“We should probably leave soon if we want to catch the next airship into town,” Tesla said as she stood up, stretching her arms over her head. “I’ll lend ya some shoes. Or rather, a shoe.”

As Tesla moved around the table, Ever quirked an eyebrow at her. “Airship?”

“Oh yeah. It’s the fastest way to get ta Liberty from ‘ere.” She moved toward the door, a hint of excitement in her voice. “Wait here while I get ready. I’ll be quick.” Ever watched her disappear around the corner before turning back to the table to see another plate of food in front of them. 

Ever looked over at Jaxson, who was back at the stove making more food as he said he would. “Keep this between us, understand?” Ever nodded, picking up their fork and digging into the eggs and bacon that had been put in front of them. Ever took their time eating, savoring the flavor of each bite before finishing their second helping off. 

Ever had just set their fork down when Tesla announced her presence. “Sorry I took so long. I had a hard time findin’ a shoe that would fit ya.” Ever turned around to see Tesla standing in the doorway wearing a light pink button-up shirt tucked loosely into a pair of jeans which were held up by a pair of leather suspenders. She had a leather messenger bag over her shoulder, which bounced slightly as she moved forward. Kneeling in front of Ever, she slipped the shoe onto their foot.

“Hey, that’s mine!” Jax screeched as Tesla stood up stretching her back.

She turned to look at Jax. “Well, none of mine woulda fit ‘em so I grabbed one a' yours cuz’ yer feet are small an’ all.” 

“Are not!” Jaxson cried.

She turned back to Ever and smiled. “How’s it fit?”

Ever looked down at the shoe, which was a loafer made of brown leather. It pinched them slightly around the heel as Ever looked up at Tesla. “It’s a little small, actually.” 

Tesla laughed as she turned to Jaxson, holding her hand out toward Ever. “See?” 

Jaxson blushed as he mumbled. “I don’t have small feet. You just have insanely huge ones. Freak of nature, you are.”     

Tesla laughed lightly. “Yeah, yeah.” Tesla turned back to Ever with a smile. “Ya ready?” 

They shrugged, unsure of what was to come. “As I’ll ever be.” Ever watched as Tesla repeated the process from this morning, and Ever wrapped their arm around Tesla’s neck as she pulled them onto her back. 

“Well, I’ll see ya later, Jerkson,” Tesla quipped as she turned around, making her way out of the kitchen.

“I told you to stop calling me that!” His voice cracked as he yelled at Tesla, and Ever couldn’t help the snicker that escaped their lips. 

“Hey, so you can laugh! I was worried you couldn’t. Now all I gotta do is get ya to smile.” Tesla chuckled as she came to a stop in front of the front door, taking a brief moment to grab a newsboy cap from a hook, placing it on her head. Now fully ready, she opened the door and stepped out into the early morning sun.

Ever walked outside, and the sight was just as overwhelming as it had been last night, but this time they attempted to take in what they were seeing. The buildings that Ever hadn’t been able to tell the purpose of in the dimming light now were most certainly houses. Houses with plants hanging from porches and bikes leaning up against the sides. The air smelled the same as it had last night, and Ever felt like they could get used to the smell of burning coal and oil. There were airships and planes in the sky that were now much more visible compared to last night. Ever leaned off Tesla back to get a better look at a passing airship when Tesla came to a sudden stop, causing Ever to jerk forward.

“...The hell!?” Ever yelled, wrapping their arm a little tighter around Tesla’s neck, who turned to look at them.

“We gotta wait fer the trolley. It’ll take us straight to the airship station.” Tesla replied as she shifted Ever further onto her back. 

“Aren’t I heavy?” Ever questioned as Tesla craned her neck in one direction and then another. 

“Hmm? No, not really. Yer actually pretty light. But maybe I’m jus’ freakishly strong.” Tesla chuckled as the trolley pulled up in front of them. Once it stopped, she climbed aboard, moving further in before setting Ever on one of the seats and collapsing into the seat beside them. The ride to the station was spent in silence, with Ever watching as the factory-like houses turned into actual factories and then into storefronts. Everything had the same steampunk aesthetic to it, with copper and wood seeming to be the main building materials. 

“Coming up on Angel Falls Station. Angel Falls Station, next stop!” The driver called out through the trolley. A moment later, the trolley came to a rough stop. 

Tesla stood up, pulling Ever onto her back once more before making her way off the trolley. The airship station was a monolithic building that looked to be entirely composed of copper pipes and bronze panels. Some of the piping exhaled steam into the air as Tesla made her way up the stairs and into the building. 

