The sun set as the air around became cooler and cooler; the city too became calmer and more tranquil. There was a reason why Nine had picked the later darkening hours for this…outing of hers. Strawberry was a very different city at night, particularly the finer areas surrounding that restricted center—prettier and well-looking, but also safe for ladies to stroll during these darkened hours.

  However, despite the changing tone of this city, Nine was…not quite sure what to do. While she had planned ahead for everything leading to this moment, she had not necessarily…planned for what to do after. Indeed, even though there was noise and voices about, between her and her there was silence.

  Feeling slightly…anxious, Nine began to whistle and hum ever-so gently, periodically glancing behind at that alien girl who so followed behind… Nilia, her affect always so uniform and static.

  Compared to anyone else Nine had ever interacted with, Nilia seemed to be the most challenging to get any figure for. Not only did she not…exactly follow conventional principles and norms regarding socialization and ‘friend-making’, to put it suchly, her demeanor and general behavior tended to be so…flatly expressionless and consistently neutral. Even when her full face was exposed and not half-obscured, she was quite difficult to read—although, such was not to say impossible.

  “So, is there a place in particular that it is we are going?” Nilia was the one who broke the silence. Although her speech had improved since the beginning of this long-long year, her syntax was still…sometimes a little silly.

  “Uhm…” Nine struggled to reply, for, well, she had no reply. She became slightly nervous and awkward… “Duhm, we are…” Quickly, her eyes began to look around… Crap, everything around was highly fancy and cultured.

  Granted, maker had provided her with the coin as part of his favor—she did not tell him for what, and he had not asked why. She still had plenty left, so that was not necessarily the issue… No, it was simply the fact that…Nine was dressed in a quite casual commoner fashion; while her new outfit was comfortable and stylish, it was nevertheless hardly appropriate for the occasion.

  And such was even more the case for that alien behind her. Not only was Nilia’s attire regionally out-of-place, it had wrinkles, her strange boots mismatched with rest of her outfit, and never mind her hair was… Well, it was Nilia’s hair—charming in its own…cute way, but certainly not fashioned appropriately for anything fancy—or…fashioned at all, really.

  Indeed, both—though more particularly one—would stick out too much to those more cultured folks who would certainly glare at them, and Nine did not necessarily want to stick out any more than necessary.

  “You are…taking long to answer.” Nilia remarked.

  Nine jerked as if having been struck; “Yeah…” she sighed… “I am still…” She wanted to find a more casual and appropriate place.

  “Hm. Well, it is fine if we are not going anywhere.” Nilia, however, plainly stated; “I agreed to walk, at any the event.”

  “Rightly, you did…” Wait, so…did Nilia just want to keep walking and not stop anywhere… Is that what she was implying? Or…maybe she was signaling that…she was content with the present situation or…

  Nine gently waggled her head as she looked to the way ahead, exhaling a settling breath. She was overthinking, clearly, for Nilia obviously was indifferent either way… Although, if it was one thing Nine had learned from everything so far, it was that…even though Nilia might appear indifferent, such did not mean she was actually indifferent.

  Indeed, Nilia was not empty or emotionless, Nine had already concluded; the best description for her would be…very restricted and self-contained.

  Nilia remained silent and…expressively unreadable as this walking continued, Nine remaining…awkward and nervous though she tried to hide it. She periodically glanced at Nilia, seeing that she was occasionally staring at things with fixed attention, as if her head had become locked onto such or something… Maybe she was spacing out or maybe she was lost in her thoughts—hard to tell.

  She knew she ought to talk… However, she did not know how to even…begin a casual discourse with someone like Nilia… Ironic, considering Nine was usually proficient enough at starting small conversations and just…getting to know someone. However, Nilia was hardly an ordinary girl, let alone person; the typical initiators and starter discourse simply would not apply.

  Thus, this aimless and silent walking persisted onwards, Nine at least feeling warm despite the growing cold. It was not long before the night had risen fully, twilight fading. The streets around were thus filled with calmer souls using the night to spend time with their…others of significance.

