You didn't try to make friends.
Since you have been in San Diego and decided to follow this race, you haven't tried to make friends. On the contrary, you have always tried to remain neutral towards the candidates for the winners of the race. Of course, you always helped those who were in need, but you always wanted to avoid cheering for anyone.
All those years traveling alone made you a classic misanthrope, even if your altruism wouldn't suggest it. You certainly weren't trying to befriend Gyro, Johnny, Mountain Tim, or Diego. You were just doing your job: helping others and selling your herbs. That's exactly what it was. You didn't want to face undue favoritism from runners.
But sometimes a simple shared feeling can bring people together more than expected. A feeling like thirsting for a Caribbean rum that's been sitting in one of your drawers for months.
You promised yourself you'd only have two or three glasses with them, and, you managed to keep that promise. Gyro and Johnny weren't used to this kind of drink - in fact, Johnny didn't seem to be used to any alcoholic beverages, so he settled for a cup of tea. Gyro, on the other hand, accepted the imaginary challenge to drink something different.
''I don't think this is a suitable drink for women.'' Commented Gyro with a simple smile as he watched you finish your third glass of rum.
''I've drunk much stronger drinks and with people much worse than you.'' Relaxed, you replied.
Gyro let out a different laugh. A crisp ''nyo-ho'' as you'd never heard before. It made you laugh along with it.
''That's interesting,'' He continued with a golden smile on his face. ''what kind of people do you hang out with, Miss (Y/N)?''
You looked at Gyro, paying attention to his cheeky tone. Your bare feet slid across the stone table where you were still sitting, and you set your glass down beside it. You remembered that a few minutes ago Johnny had asked Gyro to get wood for the furnace when he saw that the fire was about to go out. Of course, he wasn't going to get wood when he saw you pulling the dusty rum bottle out of your wagon. Besides, you forgot to pick herbs outside.
As you were about to answer Gyro, you looked to the side, startled by a sudden shout from Johnny.
''Hey! Dio!'' He said angrily as if trying to get someone's attention.
Gyro peeked into the window next to Johnny to see what it was and grimaced. You didn't say anything, just watched them curiously and heard a strange murmur outside.
''What are you doing here, Dio?'' You hear Johnny ask as the door opens behind you.
You look over your shoulder and see Diego slowly walking in. Startled, you quickly stand up and take a few steps back.
''Nothing...'' He replied sheepishly to Johnny's question as he slipped through the door.
''Nothing?!'' Johnny looked more and more irritated.
''Hey, back off, you bastard!'' You heard Gyro order. ''Don't come in!''
''Diego?'' you whisper, watching the scene.
''Oh, are you wondering why I was eating those rocks?'' He said quietly, looking off into space. Johnny and Gyro stared at him in confusion and silence. ''It's for digestion, Mister Joestar, don't you know? It helps your stomach's digestion. It crushes what you ate inside the stomach... they're called gastroliths. Most meat-eating creatures do this. It's a health method... learned from birds and alligators. I feel splendid.''
Again, you couldn't understand much through the barrier caused by Diego's accent, but you could guess what it was about when you heard Gyro say ''Bullshit!''.
Diego stopped talking and looked around, smelling something. You heard the soft clink of Gyro's holster releasing his steel balls.
''Hmm... Smells like coffee...'' Slowly, without realizing it, Diego approached you. ''Are you making coffee? What a pleasant aroma... It hasn't quite got the aroma of Blue Mountain Number One, but it's still really good...''
''Huh? What's your problem? There's no coffee here, only tea.'' Said Gyro, confused by Diego's behavior.
''How strange... '' Diego muttered, as he approached you with his body bent over. He smelled you, and the uncomfortable proximity made you instinctively flinch. "So that's you, miss (Y/N)? That coffee smell...''
''What are you doing, Diego?'' You said, almost wanting to fight with him. ''There's no coffee here, if you want some tea, take a cup and leave!''
You didn't notice how flushed you were. And even if you had noticed, you'd have blamed the Caribbean rum, not Diego. He looked you straight in the eye but in a strange way. So you smelled like coffee? Was that what he meant?
''Mind if I have a cup, Miss (Y/N)?'' He asked.
You wanted to answer, but Johnny did it for you.
''We don't want to travel with you, let's make that clear, Dio. Drink the tea and go to another empty house. The cup is right in front of you.''
Like a dog, Diego began sniffing around the table in search of the glass. He pawed aimlessly across the surface, almost knocking over a couple of cans. You worried and kept watching him from a distance. His blond hair was coiffed and his clothes were clean. His bruises were completely gone, and you were sure it wasn't because of your help. But even without injuries, Diego kept the bandage you had put on him.
''Uh... Could I just ask? Which one can I drink?'' Diego asked without looking at anyone in particular.
''Wich one? There's only one cup there...'' Said Johnny, a little embarrassed.
''Diego... you...'' You couldn't contain yourself. ''Are you okay? You can't see? The others are cans.''
''Can't see?''
In a second, Diego's lost gaze focused directly on you and only you. All that preoccupation seemed to get on his nerves as, with an incredibly deft movement, he caught a fly flying close to him with his hands and soon released it. Seeing this, you realized that there were way too many flies in this house some time ago.
''Give me a break! I can see great!'' Diego kept talking, but you couldn't listen to him.
There were too many flies, so many that you could hardly count them. Gyro had noticed that too. You took advantage of the fact that Diego was concentrating on finding out where his cup of tea was and mumbled something.
''Hey, Gyro, there are too many flies here.''
''Weird, isn't it? They're coming from outside, close the door and I'll close the window before coming more of them.''
