The rays of sun crept through the overhead of leaves and dangling vines of trees. The air was cool and the verdant grass was rustling lightly in the breeze. Achilles and Elisa were awake in the woods they had retreated to to escape the troubles they had. They sat up from the sleeping bag they shared and stretched, shoulders rubbing against each other as wide smiles and soft laughs were exchanged. Elisa looked at Achilles as he stretched, seeing his stripes elongate as he twisted and bent, catching him winking at her as she turned his head in a playful manner. They'd been neighbors for months, their friendship grown from the relatable situations of a world expecting more than they could possibly give. These treks into the woods were freeing, lifting the burden somewhat by momentarily dropping their troubles at the tree line. Of course they couldn't stay here forever, the world would eventually move in on these woods like anywhere else, and the only escape would be further away by the feeling of each tree. "Lis? Helloooo? Lis?" Achilles asked, waving his hand as she looked at him with his look of distress he claimed not to have. "Aww, did my little yote need his fox for comfort? It's ok, pup, foxy is here!" She joked with him, playing their age difference in her teasing. She had been surprised to find she was the older of the two, being three years Achilles' senior. "Thank you, miss, I'm lost in the woods and need some help to get home." Achilles joked back, touting sad eyes and a quivering lip that was traded for a hearty laugh. Achilles had been surprised about their ages too, thinking that she was a his age or even his junior by a year or two. Her problems were stacked on her like someone who was being let out into the world only for the wave of responsibilities and expectations drag her out like a riptide.

Her problems were her home life, and helping her father keep his work in sight and her brother to get out into the world with a decent footing and path for his future. The toll it took was what she hid most, keeping the bottle from her father's hand and the temptation of crime from her brother's mind. The area Elisa lived in was rough, her father's old neighborhood, changed from years of degradation, but liveable for anyone who either kept their head down and mouth shut, or the factions the hovered like a predator waiting for prey to step out for the taking. Achilles on the other hand had a decent time growing up, only speed bumps were in his stubborn attitude against the schoolwork that wasn't very engaging, the occasional bully, and the yearning for a fulfilling life he had no clue of where to find.

"Say, I don't mean to ask, but I'm going to anyway, but you remember when you asked me to go with you to that old antique place in old-town? The one with the frilly dresses and the odd smell?" Achilles asked, stroking his chin as he leaned against a tree, sizing Elisa up. She had a vague idea until she recalled the smell. It was like a powder or maybe a fragrance on the racked items. Old dresses from across the world, when people would gather and twist and twirl with footwork most precise and a level of finesse that had evolved into a more impersonal display ever since. "I was remembering that you had eyed that one cream colored number, so intensely I was afraid you'd burn a hole into it. Your smile was so warming to see, and there was a glimmer in your eye that I'd only seen a few times. That was until you saw the price tag. You didn't say anything, but your smile was suddenly frigid, your eyes were flat, and the way you walked grew heavy." Achilles explained, Elisa remembering the beautiful thread-work and tailoring for a dress that someone wore in a time long since passed. It was almost tragic poetry if she had to be honest. But even the thoughts of it and wearing something so beautiful was taken away from her. Like the short few years after her brother was born, when her father was happy, and she had someone to call mom. But like the arguing and pleading from rooms away, the breaking of glass and slamming of doors, and finding her father in tears as streams of red ran down his cheeks, it all broke away.

Achilles was standing there, breaking expectation of what actions he would do next, outstretched his arms for her like a noble would his companion. "I'm definitely no one important, and I'm certainly not dressed for the occasion, but; Elisa, would you care to dance?" Achilles asked, fidgeting in place like a boy asking his crush out, fearful of the answer. She was baffled completely, with no clue how to respond. Was he serious? Was this all a joke to him? But the stoic expression that was only slightly touched by anxious shifting was serious. "I...what? Cal, I don't know how to dance. This is, I don't know how to react. This is one of the weirder things you've done or asked." She replied, seeing his arms drop to his sides as he cocked his head to the side. "Lis, I don't know how to dance either, it's probably best to just go with it, and ouch, you may be right. Though I don't know what's weirder than asking someone if they believe in multiverse theory and hokey junk like that." Achilles replied, placing his hands on his hips. She stood there for a moment, stunned but nodding to his agreement of his strangeness, pacing around a bit. "Ah, sure, what the heck, why not? I accept your odd proposal, but I don't want you to attempt any flipping or throwing me. I've broken my leg and arm before, I really can't afford to do that nowadays." Elisa sighed, stepping into Achilles hold, surprised by his firm grip of her hand and the arm around her back. "No promises. I've only ever seen this kind of dancing in very cheesy time-piece movies" Achilles informed, starting on the attempt at dancing with the two breaking into laughter with every step on one another's foot or tail. And like nothing their worries had been pushed aside once more.

This YCH was done by: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/racerdragon/

Base by: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/queenhound

Achilles and Elisa are Mine