After that, Peal led us back outside, saying we should follow her to “the place”, which I assumed was the aforementioned zoology lab. I also assumed her brain was still addled by…whatever she’d been taking.

Apparently, my assumption was correct, because fifteen minutes later she seemed to actually wake up.

“What’s going on??” she asked, looking around. “How did I get here? How did you get here?! Who is that?! Is this a kidnapping?!”

She grabbed my shoulders. “Clarion, if you wanted us to be together you could’ve just asked! You don’t have to do this!”

“Peal, no one is kidnapping you,” I said with narrowed eyes. “I don’t know what you were on before, but under its influence you agreed to help us find Knell.”

She slowly let go. “I…did? Well, I guess that’s okay, albeit dangerous...Did I do anything else that I should know about…?”

“You kissed him,” said Blare.

“Did I really?!”

“Just on the cheek.”

“Oh,” said Peal, clearly disappointed. “I-I mean, that’s actually good, because…you shouldn’t be rewarded for trying to take advantage of me! What were you doing at my flat anyway??”

I rolled my eyes. “Like I said, we needed your help to find Knell.”

“…Oh, right. Well, I guess that’s okay, albeit dangerous…”

“You already said that- look, do you need to sit down or something? Or go home?? We can’t take you with us when you’re like this…”

“Um, I’ll be just fine, I promise,” she said nervously. “Just…give me a minute.”

She sat down on a bench by a large, plant-like object, burying her head in her hands.

“Damn, your girlfriend is messed up,” Blare whispered. “Like, I don’t wanna call her a-”

“Don’t call her anything,” I hissed. “Why don’t you act like a normal third wheel and just awkwardly keep to yourself?”

“Aha, so you admit it! Can’t have a third wheel if there ain’t a bicycle~.”

I decided to pretend I didn’t hear that.

When I came over to Peal, I saw that her elbows didn’t have any noticeable color. They hadn’t turned blue or orange or anything. I was left without any clues to her emotional state.

I sat down beside her. “Look,” I said, “It probably isn’t any of my business, but…what exactly is the purpose of those ‘patches’?”

“Oh, they’re just…a delivery system for a cocktail of hormones and other chemicals that will help me forget all my troubles,” she muttered through her hands.

“I see. And you don’t use them…often, do you?”

“No, I don’t!” she cried. “But can you blame me for letting myself go a little bit?? I mean, what would you do if your life fell apart?!”

“Well…I don’t really drink or anything, so…”

“Of course you don’t. You’re Mr. Perfect...”

I decided she was probably feeling a little anger. “We don’t have to talk about this anymore,” I said. “I just wanted to know if you were okay.”

“Well, I’m not okay! But I can handle it myself! I’m an adult, and I’m 30 years older than you! I don’t have to cry on your shoulder about everything, you know!”

She stood up and tapped the base of her neck. Suddenly, her wings reappeared, and she began to hover again.

“What are you waiting for?!” she barked at me. “Let’s go find Knell or whatever you dragged me outside to do!”

I was a bit offended that she was suddenly treating Knell’s rescue like some kind of inconvenience, but I decided to let it go. Better to just do as I was told, at least until this mood swing passed.

Blare jogged beside me. “Did she say thirty years?”

“Blare, I am not in the mood…”

“O-kay, that’s fine. I mean, love is blind and all that, so if that’s what you’re into, it’s all good. Besides, she does look pretty hot for an old granny; to be honest, I’d probably date her, too.”

I really missed Knell.