You readily agreed. You crossed the room at a certain distance from Diego and approached the door. You smelled a rusty odor of blood and suspected it was coming from the surroundings. But as you stick out one of your bare feet and bump into something furry and sharp, you can do nothing but freeze in panic. You shake your head and watch Gyro and Johnny stare out the window. A huge grizzly bear lay mangled in front of you. Your heart pounded with a single thump. Diego did this? No, impossible. What kind of creature could do such a thing to a bear?
''It's the corpse of a bear! (Y/N), get out of there!'' Gyro shouted. ''How long has it laying there dead?! A human couldn't have done this!''
You took a few seconds to turn around and you were paralyzed. An alligator with long legs, of course. That's what you thought when you saw a huge, reptilian animal screeching and shaking at Diego's torn clothes, which had disappeared. The animal backed away in a zigzag pattern, its long tail flapping and coming inexorably toward you. What was this, anyway? Had Diego transformed? You swore you heard Johnny yell something about it. Was it what they call a stand? Diego was a stand user? There was an evil gleam from the beast's eyes, and between its sharp teeth, you heard a hoarse sound. You were ready to be hit when you found yourself incapacitated by the shock.
A single impact and you were thrown out. The last thing you heard was Johnny screaming your name before the shortness of breath knocked you out for a brief moment. Nothing and no one could describe what you felt and what went through your mind when you felt the rusty taste of blood in your mouth. The gravity of the situation became clear to you in the blink of an eye as you found yourself on the edge of a cliff, held safe by the thorny branches of some plants that grew there and got caught in your clothing. You were weak and had butterflies in your stomach that made you want to vomit as you looked down at the ground to check the height.
You gathered the strength to stop moving and listened to the creaking of the not-very-resistant tree that held you.
''It's a dinosaur, Johnny! It looks like Dio's body has been fused with a dinosaur's ability!''
''Dinosore? What's a dinosore?''
Dinosaur. That name sounded familiar to you, very familiar. You remember the fossil that rested next to Diego, and your habit of making unexpected friends that allowed you to have many conversations with a group of paleontologists who accepted a glass of water you offered them. Dinossauro. You remember better what you knew about these long-legged alligators, and as far as you can be sure, they went extinct many years ago. The wave of absurdities only made you more convinced that Diego was a stand user, just like Mountain Tim.
An unconscious relief was what you felt when you could hear Gyro and Johnny's voices, but a few seconds later there was a sudden silence. You still hadn't made much progress in climbing the cliff. You felt something strange that was even more unpleasant than the stabbing pain in your body. A feeling that made you look toward the horizon.
Despite the myriad of uncertainties and absurdities that surrounded you, despite the anger at the bad omen, despite the deep pain and the constant feeling of powerlessness, you weren't lost. Quite the contrary.
When you looked up at the sky, you saw the constellation Ursa Major. It was the first time you saw it. Although you were used to the southern sky map, you knew enough to understand the northern sky. The Ursa Major - or Big Dipper - was perfectly aligned with a hill just beyond the canyon. Somehow you knew something important was there. You had a feeling that something was waiting for you there. The impulsive thought of jumping off the cliff to get there flashed through your mind, but you held back because it reminded you of Cadichon.
She was still in the house, and you couldn't leave her there. With a quick, precise movement and the little strength you had left, you managed to reach the edge of the cliff and grab the first thing that touched your hand. You looked up and see the huge animal that Diego had turned into. The beast lowered its head and sniffed at you like a dog. You didn't move, you were panicking and you knew that Diego - if this thing was still Diego - had seen you.
He ignored you and turned around. You take the opportunity to end your climb plaintively.
Gyro and Johnny were on the ground, with no injuries - at least from a distance they appeared to be - crouching on the giant bear carcass. They watched you climb over the cliff and crawl on the ground while spitting up some blood. Slowly you got up, still too weak, and walked to the door of the house, one hand resting on the rock at your side. They winced when they saw the creature look at you and not react. Diego didn't attack you.
When you saw the two men, you didn't call their names. You were trying hard not to make any noise. You understood that they were trying to camouflage in with the rotten meat smell of the bear so that the creature wouldn't detect them. Diego let his nose guide him, he could already smell you from the other side of the house earlier. ''What a pleasant aroma...'' you remember.
You didn't notice that the creature saw you, and didn't stop until you managed to walk through the door and close it from the inside, leaning back. You were sure you hit your head because you felt delirious. Nothing was real at that moment. Gyro, Johnny, Diego... or Dio... or dinosaur. Nothing was real for you.
You crawled halfway up and slowly got to your feet. You staggered and stumbled, but you kept walking to your wagon. You weren't in any condition to drive, and part of you wasn't going to allow yourself to abandon Gyro and Johnny and just run away like a coward. The heady feeling of delirium you felt was even stronger. A feeling so strong that you felt like it had materialized on your back.
You weren't lost yet, and you knew it.
Driven by a mixture of habit and compulsion, you rummaged through your shelves and drawers full of herbs. Some people had a mania for accumulating objects and others didn't; you, (Y/N), had. Barely an inch of shelf space was visible among tools, photos, dream catchers, dried flowers, dyed fabric scraps, and other debris.
After a few seconds of searching, you managed to calm your mind and your breathing. Some people have a knack for arranging everything around them in such a way that the objects reveal not only their meaning but also their relationship to the other objects next to them. You felt it. You felt an indefinable aura that belonged not only to you but also to your objects. Every flower, every herb, every fruit you picked. It was an aura that unconsciously guided you through this jumble of items. I'm here because (Y/N) brought me here, said this indefinable aura. I'm here because she is who she is.
Marroio and yarrow were just what you needed to get back to normal. You couldn't be a coward and run away, but you also couldn't be a weakling and accept that you were beaten down.