  “Mmh…” Nine eyed those other souls who held hands and kissed and… Well, were perhaps being too openly suggestive. Jealousy or envy, hard to tell which she was feeling… Although, “Wait…” She recognized this street, this area, Nine realized. This was where she had… Well, such was irrelevant now. Regardless, “Oh, I know where to go!” Indeed, with sudden energy Nine bravely grabbed Nilia’s hand and began to move with haste.

  “Uhm. Where might you be taking me, Novie?” Nilia was probably confused as she kept pace.

  Making way down a street followed by a thin alley, they quickly entered a small plaza square; one with fancy tiles and four decorative trees planted in the corners, surrounded by lightless closed buildings. Right at the center, however, was a large elegant fountain, the water of which was always so pristine and clear. Nine liked this fountain the moment she first discovered it; something about it was just…calm and relaxing, especially at night when this plaza was fairly unoccupied.

  “Here we are…” She was panting slightly as she arrived at this fountain, though by no means out of breath.

  “Uhm, thus…” Nilia just stared… “This is…what you wanted to show me? This…water thing—‘fountain’, rightly…”

  Nine could not help but giggle; “I would’ve thought you would know a basic word like that to heart by now…” She smiled, amused.

  “Hm.” Nilia slightly looked away, as if she was maybe experiencing something more within. “Anyway,” yet her gaze returned, “is it necessary for you to continue…gripping my hand suchly?”

  “Huh?” Nine froze, confused before realizing… Right… She was still…holding Nilia’s hand. Immediately, a hot blush burned her face. “Rightly… Ahem—Sorry!” She swiftly let go, flustered quite; “Hand is…soft…very soft, you have a soft…hand… Pleasant to hold…” She ahemed… Why did she say that?

  “Hm… I suppose that is so.” Yet Nilia simply stared at that same hand as if…she were now contemplating it or something… Who knew. She looked silly either way.

  Aheming again, Nine approached the fountain’s rounded edges, relaxing herself against it with a forward lean and downward hunch, her arms dangling right above the glimmery water; she made sure not to…stick her hands into that so very clear and pristine water, even if it was so very tempting. The quietness around was very soothing in kind… It was as if in this calm spot, there were no worries in the world to be found or had…

  “This is just a nice little spot is all…” Nine began to remark, “at least at night since all the businesses are closed and nobody’s around… So…” She turned and glanced at Nilia, smiling a little… “We can, you know, talk and whatnot…a little more freely…”

  Nilia stood there, not necessarily looking at that fountain. “I see…” she just replied, her tone hard to read. “Well, thus, talk away. I do not care.” Care…as in, care to talk or…care about this moment or…care about…what Nine had to say or…

  Truly, it was hard to gauge anything from that flat tone. “Uhm…” Nine’s gaze returned to the fountain’s water… She was kind of hoping Nilia would take some initiative since…she herself had no idea how to spend this moment… What to talk about and such… Of course, it was completely predicable that Nilia was deferring to her.

  As Nine contemplated what to say and…what to do further, she saw in the pristinely clear water’s reflection…the night sky up high, the moon’s light not as bright as it could be—and, indeed, the moon could be very bright, sometimes to the point where to stare at it would annoy the eyes. But such was not the case this night.

  All those stars up high, Nine could see. She could not help but flip her posture, sitting down with her back against the fountain, and just stare at the night sky… Truly, the heavens above were so very pretty and…always indescribable. Most people could not help but become captivated by it. Although, there was a notable exception…

  Indeed, Nine’s eyes shifted their glance to she who remained silently standing. Nilia was facing directly left and away from the fountain, her masquerade-hidden attention more downfaced than straight. This was something she had noticed before… During the day, Nilia’s gaze was usually normal: straight and forward. During the night, however, it tended to be like this… Lower and evasive, always more downwards than properly forwards, as if her eyes were avoiding the sky.

  “Hmm…” Contemplating, Nine relooked at the fountain, seeing the moon and night sky in the water’s reflection, before relooking at Nilia… “You know, you always seem to keep your head down at night…” she decided to say; “Never looking up at the sky… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you gaze at the stars, honestly…”

  There was no immediate reply; Nilia remained silent and stiff, as if she were contemplating perhaps… Reflecting, maybe. It was an eerie quiet. “There is nothing to be seen in that endless abyss.” she just stated, statically.

