18 Apartment

Mandy fell down in the moss like a dramatic heroine hit by an arrow. His words echoed in her mind. The reasons why cursed forests were called such resurfaced - it was a place that had made someone like August possible, to begin with.

Throughout it all, she had been under the impression that August would use a teenage girl like excuse and get away, like 'I need a shower' or something. There had been a time when she too got away exactly like that. Ha ha hah, why was she the careless jock in the relationship when she was the one risking something?

There was no denying that it was both fresh and exciting to be on the chasing end, and August certainly fit the role of being chased, surprisingly enough. Mandy wouldn't have guessed at all considering his usual teasing streak. Those honest expressions he showed might be what made her go as wild as she had; reality was far better than any of her imagined scenarios of August x Handsome hunk, just remembering made her feel like having another taste, but...

Children.

She was too young to have any! No, wait… actually - if Mandy summed up her age at death with the seventeen years after it, then she would be a lady in her forties! She wasn't too young, this was actually the right time! August was the one who was too young.

Mandy gasped… did this make her into a cougar? Appearance wise she and August were of a similar age, but in reality that wasn't the case at all. Mandy felt depressed at the idea, but her behavior just before was also along the lines of an elder sister having her way with the more innocent someone. If she didn't know that he had dated others before she might feel like dying (again).

But… actually... had he ever done 'it'? It had been just common sense back in her time to date for at least a month before taking the next step. But in their case… ha ha hah ha ha ha ha, minutes after finding out it was a mutual like.

"This was not your first time, was it?" Mandy asked, although, thinking back it felt more and more like it might be the case.

August pursed his lips, his ears turning red. "I regret not letting you anguish for a year, thinking you had a one-sided crush."

So it was! Haaaaaaaah! What the heck had she done? Mandy really wanted to die. And to think she was that into it. He did learn quickly and kept up well, but, yep, that explained a lot of things. Men also seldom had a flowery language when describing those things in books (like many female romance writers), but if it was like that, then that was the only natural way he could describe it, without giving away his own lack of experience.

The words he had said just before confessing and his troubled expression as he did gained a new meaning - he had read her. Like an open book. He could tell she had realized her own feelings and he could also tell what her despaired expression implied and he had not wanted her to struggle with that anguish, so he had no choice but to tell her how he felt. August's ability to read people was frightening, it was no wonder he had realized about her attraction before she had herself.

Ah… but look at what she did with his good intentions. She couldn't really call his personality bad if she herself was like this. "Sorry," Mandy said.

"You should be," August said with his lips pursed. "I can't go out looking like this..."

That was something even Mandy had to agree to. She had made his clothes into a complete mess and… plainly speaking, he looked way too enticing. It was obvious what had recently transpired with just one look and the way his now longer hair fell on his shoulders, disheveled in just the right way, was making her hungry all over again. He was worse now than in that morning when even Ian became flustered. Mandy had casually stolen away that barrier which made August feel like someone you could look at, but not touch.

August noticed her look and crossed his arms, pursing his lips, like. 'Again?'

Mandy looked away. "I mean, aren't you upset about something other than clothes?" His response had been only about those, after all. Well, as far as she knew males gratefully threw their virginity at any girl who was generous enough to take it, but August was a special cookie...

In some ways, he reminded her of a teenage girl. Never went outside messy, fresh clothes every day, graceful gestures, odd concern for some details, emotional and colorful writing. It wasn't that she put him in a male on male romance delusion for no reason, boys who were this concerned about the same details as August were not considered to be all that manly. If he was like this at school and given his androgynous appearance and the high likelihood that he wasn't icky even as a boychild, he was bound to be picked up on - especially by those who were attracted. Kids often blamed the party they liked for causing any feelings of that sort.

If she had to guess, then people at school misspoke his surname as Gaylord without a doubt. That would also perfectly explain August's misgivings about it.

August sighed, his ears still red. "Don't be silly," he said in a soft voice, not quite looking in her direction.

That was a relief. Mandy wanted to engrave August being like this into her memory to remember when he acts all haughty, but perhaps he seemed so cute now because there was that gap. Mandy refrained from jumping at him and nodded slowly. "Well, about clothes - maybe we can call Tia and ask her to bring something?"

August sighed. "That might be the best choice," he said, although he didn't look happy about it.

