Today had been ... a rollercoaster, to put it lightly. Sharon, or Mrs. Hart as Agatha was adamant on calling her, had died, and a rather intimidating green witch named Rio had been summoned in her place. Having had little time to acclimate to the new group member, The Road presented you all with the next trial. Alice’s.

The trial entailed having to sing the most famous version of the Ballad, sung by Lorna Wu. Teen was on guitar, Jen on bass, Agatha did the vocals, Alice played the piano, — quite impressively, you thought — and you and Lilia did percussion. You all sang backup vocals as well, although you didn’t think you were very good at it.

Now, with the stressful trial over, you and everyone except for Agatha sat around a small fire while you talked amongst yourselves. Topics changed from backstory to backstory, and eventually you all broke off into your own side conversations with each other, having ran out of things to converse about with the rest of the group. Lilia and Jen were engaged in some conversation about vampires, and Rio seemed enamored by a leaf on the ground, off in her own world which you were not keen on trying to interrupt.

You were sat on the ground next to the rock Alice was sat on. She was quiet, her knees tucked up to her chest and her arms snug around them. She seemed content enough on her own, her hands fidgeting with each other, so you thought it in both of your best interests to leave her to her own devices. You could use some alone time after everything that had happened, anyway.

As you were about to zone off into your own world, Alice’s voice cut through the silence in the tiny bubble the two of you were in. It surprised you somewhat, given that the two of you hadn’t talked much since meeting, but it was a welcomed change. She seemed more comfortable and open now since the trial had ended.

“You sounded good back there. When you were singing, I could hear you.” She complimented you, her voice holding a subtle confidence and strength to it despite her regular demeanor.