"Wake up, sleepyhead!" You jerk out of your dream and scramble to your feet, as your vision clears, you realize Aphmau, Garroth and Laurence stand in front of you. You realize you must have fallen asleep on that hill last night.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize-" Aphmau smiles and you break off, staring at your feet, embarrassed.
"It's alright," Says Aphmau. "We all do that sometimes." You breath a sigh of relief. In O'Khasis, if you're found asleep anywhere other than your bed, you could be taken prisoner.
Laurence and Garroth however, seem to be trying their hardest to hold in laughter. You glare at them, but that seems to throw them off the edge. They begin laughing their heads off. Aphmau turns to them, but instead of asking them to stop, she joins in.
After a while, you can't keep a straight face. You begin laughing too.
***
Your stomach hurts from all that laughing on the way home. Aphmau, Laurence and Garroth walk with you, as they volunteered to help you with your house.
All you've done so far to it is placed your small sleeping bag on the hard ground of the basement, and hidden the pendant in a space behind some loose dirt. Aphmau and Garroth walk behind you and Laurance beside you as you walk. Garroth seems to keep getting closer to Aphmau, but when he's close enough to to touch her, he jerks away and has to restart all his progress again.
Every time, you and Laurence stifle a giggle. Garroth's face has turned red, after the last time, when he accidentally slapped Aphmau in the face when he jumped back.
"Garroth, anyone would think Aphmau is a deadly sickess you can't get near." Laurence calls over his shoulder.
"Uh, well..." Garroth trails off.
Laurence begins to giggle furiously, and if it's even possible, Garroth's face becomes even redder. You and Laurence chat while Garroth continues to act awkward for the rest of the walk to your house. Laurence opens the door for you, and you blush.
You then mentally slap yourself as you walk in the door. You're here to be a spy, for Irene's sake! You don't have time for romance or love or anything! Garroth and Aphmau walk down the stairs, side by side, and start to talk about Aphmau's adopted son, Levin. Laurence motions to them silently, and places a heart with his hands around them. You bite your lip to stop you from bursting into laughter.
"Hmm," Says Aphmau, looking around. "This place definitely needs redecorating."
"Should we start with the walls?" Asks Garroth. Uh-oh, definitely not. If they look through your walls, they'll find your pendant!
"Uh, no thanks. The walls are the least important thing. The main thing I want to do is move my furniture and change my floor. It's kind of hard to sleep on bare stone bricks!" You say.
"Alright." Says Garroth, getting out his pickaxe. "Let's get to work."
***
You place the final bit of wood into your floor, and get up, panting. Aphmau, Laurence and Garroth seem to have the same effect as you. They all look wiped out. Now your room actually looks like a room, with wood plank floors, a bed, some paintings, a desk, and more!
The only thing that doesn't look right are the walls. Garroth left them alone, just like you said, but it's just dirt, which you can replace on your own.
"Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate it." You say, smiling.
"No problem, Y/N." Laurence says. "But, you might want some payment." His eyes sparkle with laughter, and Aphmau slaps him.
"We're here to help, not for diamonds!"
The three of them walk upstairs and out of the house, and you say your goodbyes. You go downstairs, you'll be giving your report to Zane at midnight. Your impression of Phoenix Drop is much different now though, you really don't want to betray them.
What are you going to say to Zane's messenger? You didn't really learn anything... Wait, you learned one thing. Helping people in need is their greatest weakness. If they see someone that needs their help, they won't hesitate to give them everything.