"I'll bring the phone," Mandy said and got up.

Mandy picked up the phone using telekinesis as soon as she could see it and went back. The apartment was still as small as it had been before, but all this new growth made walking through it a challenge that took some time.

When she returned, she saw that August had opened his suitcase (luckily that was fine, perhaps August forgot to take it out from his jacket when he had passed out?). Mandy didn't know how it worked, but only the things he had on him had looked fine, as if frozen in time, only his hair had grown to make him more princessy. There was probably a reason other than being a prince bait to it, but Mandy liked to think it was all a prince trap. (A trap she had fallen into despite not even being a prince)

August was in the middle of drawing an elaborate pattern on a paper sheet he had taken out form the suitcase, so Mandy stopped to watch rather than calling out to him. She only passed him the phone, when he reached out an open palm towards her, asking for it. By then, the drawing was finished.

A seven edged star formed from rune text with multiple circles overlaid. It was a miracle how August could draw that without using a compass or a ruler, but his moves were both practiced and confident enough for Mandy to feel like it might be a practice makes perfect kind of a thing. Had to be this good for highest guild member class, huh? Not that Mandy knew much about it, neither did she know what it would be for, but those things she didn't ask both not to bother him and also because she was looking forward to seeing those effects in person.

August dialed the phone and Mandy eavesdropped while observing the rune drawing first, then the room around them.

"Hey, Gus! What's up?" Asked Tia's voice

"Can you bring me some stuff right now?" August asked.

"Sure! what kind of stuff do you need?" Tia agreed.

"Clothes, shoes, towels, shampoo, cologne, and so on," August said with a dead look in his eyes.

"...uh, did your apartment explode?" Tia asked.

"Not explode, but…" August looked around, seeking for words.

"Are you ok?" Tia asked, worried.

"Kind of. I'll explain later. In other words I need everything, only my craftscase is fine."

"...okay. I'll be there as soon as I can. Your size is still the same right?" Tia asked.

"Yes," August replied.

For a moment there Mandy wanted to ask how would Tia know where to bring stuff, but then she recalled that August's phone was bugged. 'Same size' was also an interesting bit, had Tia bought him clothes before? August also did not mention the brand for shampoo or cologne.

Since the call was finished, Mandy asked. "Is any brand fine?"

"She knows which," came the reply, as August picked up another sheet to draw on.

That made Mandy wonder of how had it come about. She certainly had no idea what brands her brothers preferred and she had a feeling that her brothers had known even less about her own preferences. Yet, if she thought about it - it might not be all that hard to shop in August's place. Even if August dressed well (for outdoors), there was none of his character in the way he dressed - if Mandy had to guess then he might have just walked in any men's attire store and taken whatever was displayed on a mannequin in the full set it was intended to be worn. If the same logic applied to everything then it might really be easy.

Since August had resumed drawing, Mandy figured she would wait for him to finish before asking anything more, but even after his eight sheet he didn't seem to be done, so Mandy got up to explore the apartment. She had spent close to an hour watching him draw, and while it was a beautiful and enchanting sight, one would still get bored eventually, not to mention that the last twenty minutes were just her battling with her urges to snuggle up. It was a pity that all books had turned into trees and that the pad she had used to read lately was as dead as everything else, but at least everything was different and she was bound to have fun with looking around.

The room where August used to write was filled from bottom to top by a huge, richly branched apple tree, the trunk was in the very same place where August's desk used to stand. A part of the branches were blooming, another part, bearing red, luscious wild apples. The floor was covered in roots, moss growing over them in patches and the air was sweet, scenting of both summer and spring at the same time. It seemed, at some parts, that pale light was seeping in the room from the ceiling, through the foliage.

Mandy couldn't help but recall paintings of the garden of Eden - where trees could both bloom and bear fruit regardless of the season. This was a lot like that. Mandy picked up an apple from a low hanging branch and almost teared up at the taste. So sour! Certainly a wild apple. Made for a delicious apple pie, cider, and syrup and they would taste good if they got some frost, but eating them raw like this didn't taste good at all. Yet, Mandy also felt happy about being able to taste things like this, so she finished eating the apple despite its disappointing taste. Mandy did some apple branch climbing just because she could and to look for the light source. Sun had started to set outside the windows, but the light coming from above was like that of a cloudy midday sky. Mandy tapped on the light spot - it was solid, lacked temperature and gave out light and no matter how hard she pressed on it - it didn't crack or give in.

