A Walk in the Woods (Hiroyo, Tsukiko, Eleonora)

Tsukaimon laughed happily as she spun around Eleonora's face. In a single, smooth motion she promptly swirled up to the top of the newcomer's head, trotting in a little circle before nesting down. "Huh. Blondes feel differenter," she mused. "Fun, fun!"

Of course, once actually settled in, the Tsukaimon leaned over to peer down at Eleonora. It'd be rude not to look at someone while she talked, after all! "Yep, yep!" Tsukaimon chirped. "Lay and I need big, tough humans like you to keep us safe. And look! You've got two partners! Lay, when am I gonna get a little brother?"

Layla couldn't help but laugh at that one. "Then you'd just get jealous again," she said, an amused smile snaking across her face.

That amusement only doubled when an Agumon came into view, already kneeling before the Tsukaimon in a grandiose gesture. While Tsukaimon was a bit too high on her new blonde perch to return the Agumon's outstretched hand, she giggled coquettishly at his enthusiasm. She even wrapped one ear around her mouth and fanned herself with the other, as if she was a southern belle with the vapors. She giggled in equal parts confusion, amusement, and flattery. Tsukiko, at the very least, tried to make things a bit more even by giving a less elaborate compliment, and in return earned a warm smile from Tsukaimon. "Awww, you guys are such sweeties!" she said, even as her tamer rolled her eyes and shot Tsukiko a knowing smile. "But . . . you got a name, right? Other Tsuki, does his name sound like mine too?"

And finally came Hiroyo, who looked like she stepped out of a commercial but had the lingering energy of a total mess. Nevertheless, with their earlier argument behind them, Hiroyo and her bugs actually looked like quite the unit. Immediately Tsukaimon turned to her tamer, cheeks puffed out grumpily. "See? They all have two!" she complained, taking off of Eleonora's head and plopping back down onto his own tamer's shoulder. She looked almost like a pirate's parrot, although her tamer's jacket looked more for fashion and less for swashbuckling.

With the group now all assembled, the girl smiled softly at them. Unlike her rather excitable partner, she seemed to take things a bit more in stride. However, even her even tone didn't change how genuine the warmth in her voice was. "Thank you guys all for coming today, really," she said, gently stroking Tsukaimon's head. "My name's Layla, and I think you all know Tsukaimon by myself. And I know, the woods probably aren't the most high-priority place for a bunch of strong tamers like yourself. But this little dork really wanted me to have some company this time. Didn't you, didn't you?" She jokingly pinched the Tsukaimon's cheek, fawning over the little Digimon as it flailed in mock displeasure.

Upon remembering that she wasn't alone, she blushed softly and turned back to the rest of the group. "A-anyway, you were asking about the flower?" she said, turning primarily to Tsukiko but making sure the rest of the group was nearby as well. "Well . . . god, this is gonna sound silly. But my big brother's, like, way into gardening. He's been teaching me how since I've been old enough to walk. And now that I'm living on my own, I guess I've been kinda missing that connection. So I've been looking for something to really wow him with, you know? Show him his little sis hasn't forgotten it all.

But nothing really felt right. Until I found this little beaut."

Layla reached into her pocket and pulled out a fairly large flower. It was about the size of her hand, with a thick olive stem and an almost star-like shape. However, most interesting were its petals. They were a velvety black color, with what seemed like purple highlights running along the sides. They almost seemed to shimmer and glow, as if there was an energy coursing through the flower's veins. The smell, too, was something to behold. Each of the group's members would find it taking on their favorite scent, with a small undertone of vanilla underneath.

Layla couldn't help but grin with pride as she looked at it. "Pretty neat, huh?" she asked. "My brother was always bragging about his own garden. Not gonna lie, it'll be nice being the one leaving him speechless for a change.

But I only found the one. And it doesn't seem like it wants to self-pollinate. So I'm gonna have to find a second one if I want a nice little batch of these to show off. And these woods . . . it's like the deeper you go in, the more of a maze they become. I keep trying to retrace my steps, but each time I end up somewhere completely different. Maybe a few more pairs of eyes will stop me from getting lost again, you know?"

With her little explanation finished, Layla once more turned to the group. "If there's anything else you guys want to know, just let me know, okay?" she asked, smiling softly. "And if not? Well, adventure awaits, right?"

Tsukaimon blinked, curious, as she listened to what Mitsuharu had to say. Her hand? But she needed those! Tsukai foot paws weren't really good luck, honest! However, after a bit of thought, she started to realize what Mitsuharu meant. Letting out a small hum of understanding, she zipped off of Layla's shoulder and flew down to give Mitsuharu a high-five. "There you go!" she chirped, not even hesitating before flying right back to Layla. She hadn't understood what Mitsuharu meant in the slightest, but at the very least it was the thought that counted.

For the most part, Layla's impromptu crew was focusing on hammering out scouting plans. Layla let them focus on that a bit as she turned to Tsukiko. The girl and her Agumon had a very insightful question, after all. "Believe me, I tried," Layla said. "But it takes a lot of care to properly move a flower, you know. If you just want to keep it in a vase for a few days you can get away with just the stem, but if you want to grow it for yourself? Then you'll really want to make sure it can take root. I had enough time to dig and pot one flower up, but before I could set another one up . . . something came looking for me."

The Tsukaimon shivered, burying itself into Layla's jacket. "So big, way too big," she repeated. "Like some bee. But with these huge, scary arms. Punched a tree right in half! So we ran, ran, ran as far as we could!"