  “…” Nine just…looked at her… Well, that was…a reply, alright. For whatever reason, it gave her cold-bumps. “Alrightly… So… You…don’t like the stars, then?” Indeed, how else could she interpret that?

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  Nilia was slow to reply… “I suppose that I do not.” She supposed? What was that supposed to mean? Her tone was neutral, but it was like she was uncertain of her own…disliking? Or…

  Truly, it was hard to know.

  “Well… Why?” Nevertheless, Nine wanted to know; “Why is that?”

  Yet Nilia was again quite slow to reply; she just stood there, silent… “Do you like the stars?” she, however, counter-asked.

  Evading, huh? Fine… Nine will bite. At least they were talking about something now. “I mean, who doesn’t?” She stood up and gazed at the night sky, those twinkling stars and that astral sea of cosmic dust… “It is unlike any other sight… The stars, the moon, the great bands of heavenly cloud and light… It’s almost overwhelming. It’s a real shame that we can’t always see it, being hidden by day.” she mellowly remarked, before turning her eyes to Nilia…

  In a way, such words could apply to that always masked face. Nilia was a pretty-looker, Nine felt, yet such was always half hidden. She wished she could see the whole thing—the face, that was… Just the face…

  Flustered by her own thoughts, “Ahem—Anyway…” She promptly relooked at the night sky, scanning it in greater detail as she began to stroll a little, hoping to identify… “Aha!” And, indeed, she found; “Look! Look! Just high above the horizon!” Excited, she so pointed and pointed. “A wandering star!”

  There was an almost grumble from Nilia as she…actually looked up and eyed what Nine was eagerly pointing towards. “…you wanted me to look at this sky…for that?”

  “Well, yeah, because…because…” Nine, looking at her, struggled to articulate, recognizing that Nilia did not seem nearly as thrilled as she herself; “It’s not a normal star… It’s, it’s a wandering star!” Indeed, larger and more pronounced than any ordinary star and lacking a distinct twinkle, it was quite bright with a distinct reddish shine; “See, unlike…normal stars, wandering stars, they…are brighter and change position over the years rather than…remain in fixed place…and… Yeah! They wander!”

  “Yes. That is…what that is.” Nilia merely said, swiftly retracting her gaze.

  Yet Nine’s eyes flung right back up at that wandering star; “And that one is the Red Wanderer, obviously… Because, you know, it’s…noticeably red…” She ahemed; “Anyway, the Red Wanderer is what we call that one; it’s usually a morning or evening star, but…since it’s early into the night, it’s…still visible, but…you know, since the world is spinning, it won’t…stay visible…” She, again, ahemed… “But you…probably already know all of this…” Her mouth was moving faster than her head, it seemed.

  “…uhuh.” Nilia stared at her, she could glimpse.

  “Anyway…” Nine, acting unphased, retained her sight upon that red wandering star; “The Red Wanderer is where some say Demons hail from, but I don’t really believe that… It might be the largest of the wanderers, but it surely can’t be an entire world! It’s so small!”

  ? Huih? ? Yet Nilia’s head tilted slightly… Such was usually an indication of confusion, contemplation, curiosity, or…something in that direction. “You think that this…‘Red Wanderer’ is the largest?”

  “I mean…” Nine…glanced at Nilia, a little caught off guard… “Yeah? It’s often the biggest and brightest in the sky…compared to the others, so therefore it is…the largest? But, I mean, the moon is the biggest puff-ball, so…”

  Nilia just silently stared, blankly…

  Nine could not help but feel like she was being judged, frankly…

  “Tell me: which is bigger, the sun or the moon?” Nilia abruptly asked.

  That was a rather silly question. “Well…” Yet it was oddly difficult to answer, because... “I mean, they are around the same-ish size, rightly? But since the moon goes around us elliptically, sometimes it is closer and can be…quite bigger than the sun—that’s also when the tides can get a little crazier…”

  Nilia continued to just stare into her, as if only judging more… Though, it was impossible to know what was happening inside that shrouded head of hers. Nine nevertheless began to feel nervous…from this stare… “Distance.” Nilia so plainly stated. “You answered so yourself. Things that are closer look bigger than things that are farther; this is thus for both below and above. The sun is bigger than the moon, but the moon is closest, so they look to be the same size.”

