eyes.

"And after that night," he said quietly, "After you left.. I wanted to reach out. I really did." His voice cracked, the admission tearing through him. "But I kept thinking about how you looked when you walked out that door. The way you didn't look back. I thought I'd broken something I couldn't fix."

He turned toward her again, his gaze pained but steady. "I didn't reach out because I was afraid. Afraid that if I said the wrong thing, if I tried to make things right, I'd just hurt you worse. And if that happened.. I couldn't handle losing you."

He took a hesitant step closer, the crunch of snow between them the only sound for a moment.

"I can't lose you, Raven," he said softly. The name lingered on his tongue, reverent, aching. "You've been the only constant in a world that keeps falling apart. I can't promise I won't make mistakes again.. but I can promise I'll fight to make sure you never feel like you have to doubt me."

Jack exhaled, shoulders sagging, the weight of everything he'd kept buried finally spilling free into the frozen air.

"Everything I've done since that day," he murmured, "Was me trying to find my way back to you."

He looked down at her, the faintest hint of a smile ghosting across his lips, small, tired, but sincere. "So if you still want to listen.. I'll tell you everything."

* * *

WC: 879

[Alinta 0]

"Can you come with me really quick?"

There was a hesitation, till he added ‘please’ and Alinta felt if she didn’t follow him now, she may never see him again. So she gave him a small nod, and allowed him to take her hand in his. They walked in silence, feet crunching in the snow. Alinta kept her head downturned. Watching the snow crack and break beneath the weight of their steps and she couldn’t help but feel like it reminded her of…how she felt right now. Crumbling beneath the weight of a harsh reality, that not everything in this digital world was easy. Especially relationships. Something like a simple misunderstanding had shaken her to her core. Alinta squeezed his hand, finding comfort in his grip. Even now, when there were still so many unanswered questions.

“Just us…” She repeated quietly. “I’d… really like that.” And Alinta managed to lift her head, offering him a wavering smile in an attempt to reassure him, but it wasn’t as bright as it usually was. There was the weight of heartache that made it so her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. A caution there. As though she were terrified to share it with him in earnest again.

Past the treeline they entered a clearing. Scar squeezed her hand tighter. “Whoa….” Her eyes danced across the sky, it looked like it had been painted in watercolours. It wasn’t just night. It was glimmering, it was as no spot in the sky was left blank. There were smatterings of blue, and purple that painted the milky way - stars formed pulls and waves of dancing twinkling lights. “Jack….” He wanted to show her this place, and she instead hit him with trepidation and fear. Alinta felt guilty.

He lead her to a stone, and sat in front of her. He explained what happened. How he wasn’t even the person to send her the message. Alinta's brow furrowed. What he said… it made sense, she had heard of it happening before. How it was a tactic to lure newer players to different locations, thinking they were meeting up with a friend. “You…” She reached out to take his trembling hands, and pressed her lips to them. “You really scared me that night. It felt like antidotes…and crystals, and healing…none of the systems ways to heal someone seemed to be working on you.” Alnita drew in a deep breath.

“I thought…I felt like it was my fault. I wanted…to show you my new weapon, and instead - we got tangled up in it, and I -” A swallow. “I hurt. You Jack. “I wanted to stay…terribly so…but you asked me to leave…” Her head lowered and she watched as tears dropped into the snow, melting tiny holes into its surface. “How…H-how could I Stay when you wanted me to go?”

 I thought I'd broken something I couldn't fix."

Alinta shook her head, pulling him up as she stood. “I thought I broke something I couldn’t fix.” She turned and with a slight push against his chest, he found himself sitting on that very same rock she had been moments before.Then, Alinta turned and sat herself in his lap, her back pressed against his chest. Maybe it was wrong, but if it was… then she’d allow herself to be wrong, and feel right. His arms tightened around her, and she could feel his heartbeat against her back. His form enclosed around her, it made her feel safe. Less exposed.

“I don’t want to lose you either…please…tell me everything, Jack.”

WC: 590

[Scar 0]

When she pushed lightly against his chest, he stumbled back a step before finding himself seated on the same half-buried stone she had occupied moments earlier. Before he could even think to move, she turned and lowered herself on his lap, her back pressing firmly against his chest. Instinct took over, his arms came around her, protective, almost desperate.

This warmth.. it was something he had missed, yearned for, even in silence. The faint scent of bergamot and vanilla filled his senses, grounding him in a moment that felt painfully, beautifully real.

"I don't want to lose you either… please… tell me everything, Jack."

He held her closer, his breath brushing against her ear. "I didn't mean to scare you that night," he whispered, voice roughened by guilt. His arms tightened, not in fear, but to remind himself that she was here, that this wasn't another dream. "I thought I was doing good. I thought I was saving someone."

He hesitated, the memory surfacing in fragments. "Alice.. She wasn't like the others. She hit me with something, a rose. There were others, dozens of them, all around the field. I don’t know what kind they were, but when the petals scattered, everything just, blurred. I think I got lucky even waking up."

He exhaled, the weight of it leaving a faint tremor in his chest. Slowly, he loosened his hold so she could turn her head slightly toward him. "When it happened, I fell into some kind of trance. I saw visions of you. Not the world, not the battlefield, just you. Your face, your voice. I felt like I was home."

A soft, nervous chuckle escaped him. "Then, when I tried to move closer, her face started flashing over yours. It felt like she was in my head, trying to overwrite what I cared about. Messing with my memories." He paused, smiling faintly against her hair. "Can you believe it? Even when I was trapped in that hell, the only thing I could hold onto was you."

His hands found hers again, his thumbs tracing gentle circles across her palms. "When you came to me.. I remember you speaking to Alice. You picked up a rose. I wanted to stop you, but I couldn't move. I think that’s when something inside me broke loose. I wasn't myself anymore." He swallowed, voice low. "I just.. hope we never cross paths with them again. I don't want you anywhere near that madness."

Jack tightened his embrace briefly, his forehead lowering to rest against the side of her head. "When we got back to Tolbana, I don't even remember how. I just remember looking for you, and you weren't there. It looked like they took you away from me. And I couldn't do anything." His voice cracked slightly. "I thought I'd lost you forever."

He drew a slow breath, forcing his hands to relax. His hold on her softened, his chin coming to rest on her shoulder as he looked upward. "You know.. it's not your fault we got wrapped up in all of this. Don't ever think that. You didn't hurt me."

His tone lightened, if only slightly, as he tilted his head to catch her profile in the moonlight. "And I still want to see that weapon of yours," he said, voice quiet but sincere. One hand left her waist to poke her cheek playfully. "You still owe me that. And.."

A small, wistful smile tugged at his lips. "That picnic we never got to have."

He leaned back, guiding her with him until they both reclined slightly, eyes on the glittering expanse above. "We'll have one someday," he murmured, his hand finding hers again. "No interruptions. No misunderstandings. Just.. us."

For the first time in what felt like ages, his heart felt steady. Not healed, not whole, but steady. And as the stars shimmered overhead, Jack silently promised himself he wouldn't let her slip away again.

* * *

WC: 657