📚Amanecer

Rosetta decides to check in on a close friend.

For Coelune August prompt; Vacation (at least i think thats what the prompt was?)

Characters: Rosetta & Dina, Abzu/Tiamat

Warnings: Brief not so vague allusion to drugs (specifically drug manufacturing)

Wordcount: 3,555

Vibe: GIRLS NIGHT (it is actually the middle of hte afternoon)

AN:

i couldnt figure out a touhou theme to use for the title so i picked a moro song instead. sorry. its close enough right (be happy i didnt name this after other certain songs)

uhmmm

this took me too long to finish bc of fatigue + general health issues so it may come off as hasty at points but here in my house everything is a little bit scuffed

-holds dina and rosetta- i care them

---

A knock echoed through the thin walls of the old building-turned-dive bar.

At first they ignored it. But soon another, louder knock came.

“Anyone with any braincells should know the bar’s been closed for hours.” Abzu mumbled, burying their face in their pillow.

“Could it be Hazel?” Tiamat asked in response, sitting upright in bed.

“She’s not the type to be polite enough to knock. If she wanted in, she’d get herself in.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Tiamat said, though her expression was a tad puzzled.

“A quick look though tells me it’s one of those rabbits. So if it’s not Hazel…”

“Think that enforcers from the Station finally figured out D’s here?”

“They’re alone.”

“Mm…” Abzu mumbled.

“Body hurts too much to deal with it. If you really want, you can go take a look, honey.”

Tiamat scratched her wife’s hair a bit.

“Alright. I’ll be back shortly, assuming it’s a lost drunk.”

Tiamat made her way to the front door, and cracked it open just enough so she could get a better picture of the late night visitor.

Taller than Hazel, shorter than Abzu. Well dressed with a good posture and a smile. What Tiamat’s senses couldn’t pick up, however, was the woman’s soft golden glow.

“…We’re closed.” Tiamat said flatly.

“Though you look like you know that.”

“Indeed! I apologize for visiting after hours, however I don’t think it’d be safest for me to be around here during peak hours.” the woman said with a laugh.
“I had enough of a headache dealing with the rowdiness of the two sent from here.”

Tiamat thought for a moment before putting two and two together.

It was only a few months ago that Mariska and Hazel performed the heist. If this woman was from the Station…

“Are you here to cause any trouble?”

“Oh no, no! I was just wondering if you knew where someone was. She’s a very good friend of mine and I haven’t seen or heard from her since that whole mess. But I’ve been awfully busy and have only been able to start trying to reach out now.” The woman said, pausing.

“She goes by Dina, do you perhaps know her?”

Tiamat paused.

She didn’t know that Dina had any friends, aside from herself, Abzu, and those at the facility. This could very well be a trick intended to chase Dina out.

But… this woman seemed to know insider details about the heist, implying involvement. Tiamat herself wasn’t very involved, so she had no idea if it was a bluff.

Weighing her chances, Tiamat made her decision.

“Tell me, does the name Abzu ring a bell?”

The woman paused.

“Yes! That’s why I’m here. I was told Tiamat and Abzu lived here, and considered it would be worth investigating, since those two are old friends of hers.”

“Ah.” Tiamat said, opening the door fully.

“In that case, follow me. I am the Tiamat you’re looking for. You are…?”

“Oh goodness! I apologize, I’ve never seen you before so I had no idea! I’ve heard many great things about you and your wife.” the woman said, a bit flustered.

“My name is Rosetta, at your service.”

Tiamat simply nodded, and let Rosetta inside.

She led her to the back of the reclaimed storehouse, to a small room. The room was mostly full of stacked boxes, but in the center against a wall was an older-model computer whirring in the darkness. The light from the monitor illuminated the glass of a large tank of water sitting to the left.

Tiamat motioned for Rosetta to stand back, and with an impressive feat of strength, she used her tentacles to move the tank to the side – revealing a hidden door.

She entered a keycode and the door opened, softly illuminated from lights inside.

Rosetta and Tiamat descended the stairs, to find a space that was surprisingly well-lit compared to the rest of the house. It was filled with beakers, containers, and many of the glowing blue mushrooms that grew in the surrounding marshes.

At the center of it all, was Dina – distracted by working on something.

“Dina,” Tiamat started, though was quickly cut off.

“I’m busy.” She mumbled, hunched into her work.

There was a pause.

“How busy would you be if I was here?” Rosetta said, a smug air in her voice.

Almost immediately, Dina dropped what she was holding – causing a small puff of foul-smelling smoke to erupt.

She frantically swirled around in her chair to face Rosetta and Tiamat.

