Wanderlust [Bone]

"That's okay." If there was any fear Haley had about the bros' reactions to her little bit of knowledge, Elliot hoped those two words would help dissuade it. "I'm really glad you remember something, at least. It must be scary not being able to remember much, so every little bit helps, right?" He didn't even seem to consider the potential that this was a lie or a trap. If anything, he sounded downright relieved that Haley wasn't just going into life armed with nothing but the clothes on her back and a trio of eggs. Knowledge was power, especially in a place as esoteric as the Digital World.

"We'll help you find your memories. I promise. And if not, we're gonna try and make some great new ones with you," he finally said, smiling somewhat shyly.

Isaac simply made mental note. Even as the more suspicious one as the duo, he wasn't paranoid enough to immediately accuse a 13 year old of subterfuge. Besides, if he was wrong, what kind of monster would he be for accusing her? He was cautious, not Senator McCarthy. "Makes sense, too. First site in the Digital World, and a really common place? That's gonna stand out," he rationalized. "Heck, good thing you knew that, at least. If we weren't around, at least then you'd possibly be able to find your way home.

But we are here. So what do you say? Anything else you want to check out around here before we head for the train?"

"That's the spirit," Isaac said, smirking. He was prone to distraction and self-doubt too, sometimes, and that did nothing but drag him down. The fact that Haley was seeming a bit more assured about the idea of finding new memories was a sign that she wouldn't have to deal with the same baggage. Sure, she was pinned down by some doubts now, but the future was hopefully going to be a nice step forward for her. She'd just have to breathe in deep and work up the guts to take that step. "As for stuff to see around here, I'd say you did most of it. You checked out Whitewater, you hit the beach. Rest of it's just some little resorts and lots of trees."

It was pretty transparent that Haley's worry about their day was a bit forced. But could either of the bros blame her? She was so excited to get a move on with her life, and her excitement was pretty contagious. At this point, even if they had something to do they would've been perfectly fine dropping it to go on this new adventure. "Don't worry. We don't have anything going on," Elliot admitted. "I mean, sure, Isaac's convinced there's buried treasure around here-"

"We've seen, like, five different pirate Digimon. You really think there won't be any treasure?" Isaac interrupted.

"Come on, Isaac, that's ridiculous! Pirates would never bury their treasure this far inland. They'd run out of patience way too quickly.

Anyway, that's probably what we'd be doing otherwise. Train adventures sound way cooler, personally. The station should be just a bit north of here. Just be careful which one you get on. Some Trailmon can be way less agreeable than others, and some are just unpleasant. But it takes all kinds to do work, right?"

"We're ready when you are, Haley!"

At least this time the bros were more prepared for the hug, so they weren't as broken in half as they were the last time. They smiled as Haley pulled them in, even if all of her compliments and thanks were making Elliot blush.

"Heh. At least you're getting a better introduction to the Digital World then we are," Isaac said. Compared to getting kidnapped by a tank, assaulted by a dark knight, and stuck in Digimon form because they had no idea how to disengage their spirits? Yeah, going on a nice round trip around the Digital World with two seasoned Digital explorers was going to be a way more entertaining start. " 'Sides, you seem pretty great yourself. Its our pleasure to help."

It was a pretty long walk to the nearest Trailmon station, but thankfully it was a relaxing one as well. Most of the Southern Tropics' residents were busy at beaches and resorts, so the jungles in between were a lot less populated. Thankfully, a less populated jungle meant a less dangerous jungle, so the group wasn't jumped by any more threats like Seadramon. "Trust me, some days it can get pretty hectic around here."

"One time we got ambushed by this Kuwagamon in the jungle, and then the next day bumped into him at a resort here. That was really awkward."

"Be careful around those, by the way. Total tourist traps."

"Yeah. Most expensive water slide we've ever been on."