  Nine nodded her head lightly… “Rightly… Yeah…” She thought about it… “Yeah… That… That makes…a lot of sense, actually… Kinda obvious, yeah…” She felt terribly stupid now… “The sun is bigger than the moon but farther away… Obviously…” Indeed, that obviously had to be the case, since if the sun and the moon were the same size and therefore the same distance, then they would surely smash into each other.

  “Much bigger.” Nilia stressed the ‘much’. “Conversely,” she continued, “this ‘Red Wanderer’ is also bigger than the moon, but it is farther away that it appears to be smaller. It is also not the largest of these ‘wandering stars’; it is simply the closest to this place…relatively.”

  Nine’s head continue to nod along as if being continuously smacked around… Truly, she felt even more stupid now… She hated that feeling… “Wow… For someone who claims she hates the stars, you seem to know an awful lot about them…” She sighed, unable to feel jealous or competitive since…she was talking to Nilia; she was quite relaxed, if anything.

  “Hm… I suppose that I do.” Nilia just replied, her attention averting down a little… Was she reflecting, maybe? Who knew. “I thought that this would be the ‘common knowledge’ for you.”

  Nine giggled at this; “Yeah, one would think so…” she so remarked, “I was honestly just…repeating what I’ve heard repeated over and over by others… Never really thought about it.” Her eyes returned up to the heavens above, eyeing and seeing… “Hmm… Well,” she relooked at Nilia, that apparent ‘expert’ of the stars here, “if the Red Wanderer is not the biggest, then…which one is? If you can spot it…”

  Nilia stared, before sighing… “Fine.” She seemed almost annoyed, yet…hopefully she was not. She nevertheless relooked at the stars up high and quickly pointed, more above and away from the horizon; “That.”

  “…which? Where?” Nine, however, struggled to identify what exactly Nilia was pointing towards in the rather…expansive sky.

  Nilia stretched her arm higher, “That one.” Her pointing finger was eager to withdraw, it almost seemed. It was as if she were struggling to tolerate this prolonged gaze at the stars.

  Yet Nine continued to struggle… “Oh!!” However, she finally spotted; “Not one, but two! The Twin Wanderers! How did I miss them??” Indeed, not a single wandering star, but rather a pair of two—one lesser and one major—that were in relative proximity to each other. “So, two actually… But we call them ‘twins’ because…they are always found together no matter what or when… Sometimes the lesser twin can be at a different spot, but it is always found somehwere around the major…” Her eyes relooked at Nilia; “So… I imagine…you’re saying that…the major twin is the…biggest wandering star?”

  “Yes. It is the largest…and heaviest.” Nilia, own eyes having already withdrawn from the sky, replied.

  “Ah! That is…interesting!” Indeed, Nine did find this interesting…even if she felt outclassed. “Makes sense, I guess… The major twin can be…fairly pronounced. Though, it must be very far away since it always seems smaller and…less bright than the Red Wanderer, despite being the biggest…” Her eyes returned to those two wandering stars, wondering… “Hmm… So, the Twin Wanderers are two wandering stars, but…” She relooked at Nilia… “So, is it…a coincidence that they always seem together? Like, the lesser twin is smaller, so…it must be even farther away, rightly? Does it happen to be wandering at the same…speed and direction as the major, making it look like…they are around same spot of each other? Or…?

  “Uhm…” Nilia was judging her again, wasn’t she? “No… If one was farther, then it would be…slower, to say it this way. They would not always appear to be near together; there would be…variation in their positions.”

  “Uhuh…” Nine slowly nodded her head, not really understanding how farther equaled slower, but she wanted to follow Nilia’s flow. “So, then… Why are the twins always found together?”

  Nilia did not immediately reply… She was thinking, maybe? Trying to find the words? “Both are…bigger than this world,” she began to say, “but the ‘lesser’, as you call it, of the two is… It is…like the moon of this world; it…goes around the…primary one, but it is distant enough that…both are seeable from here as two separate things rather than as…one, if that has sense…”

  “Uhuh…” Nine was listening, though tilted her head slightly… “Wait, so… You’re saying that the lesser is…‘like the moon’ to the major?” She thought about this… “That… Doesn’t really make sense, though? The moon and the wanderers are…all kind of the same thing?”