“What… what are YOU doing here?!” Dina said, her voice tinged with a rare tone of emotion.

“I missed you. And I figured I was about to go on vacation back home, I might as well make a stop to see if you were here.”

Dina quickly stopped to put out the small fire that had started on the petri dish she was working on, before adjusting herself to face Rosetta.

“You didn’t have to.”

“I care about you, Dina! I was worried sick about if you had lost your mind wherever you were hiding;” Rosetta said, pausing to look around the room.

“Which you clearly have.”

“I’m fine.” Dina replied, sounding a bit frustrated.

“The proprietors of the black market are interested in my work. It’s keeping me occupied.”

“Dina, holy shit.” Rosetta said, rubbing her temple.

“How can you sit around all day doing… this?! Doing whatever with narcotic mushrooms in a secret basement?! There’s nothing wrong with it, per say, but… if this is all you’ve been doing…”

“It’s not a problem. It’s better than being executed by a power-hungry government.”

“Dina.” Rosetta said firmly, stepping away from Tiamat and towards Dina.

“You’re more than this. Don’t you want to see things? Go places?”

“I chose to sacrifice my freedom in exchange for Laura’s safety and happiness. If I have to spend the rest of my life locked up because of that, I am content with it.”

“Dina, listen to me! It doesn’t have to be this way!” Rosetta replied, her voice welled up with emotion. She stepped closer to Dina, eventually resting her hand on her shoulder.

“Please. Come with me to the craters. It’s a neutral zone – I’m sure nobody will be looking for you there. You need a break.”

Dina let out a deep sigh and sat up from her chair.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt by association.”

“Me? I’ll be fine. Even if I somehow became state enemy number one… I doubt they’d be able to catch me. I have my ways.” Rosetta said with a wink, eliciting a slight smile from Dina’s eyes.

“I figure it might be interesting to you, anyways. The place is filled with sciencey folks.”

“Mm…” Dina mumbled, thinking for a second.

“…Alright. However if anything happens, you are to accept it and pretend you have no association with me. For your safety.”

“I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

There was a pause, before Tiamat broke the silence with a yawn.

“Alright. If you two have something sorted out, I’m going back to bed.” she said, stretching.

“Rosetta, you’re welcome to spend the night in my daughter’s old bedroom.”

“Oh, I’m quite alright! My ship has a bedroom I can return to.” Rosetta replied with a nod.

“You can join me if you’d like, Dina. I’m almost certainly sure it’s more comfortable than… this.”

Dina nodded.

“Sure, just give me a moment to clean up.”

–

The next morning, Rosetta emerged from her quarters to find Dina staring out one of the ship’s large windows.

“Goodmorning!” Rosetta said as she approached Dina, coffee in hand.

“It’s strange to think that the concept of ‘morning’ has a meaning in a place like this…” Dina replied, before turning to Rosetta with a smile in her eyes.

“But, good morning nonetheless.”

“I guess it is a bit jarring, there’s no neon lights to indicate it’s time to get moving like the station.” Rosetta chuckled, moving her attention to the scene outside the window as well.

“It’s beautiful though, in its own way. I’m grateful that I get to visit such diverse environments.”

There was a pause as Dina tried to find words to say, but came up with nothing – though Rosetta eventually broke the silence.

“I’m glad I can share at least a tiny bit with you.”

“You’re too flattering, Rosetta.”

“I’m serious!” Rosetta huffed.

“It’s hard to imagine you just spent all those years working in a lab… when there’s so much more out there than that.”

“I guess no matter what, we’ll never figure out that little bit of culture shock between the two of us.” Dina said with a rare chuckle.

“I suppose so! But I’m glad you’re joining me today nonetheless.” Rosetta replied, smiling.

“Well, I guess I’ll let the pilot know we’re good to go!”

“Wait, we’re not alone?!”

“Oh, don’t worry so much! They don’t even know you’re here. Besides, if they did and didn’t like that, I could always pay them more in hush money than whatever the empire is offering for you.”

“You continue to amaze and baffle me, Rosetta.”

With a smile, Rosetta headed off towards the pilot’s cabin, while Dina continued to examine the vast glowing marsh through the window.

After a short wait, the ship hummed to life. Dina noted it was a considerably ‘smoother’ hum than that of the ship belonging to the pirate duo she’d received help from some months ago.

Soon after the ship started up, it began its ascent – with Rosetta swiftly returning to the main quarters.

“We’re good to go! I’m going to make myself some coffee really quick.” Rosetta said with a stretch.

“That’s alright by me.” Dina replied, her gaze fixated on the world below through the window.

