1 x 1 with Fern

[Boomer]

"I get what you mean..." she murmured, "Adults are just... not easy for me to trust. But neither are most kids." Alessa shrugged lightly as she pushed some hair out of her eyes. "Noon, okay." she said, "I think we've got a while..." She shut her eyes as she was feeling sleepy. "I wish we could stay out here all day." she murmured, "I could sleep out here... maybe without any nightmares." She trailed off at the end, mostly talking to herself.

[fern fawn]

[ • Birch • ]

He nodded slightly, agreeing. While he didn't quite trust most kids either, he definitely didn't trust adult. He hated that he had to rely on them for almost everything. He watched as she shut her eyes, then once more turned his head so that his gaze was upward. "Me too. It'd be nice to not have to worry about going back or getting in trouble." Birch thought over the last part of what she had said, his curiosity and worry again getting the better of him. "Do you get nightmares often?"

[Boomer]

"I'm worried about that too." she murmured, "I don't want to be beaten again... never again." She shook her head for a moment before nodding to Birch. "I have nightmares every night." she whispered, "Of all of the terrible things my mother did. I can't escape it. I wish I could, but I can't." The girl slowly sat up and looked around the field. "Hopefully she won't figure out I'm still alive." she mumbled.

[fern fawn]

[ • Birch • ]

Birch slowly sat up as she spoke, his brows furrowed and a look of concern and confusion crossing his features. It was all so much, and while he didn't entirely piece together what had happened to her, the small bits that she had alluded to sounded terrible. He just wanted to understand. "What..what happened?" he asked gently, looking over to her. After a moment, he was quick to add on. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to of course."

[Boomer]

"There's a lot of things that happened..." said Alessa quietly, "None of it is good, trust me." She brought her knees to her chest, then wrapped her arms around herself. "Mostly being hit or kicked." she murmured, "Getting locked in my room or the attic. Starvation..." Alessa didn't want to talk about the fire or her tonsillectomy. "I don't like thinking about it, but there really isn't a way for me not to think about it." she said. Alessa then looked to Birch. "I think we should start to head back." she said, "Hopefully there isn't a search party for us."

[fern fawn]

[ • Birch • ]

Birch listened with great concern, wishing there was a way that he could help her. But he couldn't change the past, as much as he wished he could. "I'm so sorry, that's absolutely terrible." he murmured, lowering his eyes to the grass below his paws. He gave a slight nod when she said they should go back, slowly rising to his feet and glancing around the small clearing. "Alright, let's go." He extended a paw out towards Alessa, offering to help her to her feet.

[Boomer]

Alessa took his paw after a moment, then stood up. She brushed her dress to smooth it down. She then walked with him back towards the orphanage. As they walked back, Alessa was quietly taking in the scenery once more. "I'm glad we're not right in the middle of the city." she said, "It's so wonderful out here..."

[fern fawn]

[ • Birch • ]

Birch headed back beside Alessa, his gaze trailing over their surroundings. He gave a nod at her statement, a soft smile lightening his features. "Me too. I'd be so bored if there wasn't places around that we could go. I'm sure we'd have a tiny yard were we in the city, or not one at all."

[Boomer]

"Not to mention all of the traffic everywhere." said Alessa softly, "Still, at least there could be shops to look at." She shrugged as they continued on their walk. "But I like it out here a lot more." she added, "I don't like a lot of loud noises... it's so quiet out here." She hugged Scarlett for a moment, then yawned. "After lunch, what do you want to do?" she asked.