The enticing heat from homes did not welcome them at all, with the cooling, dirted road being the only one offering them stay. Its pathways were occupied by others who showed little consideration, little compassion, little care.

And all they could do is find a roadside bench for comfort.

“Are you sure we don’t have enough to find a place?”

“Rookie, we didn’t have much money to begin with. And our next payment is too far away,” for a moment they could hear the sound of crunching dirt.

“Man this sucks,” though Rookie disturbed this.

“We just had enough money to pay for me, how were they expecting us to live here? Where are we gonna sleep?”

“Just be patient, as for now, we’ll see where we can sleep?” Rookie rose up.

“Do you mean there is a motel or something?”

“No, we’ll just go and find a park,” Rookie had her face scrunched and she looked Kiorif up and down with cheeks filled with disappointment.

“Nu-uh, I know we are soldiers that are meant to be living off the field, but we’ve slept outside for too long. Plus to sleep outside in a town is insulting. Tomobi come with me, I’ll get us a place to sleep. Kiorif if you change your mind come join us as we sleep in a comfy bed,” The two left Kiorif to his own thoughts, passing past the enforcement of calming pillars and walls of brick and wood.

“So what is the plan Rookie?”

“Well if these people were fine with us I would just use my feminine charm to get a discount. But,” her back slouched.

“They hate us, so we’ll do a trick me and my siblings would do when camping by people’s places. Now we just need to find a barn,” Rookie’s scavenger hunt led them to one of the small farmlands scattered around the town, with a river swimming into a myriad of hills.

“Tomobi, I present to you our hotel,” Tomobi had doubt and confusion splattered on his face.

“By the farm?”

“What no, think broader,” She tapped his head, turning his attention towards a barn outgrown, shielded by multiple fences and what seemed as resting beasts.

“That is the random barn. Service is a bit weak, but I can say that it has a nice rural view for those who love the open world. All in all, 3 out of 5 stars, now I’ll help you get over,”

“Are you sure this is a good idea,” doubt trickled into his voice, with him continuously looking around for no eyes to see them.

“I’ve already said I’ve done this before. Trust me, I have a clean record, best of the best of my siblings at this. Well aside from my cousin Madeline, but she had a car so she would park it - I’m getting off track, give me your bag,” Tomobi pushed over the enlarged leather and fabric for Rookie to attempt to guide gently to the ground.

“Geez, could’ve gone with lighter things?” Rookie breathed out, pulling Tomobi over the stoned fences.

“Okay,” She drew in the air and slithered to the ground.

“We need to be quiet, else we wake up the managers for the hotel,” Rookie joked, giggling to herself.

The two dragged their bags behind them as they crawled across the dirt and grass, surrounded by beast-shaped trees.

“See we are almost there,” Rookie grunted as she crawled under the rooted feet of the trees. That was until a wrench hit their plan, the faint chirp of an opening door.

“Shit,” Rookie went to raise her head, but she was blocked by the stump raised above her.

She managed to hold in a muffled groan, but the plant above her didn’t. The clacking of its bark stabbed into the silent night as it began to move, its roots stomping past Rookie. But it didn’t stop there, the other tree-like beasts began to move away from the source of commission, each making just as much noise as the first.

“Who’s there?”

***

A sack was thrown by an arrangement of bushes, with Kiorif following suit. A barren park was his chosen bed, with plants shielding him from the occasional breeze passing by.

A faint smile grew. Peace and quiet at long last. No stories, no shuffling, no VitaNavs. Peace.

“Oi, soldier,”

The smile died with his peace. Kiorif’s eyes showed him a burly man, defiant and proud looking down at him. Dulled grey pants let a fresh blue singlet pop out even in the setting night.

“Don’t worry when I finish sleeping I will leave,”

“It’s about your partners,” Kiorif had a small groan grow inside him. But that didn’t stop him from following the man towards the scene of the crime, where people and VitaNavs soothe the trees around them. Kiorif kept his eyes on two individuals sitting by the fence.

“Relax he doesn’t really get mad, we will be fine,” Rookie’s faint hum really raised his temper.

‘Oh you're dead,’ when he picked up his pace past his guide Rookie caught notice of this, and her face fell.

"Oh shit, never mind. It's too late for me,"

"What?" Tomobi felt a small sense of panic, which only grew as he saw Kiorif steaming towards them

“I was wrong, stay behind me. When I give the signal run, don't look back,” Tomobi stayed closer and closer to Rookie as Kiorif got closer and closer to them.

“Uh, high Kiorif. Did you find yourself a good place to sleep?”

“You know Rookie I did,” Kiorif grit his tone through his teeth.

“And from what I see you failed,”

“Yeah, it’s kinda funny isn’t it,”

“Very,” Though no laughs, not even a chuckle could grow in the barren conversation. Except.

“I mean I thought it was,” their attention was turned to a man with a VitaNav joining the conversation. The man had whiter hairs than the strands Kiorif had collected, and his darker skin seemed further tanned from his work out on this supposed farm. The VitaNav though had a pebble-washed colour across her, with forest clover markings planted across her body, and the smallest nubs crested above her eyes to give her a calming look, like a statue in a garden.

“It’s a nice break from the common days. Change of pace. what do you think Sprout?”

“Yeah it was a nice break,” her voice was calm and soft compared to the man's upbeat and erratic tone.

“Thought it was a threat, Sprout, and what do I come out to see?”

“What?”

“Our Bluorangions running away from a soldier and a sack heavy VitaNav,”

“Doesn’t really sound threatening,”

“Right,”

“Excuse me this is a private matter,” Kiorif was not ready to shift the tone.

“Yeah about my livestock, well the ones I focus on. So this is now public,” the man turned towards Rookie and Tomobi.

“So what brought you to our farm? Bet it wasn’t to see little old me,” Seeing the tone steadily sift Kiorif turned away.

“You see we are kinda in a pinch, so we were just looking for a place to sleep,”

“Really,” the man’s tone was difficult to reveal if there was sarcasm hidden within it or not.

“Well, I think I know what we can do about this now,” a promise was given to the three of them.