BACK AGAIN!

Aquithis was as beautiful and peaceful as ever.

"Sponge, are you coming or not?" Vvh called as Sponge raised her head, momentarily distracted by a flower beneath the tree. "In a minute!" Sponge replied, grabbing Cecil's reins to pull herself to her feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in her leg.

Vvh walked toward her, arms crossed. Sponge grunted, leaning heavily on Cecil, who let out a soft snort. "I told you to stay on Cecil," Vvh reminded her.

Sponge groaned, resting her head on Cecil's neck and giving her a gentle pat. "I'm doing fine. I don't need to stay on Cecil—it's just this stupid leg."

She glanced down at her other leg, trying to avoid putting weight on it, lest she fall in pain again. Vvh tilted her head, watching as Sponge attempted to walk, using Cecil as a crutch.

"When will you ever learn?" Vvh mumbled, shaking her head. Sponge grinned. "Just excited."

Vvh clicked her tongue and gestured for Sponge to ride Cecil again. "I'm not letting you move without riding Cecil," she insisted. Sponge pouted but rolled her eyes.

"Yes, ma'am," Sponge grumbled before attempting to mount Cecil. 

With some difficulty, Vvh had to push her up to reach Cecil's back. Sponge blushed as Vvh let out a breath that almost sounded like "I told you so," while Sponge tried to wipe the red flush from her face.

"It's been days since I got the splint. Maybe we should—" Sponge began, motioning to the wood on her leg. She had been eager to take it off; it was uncomfortable, and sleeping on her side was difficult when she couldn't even curl her leg up.

It was unfair! She could handle a bit of pain in her leg; it wasn't like it was broken!

As far as she knew, it was only sprained; it wasn't like her bone had fractured. Sponge shivered involuntarily at the memory. Thank goodness Vvh had gotten her out of the cave; otherwise, she might have believed she had broken her leg. I mean—who even does that?!

And how could she have easily believed the fake Ji-Ho? The cliff wasn't that high. Her fall had taken at least two seconds before she hit the ground, which meant it wasn't a big drop. Sponge had taken larger falls from other cliffs when Vvh pushed her off, so of course she wouldn't break a leg.

"Not yet. If we manage to secure a place in Aquithis, then perhaps we can take it off," Vvh said, causing Sponge to perk up and clap her hands.

"Thank goodness!" Sponge sighed in relief, letting out a happy breath.

It didn't take them long to reach the town, but they were told to stop and leave Cecil in the forest. Vvh sighed as she watched Sponge slowly climb down from Cecil. "She's hurt. Can't you make an exception?" Vvh asked, crossing her arms as she regarded the small, stout woman who gave her a nervous look.

"I'm sorry, Master Vvh. The town has been restless these days, and I certainly don't want your horse to break the bridges and make it worse," the woman said, twirling her fingers together anxiously. She glanced at Sponge, who was limping toward them with her brows raised in interest.

"What's going on?" Sponge asked as Vvh tilted her head.

"Ah! Well… recently, after you both left, there seems to be some kind of creature that decided to reside here," the woman explained, twirling a stray hair as Sponge nodded in understanding.

"Is it that bad? I thought Aquithis accepts all kinds of beings?" Sponge asked, still confused about the point of the conversation.

"Ah, well, as far as I know… this creature is some kind of large eagle. It has been stealing our fish and other things!" The woman said, her tone offended, as Sponge waved an apologetic hand.

"Ah, then I must have misunderstood," Sponge grumbled, giving Vvh a look, a single brow raised as if to say, Is this woman crazy?

"Recently, our things have been disappearing—clothes, food, any trinkets. Some even get misplaced, and we're all worried this is yet another punishment by Saphria," the woman added.

Sponge scratched her head. "I doubt a large eagle would need your clothes," she mumbled, but before she could say more, Vvh slapped the back of her head to shut her up.

"It seems times are hard. We'll see what we can do," Vvh said, giving the woman a nod before grabbing Sponge's arm and dragging her toward the bridge. She handed Cecil's reins to the woman, who bowed deeply, her head almost touching the ground.

Sponge winced before giving an awkward goodbye.

"When did you become so giving? I would have thought you wouldn't care," Sponge whispered, giving Vvh an odd look as Vvh didn't reply.

"I don't," she said flatly.

Sponge snorted, a lilting smile on her face. "Could have fooled me."

—

"I'm so happy to have you both back so early," JM exclaimed, bustling around the boathouse to tidy up. Her hands moved as swiftly as her legs as she arranged the living room, dragging Sponge along and insisting she sit while finding a small stool for her to prop her injured leg on.

Vvh scanned the room, noticing a multitude of white feathers scattered across the floor. She looked back at Sponge, who sneezed slightly as a single feather drifted down onto her head. JM let out a small squeak, snatched the feather, and quickly stuffed it into a trash bag while dusting the entire place like a woman on a mission.

"Did you kill a chicken here or something?" Sponge asked, pushing another feather off the couch as JM darted around the room.

"N-No! I only eat fish, you know," JM replied, her eyes widening as Vvh moved to enter her old room. "NO!" she screamed, causing Vvh to pause. Sponge flinched, peeking over the wall to see JM blocking the door with her entire body.

"It seems I misunderstood that I could reuse this room again," Vvh said, observing JM's nervous sweat as she forced a laugh.

"No, no, you—you could have! But I didn't know you both were coming back so soon!" JM stammered, and Vvh nodded, crossing her arms and taking a step back.

Sponge pushed herself off the couch, leaning against the wall with a grin. "Y-You could have sent a letter to me or something!" JM pouted, and Sponge chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck.

"This visit was certainly sudden; there was an accident that brought Sponge here," Vvh said, gesturing to Sponge's leg.

Sponge blushed in response. "Y-yeah, I, uh... got pretty badly injured and sick—still sick until now, but! I'm doing well!" She turned to Vvh, who tilted her head in disbelief.

"You said you don't feel sick anymore," Vvh pointed out, and Sponge let out a nervous chuckle.

"It—was sudden?" Sponge replied uncertainly, giving Vvh a forced smile.

"Uh! You both can use my room during your stay," JM suggested, pointing to the room at the end of the hallway. Vvh shook her head. "No—perhaps Sponge should take it; she needs all the rest she can get," Vvh said, earning a glare from Sponge.

"What? No!" Sponge protested, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at being treated like a child.

"It's fine; I don't usually use my room aside from getting ready for the day," JM says. Sponge glares at her, silently pleading, 'Stop it, don't let Vvh get her way.' But JM only giggles. "You really look like you need a good rest. How about we set you up in my room now? You look like you're about to fall over."

Sponge groans, rubbing her forehead. JM was right… mostly. Riding Cecil isn't exactly comfortable for her leg, and the wound on her stomach feels hot and bothersome.

 "Do you have other clothes to change into?" Sponge asks as JM leads her to her room, her eyes darting to Vvh, who is staring at the closed door of the other room.

JM swallows nervously. "JM?" Sponge taps her shoulder, and she turns back.

"I do! Come in first; I can also check your leg," JM urges, helping Sponge onto her bed. "Hn, not only are you a sailor but a healer too?" Sponge teases, and JM responds with a playful pout.