"I'm hoping it won't be there again if we come back," Layla said. "I don't think we were in its territory. But when you get deeper into these woods, there are a lot of plant and insect Digimon battling it out. So I can't say I'm really sure. Then again, when you go as deep as I do there's a lot of stuff that stops really seeming sure. So, be careful, okay? I really don't want any of you guys to get lost, or worse."

"Aw, but that's why these guys are here!" Tsukaimon chirped, flying over to the KoGears. She pointed at them all, mumbling a few things under her breath with each point. "Spinny . . . Whirly . . . Metal-y . . . and . . . uh . . . Other Spinny! You guys are gonna be brave and keep an eye out for us, right? Please?" With names like that, how could the KoGears ever refuse their job?

Layla laughed warmly at her Digimon's usual foolery. "I think she likes your plan!" she said. "So that has us covered from the front. Although Hiroyo's right that we need something from the back . . . " Speaking of Hiroyo, she looked up at the woman, smiling mischievously. "Say, you just did your make-up, right? Worst comes to worst, we could always use that as a marker. And I bet all the shades you've got will do great for marking any split paths, so we don't get confused." She paused for a second, then grinned sheepishly. "I'll pay you back for the ones we use, too. I know it isn't cheap looking that good."

Now the group had a forward scouting plan and a way to mark where they've been. It was time for this adventure to get going! Layla turned around and made for the woods, motioning for everyone else to follow. "We can take it easy for the time being, I think, since the KoGears are leading the way. But we should at least get moving," she said. Her pace was steady yet cautious, and she looked over her shoulder a few times as if confirming that the rest of the group was still there.

For the time being, there wasn't too much to go off of. It was starting to get darker directly in front of the group, and didn't seem to be much lighter to the left or right. Anything from this entry point would start getting steadily darker, the dense canopy swallowing up any light that tried to snake through. "While the gears go looking, how did you all find your partners?" Layla asked, hoping to strike up some friendly conversation.

Layla laughed warmly, echoing Eleonora's own thoughts. "It's really something special, isn't it?" she said, a dreamy sigh escaping from her. "It's like the larger-than-life world these little guys come from makes them so . . . lively. Us humans, we have all these responsibilities and jobs to worry about, right? But it's like Digimon get to spend most of their time playing around and fighting instead. Makes me wish I could be like them, too!"

Tsukaimon huffed in response, cheeks puffed out. "Not true! I'm super responsible," she grumbled. "I helped put all your clothes away, remember? Remember?"

Layla ruffled the little bean's head. "After you took them all out to make a nest with," she corrected. "And even then, I had to help."

"Exactly! I got us cleaning, together!" The Tsukaimon beamed, smile so wide it practically spanned her entire body. Layla couldn't argue with that logic, sighing and relenting for the time being.

She also couldn't argue with Mitsuharu's logic. A sword was way more effective than lipstick for marking locations, wasn't it? She blushed slightly, shying away a little from Hiroyo as she realized the flaws in her idea. "R-right. I guess that was a bit of a silly idea, huh?" she said. "I was thinking we could color-coordinate if push came to shove, but that's probably a lot more trouble than its worth. My bad on that one"

"Lay colors, like, everything," Tsukaimon said, worsening the poor girl's blush. "You should see her bookshelf sometimes! It's like a big old rainbow!" By now the poor girl was definitely red, Tsukaimon cackling mischievously as Layla tried to shush her. "Aw, don't be shy! I think it's really cool," the Tsukaimon cooed, which only made it worse.

Not really wanting to walk into further teasing, Layla sighed in relief as the group hopped onto her topic idea. One of the group had fallen from the human world and ended up here, coming upon her partners by chance. Another pair had been bonded by destiny, two escapees from the same ex now united as one clan. The final tamer almost seemed to be hiding something, a simple meeting between a boy, a girl, and some Digimon. Nobody had been too detailed with their accounts, but this one was especially sparse. However, beyond raising an eyebrow, Layla didn't say too much about it. She knew the value of private time all too well. "Oh, the Trailmon are great," she said, accepting Hiroyo's topic change gracefully. "Tsukaimon swears they listen in on all our conversations, but I think they're too busy for that. And they tell the best stories!

And speaking of stories, its interesting how different all of ours are," Layla said, a soft smile on her face. "If I can be honest, Tsukaimon and I aren't actually partners at all. My brother was the tamer in our family, not me. But I always tagged along to the Digital World with him, and that's where I found Tsukaimon. Her ear-wing was injured and she couldn't fly, so I patched it up for her. And since that day, we've been kinda inseparable."

Tsukaimon puffed her chest out a little, smiling proudly. "She can't get on the Trailmon without me, you know," she said. "So that makes me, like, extra important!"

As these conversations played out, the Ko-Gears would witness quite the surprising site. A white-furred gorilla was staring at the group, a hand pensively resting against what seemed to be a large purple arm cannon. Its eyes narrowed as Layla and her friends approached, and with every step they took it retreated further back into the treeline. It was as if it was forcing itself to keep a certain distance from the group, never letting itself be seen but never letting them stray out of its own field of vision. It was a very sound plan, but the ape failed to account for the Ko-Gears. Despite how much attention it paid to the rest of the group, it somehow completely failed to see the quartet.

After making a few retreats in this fashion, the ape leaped high into the trees. With its large, powerful feet it grasped onto a particularly sturdy branch, freeing up its hand to grasp onto its arm cannon. Once it had steadied itself in this fashion, it started to charge the arm cannon up. Only a soft glow, mostly swallowed up in the darkness of the Server Woods, could have tipped the group off to its presence.

Hopefully the Ko-Gears would get to warn their General about the upcoming threat soon. Otherwise, they would be faced with a barrage of lasers seemingly coming from out of nowhere.