Stranded [ 13 ] [A-2]

	It appeared that you fell asleep alongside her. Her face was buried within the warm space of your chest when you finally roused from that sudden lapse into slumber. One of her horns was dangerously close to your neck, the point sharp and, well, pointy. This entire morning had been an odd set of occurrences leading to this. And this, for whatever reason, sparked another fragment of something from before.
	Though it was just the sight of this woman, but in this exact position, that came to mind. The surroundings were blurred, but you could clearly remember her face and the feeling of her small form shifting against you with each slight breath that she took.
Loka stared at you from across the room with an expression of what looked like... envy. The feeling of sorrow was present behind the facade, a seemingly endless well of something broken and left behind. She had mentioned before that someone left her alone in this world. A person had actually been there for her, until... well, they weren't.
	"You're finally awake?" she inquired, eyes flashing with little more than disinterest.
	"Yeah. How the hell did I end up asleep again?" you wondered out loud after answering her.
	Jennette groaned and turned about in your lap at the sound of your voice. If you planned on waking her, talking like that was the way to go about it.
	"When Jennette curled up with you, you were just out like a light," Loka replied. "You really do seem like you're real at ease with her by your side. Are you sure you don't remember her face or anythin'?"
	You did, actually. "I, uh... I do remember her. It's just a bit cloudy."
	You couldn't tell if Loka was just burning with more envy at this, or if the slight changes in her expression were due to relief. They were completely different emotions, but somehow you just couldn't tell them apart. The sigh that she let out allowed you to infer that it was indeed relief. She was likely just happy to know that you were alright, and that Jennette might come out of this without being affected too harshly by the accident. With what you saw, you knew you would definitely be relieved at her doing well and not continuing to blame herself for all that had occurred.
	If your memories did completely return though, what would that do to you? Your odd past that no one seemed to want to talk about, that everyone avoided mentioning for some reason or purpose unknown to you. You knew from speaking with Diana that you used to be an assassin or something of the sort, but the rest was unclear. You had no idea what lay behind the broken pieces of your mind that the accident had created.
	"I want you to come take a walk with me," Loka said, much to your surprise. You didn't believe that she was up to anything, though that ever-present mischievous grin that she always wore said otherwise. Eventually, you would get used to that.
	You had no idea how you were going to go about getting up from the couch without completely waking Jennette. After a few moments, you managed to gently lift her, pull your legs out from underneath her body, and lay her head down on one of the pillows that sat nearby. Luckily for you, she was still asleep.
	"Good job," Loka said quietly. "Let's get goin'."
	The two of you set off, heading through the door and out into the surrounding forest.

	If she was planning on killing you, now would be the time to do it.

	The morning was beautiful, and you didn't let the uneasy feeling that was currently hanging around in the back of your mind taint the experience. The way the sunlight filtered through the leaves that clung to life on the trees, and the reflection and refraction of light from the slight layer of ice that coated everything, it all looked stunning.
	"So," Loka began, "Your memory's coming back. I can tell by the look in your eyes that you've been worryin' about this for a long while."
	"Yeah," was the only reply you gave. After a pause, you added, "There's not much. Just... I think I can recall something my mother said to me a while ago. And then, Jennette's face, and she was in the same position as she was this morning." Bringing this to light caused your voice to crack in a barely noticeable manner for some reason you couldn't quite understand.
	"Okay, okay..." Loka said, "I think I kinda get it."
	You stepped over a large root that extended out in front of you, and continued walking down the trail with Loka by your side. At this rate, her presence was almost reassuring, actually.
	"I've a question for you though," she said. "What's your plan with 'er? Are you actually goin' to end up together like you were before? I dunno how it'd turn out if you broke it off though, if that's your plan."
	You had no idea. Your mind was a jumble of emotions, few conflicting, most actually pointing in the same direction. Though each decision you made hurt like jagged glass. It was for the best, though. You weren't going to reopen those wounds for Jennette to agonize over.
	At this moment, you realized that you had made up your mind from the start.
	"I know," Loka said, answering her own question through your prolonged silence. "It's hard. It's really, really hard. Some things just can't be forgotten, but you'll have to make do with everything that you've left behind." She got a little closer to you as the both of you walked through the forest. Leaves, soil, and ice crunched beneath your feet with each step, slightly driving your mind away from the topic at hand. "It's all for the better, I guess. I mean, you don't really have anythin' between the two of you now, and that'll make everything easier when we've got to go home." She looked down with a dejected smile. "You know, if we get the chance to go home."
	"You're right," you said, agreeing with her statement. The fact that you had no real attachment to either of them would only serve you in the long run. The only issue was keeping Jennette at arm's length now. You could only imagine the pain it would cause her. Just thinking about it made you almost sick to your stomach.
	Fuck.
	"I just-I don't know what to do."
	To your surprise, you felt an arm around your back.
	"You think I got here by plannin' like that? Nope." she said while almost on the verge of what seemed like laughter. "You'll be fine. Just be nice to her while you can and I'm sure things'll turn out alright for the both of you." There was the slightest bit of doubt in her voice though, and that made you consider her words in a completely different way.
	You sighed and nodded in agreement. You could only hope that everything would be fine. There were a few questions you wanted to ask Loka while you had the opportunity, so you went ahead and asked, if only for the purpose of driving the conversation and your own thoughts away from the future.
	"What was he like?" you asked her.
	"Who?"
	"The human you knew before."
	She gazed up at the sky with a thoughtful look in her eyes. "He was just a normal guy. Nothin' much about him that stood out, unlike yourself. Jennette's told me a lot about you... anyways, back to what you asked. He was a good bit kinder than most I probably could have met in this place, you know? Kinda quiet guy too. A bit like you, minus the bunch of problems you've got. And, he was real gentle about everything when it came to me."
	That last bit made for an odd choice in wording, you thought. A few explanations popped into your mind, reasons behind it all as they always came up. It really seemed like you were sometimes analytical to a fault when it came to interacting with people.
	"How did you guys get separated?" you inquired. You already knew that the man she was with just left at some point, but maybe there was more to the story than you'd first heard.
	She shrugged in reply. "I can't really go about explainin' that without tellin' you about what we'd planned before. I'd told him about needin' to go home and all, and the crazy bastard actually went about settin' up this complicated plan. Jennette's explained to you about how we use doors to get around, yeah?"
	"I don't think I recall. She might have before-"
	"Well, if you don't remember, then I'll give you a quick explanation. So, you've got our world and yours, and doors are used to travel between the two. That's the gist of it. The problem is that only some doors are actually linked, which means that it got real difficult trying to figure out where a linked door was. By 'some doors', I mean there aren't very many, by the way."
	"Gotcha. So, did you find one?"
	"That was the problem. And that's also where the guy's plan came in. He had me set up cameras in a bunch of places to keep an eye out for doors that were bein' used by other monsters. It was a good idea and all, but somethin' went wrong."
	There was a pause as she regained her composure. "He just went out for work one day, because, you know, the man still had a job... but he didn't come back. I waited for a while, a few days, even. He just didn't come back. Plan was out the window after that."
	Of course that would make her feel somewhat jilted. It made some sort of sense, at least.
	"I'm sorry," was the only thing that came to your mind as an answer.
	"You didn't do anythin' to mess it up. Don't be sorry," she said, shaking her head. "Just be there when it matters. Like, you know, when we figure out how we're going to get home."
	"I won't leave you," you reassured her.
	You were going to make this happen. Then, you would attempt to put your own life back together.
	You just hoped that it would all work out for the better.