As the sun set on the horizon and twilight surrounded them all, Shiso flicked a match into the firewood and watched the flames rise. The campfire’s flames reflected off of his lustrous sunglasses. The group gathered in a circle around the fire, all staring at Selicy. She was in a ball, hugging her knees to her chest; Violette had her arm around her as well.

“Guys, I’m gonna go cook something.” Hazel said, pulling out various utensils, machines, and building materials. “What do you guys want?” They all looked up and said what they wanted at once, which made it pretty inconvenient for Hazel.

“Chicken and rice.” Shiso said.

“Hamburger.” Selicy mumbled.

“Salad.” Violette chirped.

“Steak, please.” Reva politely requested.

“Ramen?” Saffron asked.

“You guys wanna try that again?” Hazel asked, rubbing her temples. “How about we don’t all say our suggestions all at once and maybe also decide on one thing?” The group fell silent once more.

“Hamburger” Selicy mumbled again.

“Hamburgers it is.” Hazel huffed, moving a distance away to set up her kitchen equipment, getting out of hearing distance. Saffron got up and tugged on Violette’s fur clothing. They both walked over to help out Hazel with dinner. Reva patted Selicy’s back.

“You wanna talk?” she softly asked. Selicy shook her head, keeping silent. “Don’t worry. Me and my friend Shiso can talk enough to make up for you. Isn’t that right?”

“Well, you certainly can.” Shiso sighed. “What’re we all thinking about?” Selicy still wouldn’t open her mouth.

“How about we talk about our lives before the war?” Reva asked. “Would that be alright?” This time Sellicy didn’t even move her head. Shiso lowered his mask over his mouth.

“Who wants to start?” he asked. Everyone stayed quiet for a minute.

“I’ll go first.” Reva answered. “Before the war, I was a student. I was studying at a university when talk of a war began. We were angry enough about that; we protested day and night in an effort to collapse any support for the war, but…” Reva fell quiet.

“But what?” Shiso asked.

“But eventually the war-supporters started taking us out. One-by-one until none were left; I was one of the few who didn’t die. Most of my friends… aren’t here because I was too busy trying to defend what didn’t need protection. I took up the shield and armor before I even knew what it was to defend. I paid the price for it in blood.”

All three of them thought about Reva’s story; about her losses. Selicy sniffled a bit then cleared her throat.

“Before the war broke out,” she said shakily. “I worked in the Anima division of The Company. Its building was stationed in my city. I worked on trying to change people to let them be able to control ice without the use of magic.”

“Did you do it?” Shiso asked.

“What do you think?” she asked harshly, making frost climb a bit closer to the campfire. “A friend and I decided to work together to try and stop some criminals. We dove further down than either of us expected to. He died for it; I killed someone with my bare hands for it.” Out of her pocket, she took a compass and an mp3 player.

“What’re those?” Reva asked.

“I got the compass from a crocked old man after I killed a guy. Took the mp3 player from a kid a while back.” The compass’ needle was slowly spinning in circles, as if it had forgotten which way was north.

“The compass looks broken to me.” Shiso said, pointing from across the campfire.

“Probably is.” she groaned, putting them back in her pockets. “What about you?” she then asked with a heavy attitude. “What’s your story, Mr. Eastwood?”

“I’m no cowboy.” Shiso chuckled. He looked up at the stars and sighed. “You wanna know my story, huh? Gotta warn you then, it’s not for the faint of heart.”

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Hazel handed Saffron her apron and threw Violette her own. Vio’s read This Meal Begs for an Encore! in purple letters.

“Where do you pull these from?” Saffron asked, peering at Hazel’s pouch.

“I just kinda pull stuff that I need out.”

“Yeah, but why does that work?”

“You wanna keep going in circles or do you wanna eat tonight?” Hazel asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“Fine.” she grumbled, taking a package of meat to season.

“You both look like you know each other quite well.” Violette praised.

“Yeah, we’ve known each other for a while.” Hazel flaunted. “I taught her everything she knows about machines.”

“Which isn’t much.” Saff interjected.

“When did you meet each other?” Vio asked.

“School.” they both shuddered.

“Man, I wish the stupid war never happened.” Hazel resented. “What does the world gain from war? I’d rather just build and shoot at robots for the rest of my life.”

“Wouldn’t we all?” Saffron sighed. “You can shoot all the robots you want in Eden.”

“You bet I will!” the mechanic roared. “Nothing I love better than building a good robot. Then, I get to smash someone else’s bad robot. Before the war, I was the best engineer in the entire world! Even when my factory was invaded, not a single one of those guys made it out without a taste from a turret!”