But surely enough, soon they made it to the local station. It wasn't as big as the sprawling, almost labyrinthine one over in Terminus City, but it was easily one of the bigger ones. How could it not be, when it was perfect weather for one of the nicest resort towns in the Digital World? This was where all of the crowding that Isaac described earlier came out to play, their jungle shortcut allowing them to bypass what amounted to a solid wall of traffic from here to Whitewater. An excitable pack of Gaomon, Bearmon, and Liollmon followed a Leomon in a scoutmaster's hat as they excitedly talked about the pranks and shenanigans they would get up to once they hit the beach. A Numemon wearing baggy Bermuda shorts and over-exaggerated sunglasses took selfies on a broken phone every few footsteps. A bunch of impatient HoneyBeemon took to the skies and flew over the heads of incoming traffic, mockingly wagging their tongues at a Greymon as he yelled at them for cutting the line.

In other words, it was a huge mess of traffic.

Isaac stood on his tiptoes, trying to peer over the many heads and see which trains are available. "Ooh, that one over there's a good one," he said, pointing to one with a teal color and a tanuki mask. "He's pretty quiet. That brown one next to him gets way too nosy, but we can ride him if we have to."

"Its really crowded today. Lets all stick together, okay?" Elliot asked, remaining close to Haley so she wouldn't get swept away into the crowds.

"You'd be surprised. He was way too busy filling up on hors d'oeuvres to fill up on us, at least," Isaac remarked. "Seemed like he was just really, really hungry and a little bit wild because of it."

"At least he apologized to us," Elliot added. "He was really polite, for a guy that tried to kill us and all that."

"Guess that's another way things are different in the cities." Worst that happened in Terminus was hostile glares, tense atmosphere, and the occasional rip-off artist in stores. Worst in the wild was usually a big messy fight. It generally wasn't to the death, because most Digimon weren't idiots. They just were every bit as monstrous as they were civilized. It certainly made interacting with them very different from it was with humans, especially since humans didn't come with built-in weapons, special powers, and more muscles than the entire WWE combined.

"As for why a resort? Sometimes its nice to just sit back, rest your feet, and cool down after a big day."

"Also, they had a water park."

"Yeah, but that thing was a ripoff. We're not making that mistake again."

Elliot considered pointing out that if they stayed the night camping up, their parents would miss them. He then realized that it was the worst thing he could possibly bring up, and stopped himself before he could even begin speaking. If he made Haley feel bad about her family by accident, he would've felt like the biggest jerk in the universe. Maybe it was best that he kept quiet for now.

His thoughts were suddenly broken by her taking his hand. Elliot lit up red, shyly agreeing "Y-yeah. Good idea. Helps us stick together, right?" Surely enough, they were making pretty good progress to the train. They'd be right within the doors soon, and with fewer people leaving Whitewater than entering there would be a lot of room once they boarded. However, as he held her hand in his, he couldn't help but notice that it had just the slightest tremble to it.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice small and full of concern.

Her distress didn't subside any. In fact, it only seemed worse when Elliot pointed it out, judging by the sudden stutter to her voice. Darnit, why'd he have to go do that? "Okay," he said, trying to keep himself from adding more fuel to the fire. He was a little bit worried still, both about what was troubling Haley and what he was doing wrong himself, but he tried his best to swallow those worries for the sake of her comfort. He tried to think of what to say, before eventually figuring that biting his tongue for the time being would be the smart choice.

At least she seemed to relax once they were in the train. He sighed in relief at her change in voice, and was very glad to see a trio of free seats. "Boom, perfect!" Isaac said, grinning. He made sure to speed ahead a little to snag the seats before anyone could take them away. "Thankfully, there's not too much competition for seats. Since there are all sorts of Digimon sizes, the train's sorted by width. We sat in the dinosaur one time, and let me tell you it feels weird sitting in a giant chair like that." He was practically falling out of the chair any time he moved! It was a nightmare!

"They're really smooth," Elliot said. "It'll feel just like you're sitting down. It can be a bit jarring if it needs to stop suddenly or make a sharp turn, but otherwise you'll barely know you're moving."

"They might try to strike up a conversation, too, but this guy's pretty shy," Isaac explained. "He's sweet, but not much for talking to strangers. When a bunch of regulars are riding, though, he can be a real chatterbox!" Something about the trains having their own personalities and agendas was just really interesting to the brothers, and even if they haven't seen it on display too often it was one of those facts about the Digital World that stuck with them.