The trip took around 3 hours, and while Dina was more than content to watch the scenery go by, Rosetta was able to make some conversation while channel surfing the TV.

Mostly about how things have been going, what the craters were like… the conversation turned to family eventually.

“I’ve never heard you mention your parents much, now that I think about it.” Dina said, turning her attention away from the window and towards Rosetta.

“Ah, it’s a bit complicated…” Rosetta replied.

“A mix of growing distance between me and them, as well as not being sure if you’d understand…”

“Really?” Dina asked.

“I suppose that makes sense, because I didn’t really understand the concept of family until I met Laura.”

“Right, the girl at the center of everything…” Rosetta said.

“It was nice to hear that she’s been adjusting well, though. I know I’d be stressed out of my mind if my parents decided to sacrifice their freedom for me.”

Dina mumbled incomprehensibly, but before Rosetta could ask her to speak up, a voice came over the intercom.

“Landing in 15, make sure everything’s prepared, Rosetta.”

“Oh! Guess time really does fly.” Rosetta said in reaction, before facing Dina once more.

“Here, give me a second to freshen up, then we can make our way to deboard.”

When Rosetta finished getting herself ready, Dina was already waiting for her near the ship’s exit.

With a soft thump, the ship landed – and with great anticipation, Rosetta released the lock on the door and stepped out into the scorching light.

Before she could even adjust to the brightness, Rosetta was greeted by a small but enthusiastic group that appeared to have been waiting for her.

“WELCOME BACK ROSIE!” the group cheered, catching Rosetta off-guard and causing her to get flustered.

Dina peeked from behind Rosetta at the group, which seemed to mostly consist of those older than Rosetta, with some young children.

While Rosetta was doing her best to greet everyone from the group that had been expecting her, a young child noticed Dina hiding behind in the exit port.

“Who’s that?” they said, pointing at Dina – who instinctively hid more behind the doorframe.

“Oh!” Rosetta exclaimed, turning around.

“Dina, it’s alright! You can come out.”

Hesitantly, Dina emerged from the shade of the exit port, shielding her eyes as she stood besides Rosetta.

“Is this… your family?”

“Oh, these are just friends of family! I think my parents must be busy around this time, anyways…”

“You’re quite the celebrity even here, it seems.” Dina replied with a smile.

“A lot of people here look up to my success, it’s kind of overwhelming, haha.”

Amidst Rosetta and Dina’s side conversation, one of the older members of the welcome party spoke up.

“Rosetta, who is this? Is this a friend from the Station?”

“This is Dina! Yes, she’s a close friend of mine from the Station! I kind of convinced her to join me on short notice.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful you’ve made such good friends up there!” they replied warmly, turning to a flustered Dina – who wasn’t used to this much, if any of this kind of attention from strangers.

“Dina, we hope you’ll enjoy your stay here! I’m sure Rosetta will be a wonderful guide, but you’re free to reach out to anyone around for help! We’re real tight-knit here, so a friend of Rosie is a friend of ours!”

“…Of course, thank you.” Dina said quietly.

Rosetta was quickly picking up on the fact that Dina was getting overwhelmed from all the sudden attention, and aimed to make a speedy escape.

“Well, this is such a wonderful welcome – thank you! But I do think we should get moving – I’m sure my parents are eagerly waiting for me after so long, and I’m getting hungry anyways.”

“That’s fine! You two have fun out there!”

Rosetta stepped away and motioned for Dina to follow.

“We can take the long way so we don’t get stopped any more.” Rosetta whispered to Dina as she got closer.

Dina nodded, and followed Rosetta along down an unpaved hiking trail.

It was certainly hard to get used to the brightness, coming from the Station, which had no natural light. But Dina was able to eventually adjust, removing the hand-shield from above her eyes to examine the landscape more clearly.

It was a mix of dusty and rocky, and as Dina looked over the cliffside she was walking on, she could see the red landscape littered with various yellow-tinted, liquid-filled craters – some occupied by the towering celesteela.

“I can’t imagine why you’d ever leave a place like this for the Station… it’s breathtaking.” Dina said in awe.

“It’s definitely something, huh?” Rosetta replied with a laugh.

“Though, of course, the city here is on the smaller end. I wouldn’t be able to meet as many wonderful people as I have if I stayed – I suppose small-town life isn’t for me.”

“That makes another difference between us, I guess.” Dina chuckled.

“I wouldn’t mind staying in a place like this, perhaps the light would do some good for me after spending all that time in that basement.”

“I mean, I can always set something up if you’d like.”

“I’ll think on it.”