  “…what do you mean?” Nilia was glaring at her; she could feel the cold pierce…

  “I mean…” Nine felt a little timid… “How can a wandering star have…a wandering star? How can the lesser be a wanderer to the major when…both are wanderers to us?” she nevertheless stated; “The sun, the moon, the wandering stars… The world is the anchor; that’s why they all…go around us? So… If both are anchored to us, then how could… Since both…go around us, so wouldn’t it just… Just…” Her head was starting to hurt from this…

  ? … ? Utterly silent, Nilia stared what felt like the longest and most piercing of her blank glares, Nine feeling as though she was no longer merely being judged… “Thus… You say that…these wandering stars, your moon, and…your sun—the sun—goes…around your world?”

  Nine felt even more timid… “Y…yes…” she nervously answered.

  “Hmkh.” What… What was that noise? Was… Was that some kind of…weird half-muted…mostly suppressed…hiccupy snicker? Wait, had…Nilia nearly just expunged a…titter??

  Nine did not quite know how to react to this, frankly… To see Nilia, of all people, even vaguely show any such… “W-why… Why are you…l-looking at me…like that…” Indeed, she felt awfully flustered and blushy… It was almost like Nilia was actually amused or something…

  “Well…” Nilia began to speak, her tone indeed seeming…weirdly different yet in a way subtle, her lips seeming awkward…as if struggling to remain flatly neutral or something; “That is…not how…that works.” She softly shook her head in no. “The sun,” she explained, her finger circling around her other hand’s closed knuckle, “this world and these…wandering stars, they go around your sun. But the moon goes around this world, and for the same reason the world goes around the sun—bounded by…attraction, we can say.”

  “Huh?” Nine felt oddly bewildered, even though… “Rightly… I remember…hearing something like that before, I guess… But that…can’t be true, surely? It makes little sense…” Indeed, it seemed almost counter-intuitive… “I mean, our world was created by the Divine to their likeness… Why would they make sun the anchor? The sun is, you know, the sun… It’s nothing special like their ultimate creation, this whole world and all the beings herein…”

  Nilia just stared, that instance of weird difference having faded; again so enigmatic and difficult to read. “Well. That is the reality.” she merely stated, before looking away and off… Was she thinking? Contemplating? It was hard to know, but she proceeded to stop talking.

  Nine could not help but…feel bad. “Hey, listen…” she sighed, “I wasn’t trying to say you’re wrong or anything, it’s just…” She paused, a little timid and awkward… “Look, I get it… You’re a weirdo alien… The Far West and…many other lands, they know more than we do about things like the stars…” Her eyes drifted downwards… “Or maybe it is just me… I don’t really know a lot, even though I…do know a lot, just about worldly things, not…really anything beyond.”

  “Perhaps that is for the better.” Nilia, however, remarked. “To be ignorant…”

  Nine, again, was somewhat bemused… “W…why would that be better?”

  “Because,” Nilia looked into her so plainly and blunt, “you like the stars.”

  Well… That was…oddly ominous. “Uhuh…” Nine did not know how to interpret that, frankly…

  “Let us walk, shall we?” Yet Nilia abruptly said, suddenly taking the initiative.

  “Wait… You want to keep walking?” Nine was, indeed, caught by surprise.

  “Yes. It is fine. But…” There was a pause in her speech… “No more talk of the stars.”

  Nine averted away, feeling bad again… Maybe she had gone too far with that talk… Granted, it was hard to know what Nilia did and did not want to hear. Yet, deep breath in and out, she cheered. “Sure! Yeah… That’s fine! No more stars…” Smiling, she began to thus walk. “Let’s just…enjoy the time, I guess…”

  “Following you.” And Nilia thus followed along, her thoughts and feelings ever-shrouded… Though, at least she did not express any desire to head back or stop, which implied that she was at least not disliking this moment, this walk…

  That was good enough for Nine, frankly… For although the two would ultimately not do anything beyond wandering, walking, and occasionally talking, this was nevertheless such an…appreciated change of pace. A moment in time to savor in memory, for who knew in what ways things could change.