Journal of a Rose

Hyrule

[A few days of entries pass, landing on this one marked by another gold star sticker. A triangle with four smaller triangles drawn in it has been scribbled over the center of the gold star. A side note reads: Ask Igneel about cockpit block - restock on bandaids]

Weird morning so far, not like every morning here is normal or anything... I dunno, something just felt unnecessarily heavy in the air as if someone died... again. It's probably the lack of Wayrren being present, and the fact that it's the beginning of a new mission without him. Though I will admit everyone seemed oddly energized and ready to go, so it's a fair trade in an odd way. Terribly odd... Guess I'm not used to this yet.

...

Anyway, first thing this morning was a great time to commit to some pre-mission self care. Seers' knows I never really do that by any stretch of the definition, even on a good day... I even made pancakes for myself and Penna, which they were helpful in getting the ingredients for despite not knowing the recipe to pancakes. That was... partially my fault for not telling them beforehand. Whoops- They were delicious otherwise! Some I saved as extra snacks for the trip in case I skipped dinner or something, and boy did those come in handy!

...

The trip wasn't anything to sneeze at. We entered orbit, Igneel crashed the ship, y'know the usual. We ended up standing around waiting for our contact for a while, but they never showed up. And we made no plans to move on either. Instead, I sat and watched everyone mess around with the magic stuff our new disguises gave us and not much else. Exciting, right? I was tempted to try and figure out how to fly myself with my weird wing arms, but my better judgement said otherwise. My fear of heights would have made it much worse anyway, so I think it was a wise decision. Can't risk getting caught in one way or another, amiright?

...

I did get to watch Katsuo crash face first into a tree trying to ride his lance as a... broomstick? I think? Funniest shit I ever saw, really, though I was too busy trying to climb a tree to see it in full. Mostly for scouting reasons. Got a good vantage point, maybe saw ahead... That forest was pretty for one attached to a war zone, I will not lie.

...

I've realized that sometimes I forget I have a whole team I'm working with here, that I'm not alone like I was back in the Hills of Progress. I've got people I can talk to and help with some weird activities even when we're preparing to protect a warring world. Yet, here I am sitting alone in a corner of a cave while the rest of the party is sleeping in a fort they built together. I dunno why, really. Maybe I still feel unworthy... Yeah, that's gotta be it. Unworthy, as per usual... [A space here has a little drip of an ink stain.]

...

Oh, right. Why am I in a cave? Well, we had a nice temporary camp set up where we were waiting for our contact, but had to move when some Heartless came to haunt us. Seven of us got snagged from the ranks to help devise a plan, which I should feel lucky to take part in, but don't at the same time. Do you know how sad it is to be young and know more about war than love? Very sad. So sad that it made me hyper aware of how ready I was to die for these morons. It's surprising, somehow.

...

Anyway, we did some funky formation stuff, carved our way to a cave not terribly far away, and made camp here for the night. I had a nice conversation with a fellow teammate about home and food then watched her kick ass. I admire her energy, to be honest... Anyway, while a few of the team left to go pick up supplies from the ship, I watched as Mavis punted a skeleton Heartless's head out the cave entrance! And then got bonked in the head by what remained of the skeleton. I was supposed to catch it, but did not. [A sad face getting bonked by a bone is doodled here.] It was fun either way! Can't help but feel like it was a warning though. Here's to hoping I don't wake up buried alive in a shallow grave surrounded by dancing skeletons.