Wait… was this the isolation barrier Grisham spoke about? But when had August set it up? August was behaving oddly ever since he arrived, but he didn't do anything magical. One of those odd things was making holes in all corners and sticking small pebbles into all of them, but Mandy had judged it to be some mysterious construction thing, an area Mandy was totally clueless in, so she didn't think deeply on it, but that might have been it. It was a detail so small otherwise she might not have ever noticed. To think that amazing barrier was formed in a way like that… disappointing, or perhaps it was like that merely to hide it from her back then. Yet, it did make sense to hide something shiny like that inside the walls and ceiling, if nature hadn't torn parts of those off, she might not have noticed.

Coming to a conclusion like that, Mandy jumped down in the moss and continued her exploration.

The bathroom's door had overgrown with plants and moss so thickly that Mandy had to use telekinesis to make it budge. Yet as the door moved, the sound of water falling could be heard. After some considerable effort, the door opened and Mandy could step inside.

It looked like a narrow moss covered cave, ivy and other crawling plants covering up the mirror and other details and in the place where shower and toilet had been, there was now a pure waterfall, going down along the wall and forming a small, clear and shallow pond on the floor. Mandy could see the water slowly seeping away at the places where the toilet and draining hole for shower used to be; bits of broken up ceramic and glass that had formed both the shower and toilet had already turned into pale river pebbles. The waterfall itself was coming down from a place where water pipes used to be, but if one did not observe carefully, this might as well look like a natural formation, being covered by all that moss and greenery. The flickering fog cast tiny lights and there were broad-leaved white pickerels blooming along the edges of the pond.

August's water bill will be enormous for sure… other than that it did not look like water was seeping through the barely visible floor tiles, so the apartment below wasn't flooded. Probably something to do with the barrier.

Mandy stepped into the water expecting a chill but finding out it was lukewarm. Ah-- yes, you would get that if both water pipes broke and their water mixed. A smile settled on her face and Mandy started to splash the water around, she hadn't planned to get wet so her dress was still on, yet so fate had it, that she slipped and ended up taking a shower with her clothes on just to get the plant goo off.

At least, since it was water coming from the pipes, it felt fresh and had a slightly sweet taste with a tint of iron - exactly the same how it had tasted when Mandy had been a student renting this very same apartment. As she closed her eyes under the flowing water, memories of her previous life resurfaced. All the little things she completely neglected to enjoy actually felt so pleasant - the feeling of flowing water on her skin, the sensation of bare feet walking over ground, the feeling of air entering lungs and leaving them, even the sense of tiredness from moving around.

Mandy let out a soft sigh and stepped out from the shallow pond, leaving wet footprints and droplets of water in the moss. Just as she left the bathroom and considered taking off her dress to dry it, she heard the doorbell ring. Ah, Tia… she would have a towel! But right as Mandy reached the door, she remembered another way to become dry - as her form returned to being ghastly, all the water dropped off, soaking into the moss. Her hair returned to its previous neat appearance and her crumpled up dress evened out as well.

For a moment there Mandy feared that half-digested apple bits would fall down too, but that didn't happen. A mystery bit she needed to ask about later.

Now that the moss overgrown bathroom door was open, the sound of falling water could be heard even from the front hall, adding some nature sounds to the previously silent garden.

Mandy opened the door and spotted Tia completely covered in bags like a rich shopaholic after an uncontrollable spree.

"Hey!" Tia greeted with a smile, but as she looked past Mandy her mouth couldn't close at the sight.

"Those look heavy," Mandy said, ignoring that reaction for now.

"Ah, yep," Tia came to herself and got in, letting the bags slip off her shoulders so Mandy could take them with telekinesis. From the way she acted, it was pretty apparent that Tia was used to living with someone who could use the same ability as Mandy.

Tia did not bother with taking off her shoes and walked in. "This wouldn't be--" she started, but seeing as Mandy solidified, following after, she got her answer.

Tia made a wry smile as she looked around, taking a peek at the waterfall in the bathroom in passing, as well as the bloomingly ruined kitchen.

