Talking one-on-one with someone had always been pretty high on Lapis' list of wishes. She technically had conversations with her mom one-on-one, but she was usually being screamed at or ordered around the house. She wanted a nice one-on-one conversation, where she could talk back and not be smacked for interrupting. She never had anyone to ask.

    But now she did. It'd been ten days since she'd met Ammolite, and it was finally the weekend again. Lapis could relax a little because she didn't have homework piled on top of the numerous chores she had to do at home. The teachers are Golden Oak didn't give out much homework, and never over the weekends.

    So, despite the Depr clawing at her mind to get her to put her Shell down, Lapis sent Ammolite a text. It was short, nothing more than,

    Would you be able to hang out at the park today?

    Before she went back to her chores. She only had a couple left, so it wouldn't take long for her to check the response. When she did, she found herself smiling slightly.

    Of course! What time?

    As soon as possible, please. The water Dranda responded.

    Now? I can do now!

    Meet me there?

    Yep!

    And so she was off. She left the disgusting, alcohol scented gigantic acorn on the large, lily pad-like tree leaf, heading off into the city. It was a nice day outside. The sun was shining, the large buildings made of various materials on the huge, sturdy leaves of the Tark Trees, the leaves being a pale shade of green, the tree itself being very dark brown, almost black. These trees don't lose their leaves in the winter, of course, hence why they're able to build cities on their leaves. Tark trees to a plant Elemental are like regular trees to an ant. Huge.

    Being so high up gave Lapis anxiety. She wasn't a strong flier, or an amazing runner. She was a swimmer, and a good one at that. Something feral inside her was always yelling "we're not safe here" and other things, but she did her best to ignore it. She didn't want to leave. She had friends now, actual friends! She couldn't run away!

    The park itself was nicely decorated, lots of Elets, a term for young Elementals, running around. Pups is a term for young Droggons, Cubs for young Drandas, and Kits for young Drats, but Elet is a blanket term for two or all three. There were swing sets, slides, and other various play sets for children. There were benches along the outline of the park, dotted around so parents could watch their Elets. There was also a small pond, not too deep but with a decent diameter. There was a sign in front of it on a fence with a gate, reading "Parents, please keep your children in sight at all times when near the water."

    As much as Lapis wanted to swim because she missed the ocean, she came for Ammolite, not the water. Speaking of, she spotted the air Elemental in a bench off to the side of the park, staring at her shell, typing. Lapis' Shell went off with a notification, and she giggled slightly, walking up to the bench.

    "Oh, Lapis!" Ammolite almost squeaked.

    "Yeah, hi..." She said quietly as she sat down. Her tone wasn't sad, it was more shy and nervous than anything.

    "So... You wanted to hang out here? What did you want to do?"

    "Just... Talk..." She said softly, staring down at her own paws in her lap. Ammolite's head tilted,

    "About what? Is something bothering you?"

    "Something's always bothering me..." Lapis said with a small chuckle.

    "Well... Any particular subject you'd like?"

    "... Did you know that water Elementals can drown?"

    "Really?"

    "Yeah... It's a hard thing to believe, but... We can drown. Usually, it's for young elementals who haven't fully developed their lungs and somehow make their way to an air pocket, sometimes in an underwater cave, sometimes it's other things... But we can drown in water. If we're kept away from the ocean too long, our gills dry out. It'd take years, maybe a decade, but if our gills are kept dry they just... Stop working entirely... Then, when we try to go back into the water..."

    "You start drowning..." Ammolite finished her sentence for her, looking at her as the water Dranda absently ran a claw over the fabric of her jeans over her thigh.

    "Can you guys forget how to fly?" Lapis asked suddenly after a short silence between the two.

    "Well, unless there's brain trauma, no. But we can never learn. Sometimes the muscles in our wings don't develop properly so we just... Can't. I'm a great flier, I've been told, so it... I don't know, it makes me feel so free. I can't imagine what it's like to not be able to fly." She kept watching the water Elemental's finger brush her own thigh, entranced by the way she did so.

    "It's the same for us with swimming... Me, at least. Swimming is... It's so special. It's amazing to be able to move so fast in such a big space... The ocean is amazing."

    "I'm sure it is. I've never been though. I've lived on Leafly all my life. Never been to the ground or the ocean."

    "Y-you've never even been on the Ground Level?!" Lapis asked in disbelief.

    "No. It doesn't scare me or anything, I just don't have any drive to go there. The sky is all I need."

    "We're very different..." Lapis stated.

    "Yeah, but that's not so bad, is it? I mean, it's not considered a mental illness to miss the sky but it is to miss the ocean. If I did happen to have a water Elemental as my future mate and they wanted to live on the ground near the ocean, I would, no problem."

