Y'know, moving kinda loses a lot of its excitement after you move realities. Forget being a fish out of water, that feels more like being a snail being tossed into the ocean. Well, not really. Honestly, it's been mostly pleasant, I shouldn't complain. Anyways, getting back on topic, maybe it's actually the ability to instantly teleport anywhere I've been that just makes this otherwise terribly exciting and anxiety inducing event feel just, y'know... everyday, I guess. Might even be because this whole ordeal feels kinda like a dream, and I haven't really accepted this as reality yet. Maybe it's all of the above, or none at all. Hard to say. 

The point is, when I looked out at the beautiful cobblestone bridge leading to the island peninsula where Basenholm resides, I wasn't as excited as I'd thought I was gonna be. I mean, I was still a little excited, but It just kinda felt like I was visiting a new place, same as it did when I went to visit the city, but, in this case, reverse, I guess, 'cus it's a small town. Or so I've heard.  

That said, this bridge has definitely caught my attention. For a number of reasons, actually. First of all, it's bloody huge. Deceptively huge, even. It seemed almost impossibly long, and wide, too. I swear, it was wide enough to fit, like, at least half a dozen tanks. And as long as... I dunno, teleporting's kinda messed with my sense of distance, but was long. Wayyy long. It felt almost too long. Based off the map, I'd figured that it'd be a rather small bridge, actually. The scale must've been weird. 

But what really caught my attention was just how well maintained and beautiful this bridge was. Every inch, every stone was pristine, and the light seemed to dance upon its surface as the sun glistened overhead. Even the railing part is jaw dropping. It's not a bunch of individual stones like the ground beneath is, instead it's one continuous and perfectly cut stone, which, too, looked wonderful in this light, as well as perfectly clean. That said, it was far too large for anyone to actually use as a handrail, though. It was more like a short wall, or something. What is this, a bridge for giants? Regardless, everything oozed a certain mystique, which made it enticing and fun. Nice aesthetic! 

Still, there's no doubt that this bridge is weird. Almost a little off putting. 

Well, no reason to just stare at it forever, we ought to actually walk across or we'll never get there, right?

Actually, speaking of, shouldn't S have told me off by now? I'd have figured he'd have said something like 'What, having a staring contest with the rocks? Let's get a move on!', by now, right?

I looked over at S, and found him, too, staring at the bridge. Was he appreciating the bridge, as well? I mean, I can see why, but I never really took him as the t-

"HEY, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA, WISEGUY?" S shouted angrily at the bridge, cupping his hands over his mouth like a megaphone. In doing this, he also scared me half to death. 

Apparently scared someone else but good, as I heard a surprised shout in a familiar voice coming from under the bridge. It was Purple. Oh boy.

"Man, you noticed that?" Purple said as they stepped out from under the bridge. They're wearing the same clothes they were when I met them earlier. Now that I'm thinking about it, should I keep referring to them as 'Purple'? They haven't worn purple since our initial meeting. Well, I guess I don't know their name, so... I guess they'll just have to be 'Purple' for now. "What's your guy's deal with ending everything so early? I didn't even have the opportunity to start the show this time." 

"What's your deal?! Why'd you put illusions on the bridge?!" S shouted at them. Oh, so that's why the bridge looked so weird.

"Relax, I just wanted to see how mobile this guy is." They pointed over at me. "I mean, last time I saw them, their legs were broken, so I didn't really learn much about their agility." 

You're the one that broke my legs, though. As they said this, my legs felt weird for an instant. 

"Are you- Oh, wow, cat face." S said, shifting from anger to surprise in an instant. 

"See?" I said.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." They said, calmly.

"Wait, how'd you get here before us?" S said, getting things back on track. 

"Well, I knew your ultimate destination, and I had a bit of a head start. Still, if you hadn't made all those wrong turns, you'd probably have beat me here anyways." They explained. Right, they were listening in on our conversation with the duke. 

Wait a minute. "How'd you know we messed up on the way here?" I asked.

A brief pause hung in the air for a moment. 

"Not important." They said. 

"I disagree." I said. 

"Hold on." S said, walking over to me. He then stuck his face super close to mine. I could feel my face go red.

"W-wha?" I said in suprise.

Then, he sniffed really hard. "Aha! I knew it! That's what that smell was!" He said as he backed away to where he was earlier.

"W-what smell?" W-what's he talking about? I quickly grab and use one of those 'shower in a can' thingies.

"In truth, you've had a feminine smell around your neck ever since you came out of that room. I figured something spicy happened, so I feigned ignorance in accordance with the bro code." 

"H-huh?" Why'd he assume that!? Idiot! Stupid! Moron! Bastard! I felt my face run redder and redder. Wait, S said 'feminine'... does that mean Purple's a girl?

"BUT! It would appear that that was actually some sort of tracking magic!" S concluded. Why couldn't you have assumed that immediately! Stupid! Idiot!

"Dangit, you found out." Purple said. Found out what?! Which is it?!

"Get rid of it!" S said, angrily. Oh, right, I guess that's important, too... stupid. 

"Can't" They said, simply. "Once it's there, it's there." They, or I guess 'she', maybe, shrugged. 

"Yeah right!" S said, still angrily, "As if!"

"Doesn't matter whether or not you believe me, it's not going away." 

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that." S said, creating his blade in a flash of heat, his other hand reaching for his sand pouches. 

"I guess I have time to kill." Purple said, reaching their arms out.

Both of them had bloodthirsty grins on their faces. It's clear they both felt that words would be meaningless at this point. 

I'd really rather not have them fight here. Crap, what should I do?

Well, neither of them are paying attention to me, maybe I can get this over with quickly. I quickly create a large hole behind me, and throw a small hole underneath one of Purple's feet, tripping them for a moment.

"Huh!?" They let out in surprise as they trip. S sees this opportunity, and begins running up to them, ready to attack with sand and their blade.

Not this this time. I knew he would do this, so I quickly remove the smaller hole, and throw a larger one right in the path of S, but a little above the ground so he'd trip into it. "Huh? Wh-" S also exclaimed in surprise.

" Can we, like, not do this now, so close to town?" I pleaded, now standing between them. 

"But they-" S began.

"Cmon, it'l-" Purple began.

I looked the both of them in the eyes. Todays been a really stressful day, plus, we just travelled about the entire length of the country, I'm pretty tired out by this point. I really don't have the patience to deal with a fight right now, especially since we're this close to town.

Plus, I'm still kind of angry at S.

They both gulped in sync, for whatever reason.

"R-right."

"I-i mean, it wouldn't be any fun if it was j-just him." 

They spoke at the same time, both sounding weak and defeated. Not sure why, all they did was trip. Well, regardless, it seems fighting's stopped, for now. 

"Cool. Let's go have dinner, or something." I said to the both of them. 

"Right."

"Sure." They both said, quickly.

Then the three of us began crossing the bridge to town.

Then bits of the bridge started falling out in front of me. I accidentally let out an irritated sigh.

"Oh, s-sorry, forgot about that." Purple said. The bridge once again became the same as it was earlier. Wait, was that the illusion S mentioned earlier? The bridge looks the same as it did before we crossed. That's just how it looked? 

Huh. What a weird bridge.