What the Heart Wants.

Witching Hour.

Marianna beamed and giggled a bit. "So, what if I do? It is not every day I receive a gift from the world's grumpiest boy."

Kiel rubbed the back of his head and then shook it. "I..." He began.

"Should come with me!" Marianna chimed and grabbed hold of his arm with her wing to pull him with her.

"Come? Where to?" Kiel said as he was pulled along into the forest.

"On a walk with me to collect plants... I could do it myself, but having company is always better." She said happily.

Kiel nodded slowly. His mind had already been made up for him, and though he'd been in a distant, horrid mood for weeks due to recurring nightmares. She continued to try and make him smile.

As they walked past the beautiful trees, Kiel looked up at the gaps in the tops of them, finding it inspiring when a beam of radiant light shined its way down through to the bottom. There was no other place like this on Mewni, and to live in the midst of it was a feeling all of its own.

Marianna hummed while she pulled him along a small beaten path without much conversing, stopping to gather plants and flowers whenever she happened by them. Kiel would stop and watch her, then she'd be quick to yank him on to the next.

"Hey, Kiel...? Can you lend me a hand?" Marianna said to him, and it knocked him away from his thoughts.

"Hm?" He looked at her.

"Can you gather a lot of these? I am going to go collect the flowers from across the way. If we both gather them, it'll move quicker."

Kiel nodded halfheartedly and took the small pouch she handed to him, after which he bent down to begin plucking the plants. Marianna scampered away with a pep in her step and a melody in her voice, leaving Kiel to fill it as she requested.

"..."

In truth, he didn't mind doing this. The forest itself was a treat. He had been away from Mewman society for longer than he'd ever been, and as much as it pained him, he found he didn't miss it much.

Kiel plucked the plants and became ever sadder with the thought, and it was as if he'd lost control of his life. He still thought terrible things of Marianna, yet he obeyed and went along with her desires...

He yanked a handful of plants and stuffed the pouch to the brim, then raised himself up to stare at the tops of the trees again.

He was scared to go home, scared to stay here... Hateful and bitter of everyone. He was a mess.

As Kiel's mind wandered, so too did his body while he mindlessly picked the plants along the way. The further he made it, the more he found himself surrounded by nature. When at last he stopped for a breath and wiped his brow, he felt satisfied with the amount he had collected.

"This should..." Kiel began but stopped when he noticed something in the distance.

He bent down low and squinted, and after a brief moment, he recognized it as some sort of small camp. It looked ragged, and the cloth tent blew in the soft breeze of the day.

"Monster...?" Kiel murmured to himself, taking a look back in the direction he'd left Marianna.

He knew he should back away before trouble, but his inquisitive nature beckoned him forward.

When he'd reached the end of the bushes, he could see someone lying asleep on a dirty cloth. By now, he recognized the form as Mewman, and so he felt a bit of elation, having not seen a familiar face in so long.