    "... I wouldn't be able to do something like that... Live on Airplix? No thanks."

    "Well, that's fine. You're allowed to do that. Not everyone is entirely selfless, Lapis. We're all selfish, just a little bit. But that's healthy. If you don't care about yourself at all, then that's a problem and needs to be fixed. If you put others first, that's fine to an extent. But it's not healthy to... I don't know where I'm going with this, I'm sorry." Ammolite apologized. Lapis smiled a bit,

    "It's fine, it's fine. I think I know what you're trying to say."

    "Yeah... I think what I'm going for is if you put other people's happiness before your own twenty-four-seven, enough that you'll change who you are, that's the problem."

    "Yeah, yeah..." Lapis said softly.

    There was another silence for a while as the wind picked up a bit. Ammolite stretched her wings a bit, letting the wind run through her feathers, while Lapis curled up and tried to keep herself warm from the breeze.

    "Cold?" Ammolite asked.

    "Just a little... It's not nearly this cold in Aquarip."

    "I uh... If you want my jacket..."

    "No, no, keep it. I've got my own..." Indeed she did. Well, it was more a hoodie, but it was long-sleeved.

    "... Can we talk about that night..."

    "That night?"

    "When you sent me that picture..." Ammolite said softly. Lapis visibly tensed. She remembered that night. When she sent the image of her claw marks on her thighs.

    "I... What do you want to say?"

    "Did... Did you stop after I went to bed?" Lapis didn't respond. "Lapis, please, answer the question... Where do you claw?"

    "No, and my thighs..."

    Ammolite sighed,

    "Oh, Lapis..." She whispered.

    "It... Helps."

    "There are other things you can do..." Ammolite said softly.

    "I can't stop..."

    "I'll help you..."

    "You can't..."

    "It won't hurt to try." Ammolite whispered, gently grabbing at Lapis' wrist. Lapis jerked her arm away, looking at Ammolite with a flash of fear in her eyes, before it disappeared.

    "D-don't touch me..." She said quietly. Ammolite nodded,

    "Sorry, sorry... I-I'm a physical kind of Elemental."

    "It's okay... Just don't do it again... It gives me bad memories..."

    "About... About your mom?" Lapis shook her head,

    "No... W-well, not just her... It's mainly about my dad. He was... Physical, too. Very touchy, so now I'm not."

    "Oh... Lapis, did he...?"

    "Let's not talk about it." She said. All the emotion in her voice was gone now. Nothing was left. She'd shut down.

    "You know... It's okay to hurt, Lapis." She didn't respond. "Please don't shut down on me..."

    "Just... Let me think for a minute..." The water Dranda whispered.

    Ammolite let her, waiting for her to say something for a while.

    "I want to go home... Not to my mom's house, that place is a fucking dump. I want the ocean." She said softly, sadness in her voice.

    "I wish you could go there, Lapis, you deserve to be happy. You deserve someone who can make you happy."

    "You're the first Elemental I've ever met to show me genuine kindness..." Lapis mumbled.

    "And that makes me sick. The fact that you're... Around sixteen and not a single fucking soul has shown you any compassion is disgusting. The world is supposed to be better than this."

    "Ammolite, it's fine."

    "It is not, Lapis! You don't deserve the shit you've dealt with, not at all! I want to know which of the fucking Deities idea it was to torture you like this so I can-"

    "Stop!" Lapis demanded. Ammolite closed her muzzle.

    "Thank you... I'm not worth challenging the deities, Ammolite. If you want me to be happy so badly, then do anything you can."

    "I... I will. But... I have a question. Do you know what your romantic preference is?"

    "... I... I'm probably bi... I don't know..."

    "So you don't mind genders?"

    "I don't mind, yeah..."

    "... Would you go out with me?"

    "... Well... Given that you're the first Elemental to ever show me any compassion, I'd try it at the very least." Lapis looked over to her, but didn't make eye contact.

    "Do you... Uh..." Ammolite stuttered a bit, but Lapis gently took her paw in her own, looking forward with her back on the bench. She said nothing, but the feeling of Ammolite's soft feathers on her thick fur was... Different, in a good way.

    "Sh-I-uhh-..."

    "I... Should get home." Lapis stood up, breaking their contact. "I've gotta make dinner. I'm making something I want tonight after I cook for my mom, so I'm gonna start for her early."

    "Right, right. Uh... So we're not gonna address this?"

    "We can call later," Lapis said softly. "Thank you... For being so kind to me." Ammolite nodded a bit, letting her walk away.