“Riveting.” Saff said sarcastically. “Vio, what’re you going to do when you get to Eden?”

“Oh, you know…” she said, twirling her hair. “The same stuff I did before the war.”

“Which was…?” Saffron inquired.

“You serious?” Hazel asked, raising an eyebrow at Saff and trying not to laugh. “What do you think she did?”

“No need to tease.” Violette laughed. “Before the war I played music all over the word for all kinds of people. It was so great back when I wasn’t even that big because I was able to really live the show life and have my friends.

When I started out, I was in a small trio with a couple people that took a chance with me and grew to be my closest friends. A few years after I went for a solo career, my concert was interrupted in the middle of it by an attack on the town where I was playing…” Violette looked down and fell silent.

“I’m sorry…” Saffron somberly consoled. She patted Vio on her back.

“I’m the only one who made it out alive.” the songstress lamented tearfully, looking towards the stars. “It was the first time I ever used my music to hurt people. I couldn’t even protect any of them. I just watched as they died and died and died…” Saffron and Hazel looked at each other with concern.

“Yo Vio, you know you can tell us anything, right?” Hazel asked.

“Of course.” she said, wiping her eyes. “You guys are my new family, right? And families always have each other’s backs. No matter what, we’ll be together, right?”

“That’s right.” Saffron said, giving Violette a huge hug. Vio smiled and hugged her back. Hazel gave them both a surprise hug from the back.

“Even I’d have a hard time building better friends than you guys.” Hazel joked.

“We’re gonna make it to Eden, beat that gate guardian, then we’ll all live together and we’ll never have to worry about anything ever again!” Saffron and Vio cried together as Hazel patted both of their heads.

“Don’t go crying the whole night away.” she said, taking spices and oil of her magic bag. “We’ve still got a meal to make.” Vio laughed.

“Hey Saff, what did you do before the war?” she asked. Saffron looked a bit uncomfortable and started fiddling with her clothing.

“I mean… it’s a long story…”

“I’m more than happy to hear it.” Violette cheered. Hazel was chopping onions like the conversation behind her wasn’t happening. Saffron sighed.

“Alright then… It’s not really a happy one though…”

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“How’re the burgers?” Hazel asked Selicy between bites of her food.

“Not bad.” she complimented. “Haven’t had real food like this in a while. Takes me back”

“Takes me farther back.” Shiso laughed, voracious devouring his food. “I’ve been in that jungle longer than any of you’ve probably been alive!” The group silently stared at him.

“How old are you?” Reva asked.

“I dunno.” he said, finishing his burger. “I stopped counting after 93. This place doesn’t let you not age, so I’ve been stuck in a purgatory for the last dozen or so decades.”

“That’s rough, buddy.” Hazel smiled. “Pretty sure the rest of us have only been here for like a couple years at max.”

“Still sounds like a long time though.” Saffron countered. “I mean, who wants to spend two years alone?”

“Nobody wants to be alone for that long.” Reva reasoned.

“Except maybe the blue hermit crab.” Hazel joked.

“So heartless…” said Violette.

“It’s just her way of making friends.” Saffron reasoned.

“It gets boring when every visitor just dies in a minute and a half, you know?” Shiso asked. Everyone except Selicy shook their heads.

“You’re the only one.” they said in sync.

“I mean, I get where you’re coming from.” Selicy reasoned. “It’s boring to fight someone and just instantly win. The struggle is what’s fun.”

“Exactly.” he said, pointing at Selicy. “Hey Hazel, does your magic pouch-thing have any drinks in it?”

“What do I look like; a minifridge?”

“What if I said please?”

Hazel reached into her pouch beside her and pulled out what looked like a glass bottle. She threw it at Shiso, who swiftly caught it by the neck. He held it up to the fire’s light and frowned in annoyance.

“This isn’t what I wanted.” he complained. “Who the hell puts water in a glass bottle anyway?!” The entire group laughed at Shiso’s prominent disappointment. Violette turned to face Selicy.

“Do you feel better now?” she asked.

“Yeah…. I think I do!” the ice queen said confidently. “I think I’m finally ready to move forward!” Everyone clapped at her motivation. Reva gave her a giant hug.

“Good! Because we’re all one big family now, and you couldn’t get rid of us even if you tried your damndest!” she roared.

Everyone laughed as Reva buried Selicy under her body and armor. Violette put down her food and picked up her instrument in pure joy. As the music flowed out, the group sang the lyrics to a song that none of them had heard before. It didn’t matter though, as the lyrics were made from the bonds they shared. To them, it was the sweetest music that had ever graced their ears.