Mandy didn't say a thing just followed after Tia, bags floating after her like a row of ducks. It wasn't heavy with telekinesis, but now that Mandy could sense the weight, she had to wonder how had Tia carried it all up the stairs. And-- something delicious tickled her nose - one of the bags even had pastries!

August was still drawing, now a pile of thirty-something paper strips surrounding him. And that was how Tia and Mandy spotted him.

Pff-- Tia started laughing before they could exchange any greetings, earning a dead look from August.

"G-Good work," Tia managed to say to Mandy, as August started turning red.

Mandy turned away, her cheeks burning up too. That was totally not what a sister should say at seeing your sibling like that… was it? Although, no, she might even say the same thing. It wouldn't be something to direct at a female, but August wasn't one.

"Explains why you couldn't go out," she added with an amused smile after catching her breath a little.

August finished up the drawing on the paper strip, huffed and picked up some of the floating bags, being oddly specific about them - like he knew perfectly well what was in which one, then left through the shrubs towards the bathroom.

Tia noticed Mandy's suspicious gaze. "Ah, it's the fog," she said, also picking out one of the bags - the one with the pastries. "He probably looked around using that."

Mandy recalled the line she read in that book - about the fog being a sensing organ. That would explain it, so she nodded. It was a bit embarrassing that he might have seen her slip in the bathroom, tho.

"Not that I've seen Gus using it before, but it is like that with Cerise," Tia added. "She's the undead dryad living near our parent's home."

Oh, so 'no one has talked to one' line from the book could fly out the window. "They aren't in hiding?" Mandy asked just to check.

"Not particularly," Tia replied. "They come out if they are interested in you. They totally won't come out for paladins or ugly people, however." As she said that Tia opened a box revealing almost the same set of pastries Sarah had gotten when she visited before, this selection also had cream puffs, though.

Mandy could get about paladins, but ugly people? That was a peculiar type of discrimination. She gratefully took a cream puff and sat down on the moss overgrown sofa.

Tia also took a seat, taking a cream puff for herself. "This feels like a picnic," she said with a smile.

"Are other cursed forests like this?" Mandy asked, then bit into the cream puff. Her eyes sparkled over. Delicious~! Especially so after eating that wild apple.

Tia thought about it as she munched on her own puff, then replied: "The innermost parts are kind of similar, but they have animals and astrals making them rowdy. Although there are differences between terrains based on the dryad living in it, so… hmm, this might be a very Gus-dryad space the way it is. He's not good with bugs in particular."

Mandy could believe that. But speaking about cursed forests... "Tia, can I ask you something possibly uncomfortable?" Mandy asked.

Tia's eyes narrowed in faint amusement. "Sure, sure~" She said.

Erk. Was Tia the type who loved nasty gossip by some chance? People ought to be more wary of uncomfortable topics. Perhaps asking Tia was a bad idea. "Uhm, how to not get babies in these places?"

"Oh," all amusement faded. "That's not even uncomfortable to ask. Any book on cursed forests would have that - to get babies you need to stay in the cursed zone for the whole time, if you phase shift even once it would fail even if you are on your eight month with a big belly what have you."

Mandy let out a relieved breath. That was something good to know and it also meant that August was pulling her leg with that line. As long as she goes back to being a ghost often enough she would be under no risk whatsoever!

"Y'know, cursed forests have a bad rep because many undead use this property to kill their unborn children and suck up that lifeforce directly," Tia added.

Mandy's smile cracked.

"There's this particularly nasty astral called the Devouring mother. If a ghost causes her own miscarriages over and over at sixth month or later, she would gain a lot of aether fast and advance into a monster you need at least gold class exorcists to deal with," Tia made spooky hand gestures. "A child eating monster, no less. They sneak into schools or orphanages and slowly charm all the kids, then have them offer their souls to her."

Mandy paled. Ok. Point taken. Phase shift every day. "Are undead generally like that?" She asked, although she had a feeling she knew the answer already.

"Ah, yup," Tia nodded, then finished up her cream puff. "You and mom are exceptions, not the norm."

Mandy felt a resigned smile settle on her lips. "Are undead dryads also…" How to word it? Evil? Dangerous? "Bad?"

"No," Tia replied. "It's the other way around with them, the destructive ones are the exception, normally they are the same as any other dryad. In fact, I can't even tell the difference when meeting them. Undead ones mix in with regular ones and you can only tell when the fog appears or if the dryad casts a dark alignment spell. According to August there isn't even a separate name for undead dryads in spirit tongue, they are all called the same."