After more walking, Rosetta and Dina arrived at what appeared to be a small, family-owned diner. Dina was familiar with the concept – but had never been to one.

Rosetta opened the front door to the jingle of a bell, and before she could even announce her presence, was met with a running hug from her mother.

“Welcome home, Rosie…” she said, squeezing her daughter tightly.

“It’s been far too long.”

Rosetta embraced the hug for a few seconds before it became a bit awkward on her end, leading her to struggle herself free.

“I missed you too. Sorry I haven’t done the best about keeping in touch…”

“Please, don’t apologize. We all know how busy you are up there…” Rosetta’s mother replied, patting her daughter on the shoulder. 

“Hm? Who’s this? Are they with you?”

Rosetta’s mother noticed Dina, and pointed over to her.

Dina couldn’t think of something to say, so Rosetta filled her mother in. That Dina was a friend from the Station, coming to visit with Rosetta.

Her mother thought it was sweet, and offered a hug to Dina as well – which Dina politely declined.

She offered both of them a booth to sit at, and lunch on the house – which Rosetta seemed rather enthusiastic about.

And while Rosetta’s mother went back to the front to tend to other customers, the two friends were soon greeted by Rosetta’s father – who was the primary serving staff. After taking Rosetta’s order and a polite refusal from Dina, he stuck around to chat.

“So, Dina! Whaddya do up there, anyways?”

“I…” Dina started, but paused. She could very well accidentally reveal her identity, but also figured these people meant her no ill will.

“I’m a scientist.”

“Ooh, we got plenty of those here, haha! You an engineer? I figure some of the guys over at the launchpads could use your help, those slackers have no idea what they’re doing!” he replied, laughing at his own joke.

“No I’m… a biochemist. That’s all I believe I can say.”

“A mysterious type, are we? That’s all alright! I trust you’re an alright individual, given that Rosie here believed you’d be able to survive meeting her parents, hah!”

“Oh, please…” Rosetta huffed, her tone playfully annoyed.

The three had an enjoyable conversation, and were eventually joined by Rosetta’s mother as well. Dina was able to come out of her shell a bit, with some help from Rosetta.

Dina’s interest in particular was piqued by Rosetta’s father mentioning that they grew their own food for the diner. 

And while Dina intentionally didn’t mention the type of fungi she’d been studying in Abzu and Tiamat’s basement, she was able to relate over her budding interest in agriculture. After Rosetta finished eating, her mother offered to take Rosetta and Dina out to their farm.

Rosetta and Dina spent a few hours at the farm as Dina examined the soil and water, before Rosetta took Dina on a tour around town.

The two were semi-frequently stopped by those who wished to welcome Rosetta, with Rosetta making sure to introduce Dina as well.

It was odd… Dina had never had anywhere near this much attention before, and rarely interacted with anyone outside of Rosetta, Laura, and Chantal. But it was… nice?

People seemed excited to meet her, like she was some kind of celebrity alongside Rosetta. They seemed excited to learn more about what she did. Dina didn’t want the day to end.

By nightfall, after dinner at Rosetta’s parent’s house, Rosetta grabbed Dina’s hand.

“Can I show you something truly spectacular?” she whispered, her voice excited.

“Of course!”

Through the night, Rosetta led Dina on a path past the farm. 

The walk wasn’t too long, and the two eventually came upon a sight to behold;

It was a large crater, but the water inside was glowing a spectacular cyan blue in the night. Looking into the distance, Dina soon realized the glowing dots on the horizon were craters as well.

As Dina stepped closer to the crater, soft moss below her feet she noticed the bioluminescent particles dancing around like stars.

It was mesmerizing.

After a period of silence to soak it all in, Rosetta spoke up.

“So, what’d you think? Wanna hop in?”

“Isn’t it… too hot?”

“Should be perfectly fine! I loved to unwind here when I was younger. Aren’t deoxys super robust against the elements? I didn’t hear you complain about the heat once and I’ve been sweating all day!”

“Hmm, I’ll give it a shot then.”

Dina was a bit hesitant to step in, but eventually sat down in the water next to Rosetta. The feeling of the water on the core on her chest was odd, but in a pleasant and comforting way.

There wasn’t much to say, as most things had already been exchanged during their busy day together. The two friends were simply stargazing, as the moon palace Lunaries shined over them. Occasionally, Rosetta would point out a constellation, or the two would be surprised by a sudden crater erupting in the distance – emitting a spectacular column of glowing water.

“Rosetta…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Do you remember your offer earlier?”

“To set something up for you here?”

“Yes. That one.” Dina replied with a nod.

“I’d like to take you up on it.”