“Ya know what? I take back what I said before. Yer startin’ ta get kinda heavy.” Tesla groaned, her voice sounding strained as she continued climbing the rather steep stairs. Ever couldn’t help but laugh at the statement, and they watched a smile pull at Tesla’s lips as she made it to the top of the stairs. 

Ever took in the sight before them. Steam came out of large copper piping and the floor was made of a bronze grating. Airships were docked up against the station and there were people getting on and off in waves. “Phew! We managed to make it in time.” Tesla sighed in relief before moving toward the airship at the end of the corridor at a slow jog while calling out to the people still boarding. “Wait! Hold on!” 

They arrived at the airship Tesla gasping. “Thanks for holdin’. Can I set my friend down before I pay?” 

The driver, a middle-aged man with thinning hair dressed in an old-timey conductor's outfit, nodded at her as he looked at them both. “Sure thing, kiddo.” 

Tesla set Ever down in an empty seat before going back to the front to pay for the trip. Ever listened to them talk, only catching a bit of their conversation.

“So, where are you headin’?”

“Liberty. Doin’ some shoppin’ we can’t do ‘ere.”

The conductor tipped his hat to Tesla, who smiled as she made her way back to where Ever sat, sitting down next to them. A couple of moments of silence passed before the conductor made an announcement over the P.A System. “This is the last call for the eastbound airship. Any new borders, please make themselves known.” No one else climbed aboard, and the conductor’s voice boomed over the speakers. “Alright. We’re off! First stop, Liberty City!” 

The ship began moving forward and Ever pushed themselves up onto their knees to lean against the window. Carefully pressing their face and hand up against the window, Ever watched as they slowly began to ascend into the sky. The platform got further and further away, and the people on it became smaller and smaller as they turned slightly east and began flying at a steady pace. 

“Look down.” Tesla remarked quietly. 

Ever compiled, and what they saw was beautiful. It was a patchwork of browns, yellows, and greens. Farmlands and small towns. They were high enough that you couldn’t tell what each different color was made up of, but close enough to the ground that you could still see some of the larger structures. They couldn’t help the smile that pulled at their lips as they watched the colors and the features of the ground. 

“Pretty, ain’t it?” Tesla was glad to see more emotions from her new companion.

Ever nodded as they pulled their face away from the window beaming at Tesla, unable to contain the complete wonder that they felt. “Hey, how does this thing fly?” Things they hadn’t felt in years. A sense of wonder, a want to learn, a curiosity that couldn’t be stated by a simple explanation. Ever couldn’t even remember the last time they had felt this way. 

Tesla scratched the back of her head. “I don’t rightly know. I think it might be steam-powered or somethin’.” 

Ever turned back to the window, watching as the yellows and greens were slowly replaced entirely by browns of various shades. Their curiosity would have to wait to be placated.

“Approaching Liberty Station! Approaching Liberty Station!” Ever watched closely as they began to descend toward the ground. The brown landscape morphed into a copper and bronze cityscape. Buildings made of copper, bronze, and iron mixed amongst ones made from wood and nails. The airship slid into the station, which felt very similar to the one in Angel Falls but with the difference of the incorporation of iron into the design. The airship came to a stop and Ever let Tesla pull them onto her back once more before they made their way off the airship. The walk from the station into town was spent in silence, as Ever observed their new surroundings and the strange variations in architecture. Several minutes had passed before Ever even thought to ask where they were heading.

“Our first stop is Cogsworth. He’s the guy you go to when ya need fakes on the fly. Then we’ll be headin’ to a tailor. I’ve never been, but Matron Julia was very insistent that I take you to one. She gave me an address an’ everythin’.” Tesla remarked as she hiked Ever up further on her back. “I normally get my clothes from a consignment shop back in town, but she gave me money to pay for everythin’ so…” Tesla shrugged, her voice trailing off as she walked from the business district into what was more of a residential area, with people sitting on porches and chatting with neighbors. 

Ever noticed that many of the homes were two stories and had signs outside them that seemed to imply that there were businesses inside. This was a marked difference from what they were accustomed to.

“Hey, Tesla, are those stores or houses?” Ever asked, leaning their head forward onto Tesla’s shoulder so that they could see her face.

“Oh, they’re both. A lot of people ‘round here run businesses’ outta their homes. Cogsworth is one of them.” She looked at the sides. “Should be ‘round here somewhere? Ah, there!” Tesla began walking toward a two-story house with a sign outside that read. “Cogsworth’s Cogs Smith.” She walked up onto the porch and pushed the door open, a small chime ringing out as she entered with Ever.