Hmm. This almost gave her the feeling that even if that library was huge and even if seeing people had centuries to gather knowledge, there were a lot of blank spots in that knowledge. If dryads actually appeared freely, if they could talk to humans… wait. "Can dryads talk to humans?"

"They talk in spirit tongue, if a human understands then - yeah, they can talk," Tia said.

Oh. Mandy squinted. Those sounds August made - the sound of leaves ruffling, of water flowing - not only Mandy doubted a human could even make sounds like those, to even understand them… okay, yep, that might make things difficult.

"August taught human speech to Cerise, though, so there might be dryads like that too, who knows," Tia added.

Mandy straightened out where she sat. Taught? She couldn't imagine August spending that much time on someone.

"Ah, yeah, doesn't sound like the current him," Tia laughed a bit, but there was a trace of sadness in her voice. "That August died after all."

Lost memories... It was a harsh way to put it, but from the way Tia did word it Mandy could tell that August had lost so many memories that he no longer… "Sorry."

"It's fine, I mean, the only Gus I know is the current one My earliest memories are from after he got uh-- severe amnesia," Tia said.

"How much does he remember?" Mandy asked.

"Now that's an uncomfortable question!" Tia said, but she laughed, then leaned in to talk more quietly. "I have no idea, truth be told, but it's better if you don't ask Sarah or Mom about it. You won't get an answer, just a really painful smile."

Mandy nodded at that.

"I lost all my memories," August said with a sigh, appearing only as he took a scone from the pastry box. He had cleaned up and now wore a white dress shirt with dark pants, his now longer hair was brushed sideways giving him a bit of a cool yet casual barista feeling. (Which fit his personality even less than any other look he had had before)

Tia and Mandy both startled at the appearance, as August had literally popped up out of nowhere.

Eh-- what was happening? Mandy was too confused to say a thing. Could August teleport? Why did he teleport to deliver a shocking message, making her unable to pick which thing to ask about?! Sneaky!

"You are welcome," August added sarcastically as he sat down by his still opened suitcase and bit into his scone.

"Uh, right-- the fog," realization passed Tia's eyes. "He heard everything we spoke about."

Mandy pursed her lips. The fact that August had heard everything was less surprising compared to the teleportation part-- "And he teleported…"

"Nope," August said. "I merely used fae paths to walk here from the bathroom."

Tia nodded at that part. "That part isn't surprising at all, I'm more surprised about being surprised--- no, right, it isn't normal to have a forest inside an apartment." She cast a questioning look at August.

Mandy's eyes formed straight lines. So that's not even surprising… well, August had mentioned he had run from the dragon using fae paths. If that looked like this, then... Not a wonder he could escape. And from the talk with Grisham it seemed like other people also thought it was teleportation, yep, yep, who could blame them?

"I don't know how it happened either," August replied to Tia's look. "I hibernated for a week and woke up to this." He ate up the scone and reached for another one in an uncharacteristic display of hunger for him.

"...A week, huh?" Tia slowly rolled her eyes. "That's exactly how long Sarah has been missing."

August's expression became completely neutral. "What a coincidence," he said.

Tia glanced at Mandy.

Mandy had to avenge the toaster! Tia must not know! "A coincidence indeed," she made an equally neutral expression to August's.

"Ugh - coincidence my ass!" Tia said. "What the heck did you do to her, I can't track her down at all!"

August's expression became very done. "I will return her in three months."

Tia sighed. "...What did she do?" She asked, calming down.

August made a sardonic smile. "Nothing much, just sent Gerald We-- now Garold to spook me a little, y'know, pretend to be out for revenge about some paladins. Then he goes and recognizes me as an undead dryad by my smell and starts grinning like a madmad with his weapon activating. So I tried to kill him with all I had with my weak ass body, so..." He used his palm to point at the surroundings.

"Okay," Tia had a dead look in her eyes. "I will cancel her missions for the next three months."

Urk. Mandy squinted in disbelief-- Sarah… why? Just why? Knowing August's history with paladins… That's beyond spooking, that's at the level of half-killing your sibling, or attempt at causing a heart attack.

"Thank you, that's very considerate," August said, his fake smile fading as he took another scone.

"I'd really like to ask her how the heck did that happen, but-- okay, three months it is," Tia nodded to herself. "We can celebrate your birthdays after that."

August sat up straighter, then tilted his head in thought. Then let out a long sigh. "How stupid."

"What is?" Mandy asked, August seemed to have realized something.

"With this timing, all that mess was probably to get me to go to the party location in some way or form. She pulled something a lot milder last year around this time," August said.

Mandy's eyes and mouth resumed forming straight lines. Stupid indeed. To half-kill your brother to try to get him to go to a birthday party…

Tia's expression matched up Mandy's for a bit, but then she let out a breath and took another pastry. "So-- you say you lost all your memories?" She switched back to the topic Mandy was also burning to know.

"Yes, the only thing I remembered was what I had written. I inferred pretty much everything from there. And before you make me into a tragic protagonist of sorts - I have no issue with that. In fact, that's the part I'm happy with."

Oh, well, that was a bit anticlimactic. The tragic heroine needs to anguish about that part. Mandy pursed her lips, feeling silly for doing exactly what August said not to. But - "Why would you be happy with that?" she had to ask.

August made a slightly despairing smile. "The me from back then had a crush on Cerise. If you meet her, you'll know that it's a blessing to forget all that and lose those feelings."

"Ah, yeah, Cerise is dumb like a brick," Tia made an expression of full understanding. "Do mom and Sarah know that?"

"They avoid the topic like the plague with that weirdly considerate smile," August shivered, looking a bit creeped out.

Ah, an embarrassing first love, huh? Mandy made an understanding look, her own first love had also been-- well, yep, it's good that it ended before it could even begin. Who knows by what logic puppy love forms, but it sure disregards logic or even preferences you develop later on. But… hmm, perhaps August had been really happy together with Cerise and that's why Sarah and his mom made those expressions?

Not that Mandy could find that out, or perhaps she could ask his dad? Not that it mattered much since even August himself had no memory of it whatsoever. This seemed like a good chance to ask something else that was bugging her. "If you are fine with that part, which part makes you refer to yourself as 'that thing'?" Tia had said that undead dryads were only considered to be threats, but were not that bad actually.

August squinted. "This weak ass body, weird inhuman smell, the fact that I need to hide what I am, astrals clinging on me whenever I neglect presence manipulation and lookie here," August took out a scalpel from his bag to cut off a strand of his hair. As his hair fell, it turned into cherry blossoms and the hair grew back almost instantly. "Now I'm even stuck with this hair length." He looked done.

"Hmm, I like your hair and scent, tho," Mandy said with a small smile. Well, Sarah had also said August was weak and he had said he couldn't use healing potions or the like and considering August had multiple dustbuns in his body which prevented him from doing what he wanted, Mandy could infer that regeneration magic was also a no-go for him.

Needing to hide what you are might be the biggest bummer, though, recalling what Grisham had said it was pretty clear that August failed at it miserably and possibly without even realizing. Some other things August had said also implied that August did not realize a lot of these things himself, after all, if you were odd just by existing how could you have the same common sense as other people? Not to mention August had no memory whatsoever of the time when things like common sense formed.

The thing with astrals clinging on him was something Mandy didn't know about, though. Chilli had called August beautiful, perhaps astrals clung to him because they felt that way? Tia had also said dryads avoid ugly people, perhaps that was a thing? But-- the important question was - did astral beauty standards overlap with human ones? Perhaps it was something akin to the beauty of the soul kind of thing?

August returned to drawing runes on paper, but his ears were red and he looked both a tad happy and embarrassed about hearing what Mandy had said.

Mandy also averted her eyes for a bit, otherwise, she felt like she might be tempted, her eyes fell on Tia who had grown oddly silent.

Tia had an enlightened expression like an old sage watching fresh spring leaves. "I'm happy for you," she said, when Mandy's eyes met hers.

Mandy weakly punched Tia's shoulder. This certainly explained August's troubled expression about needing to call her for help. Tia would tease the hell out of them--

"Since you are so happy, how about you take these and set them up over the windows," August said, holding out a stack towards Tia.

"Sure," Tia replied, switching gears, and took the stack, looking over it.

August returned to drawing, after taking another pastry, and Mandy got up as well to follow after Tia. It was time to find out what these charms did!