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solalunar-eclipse · 1 year ago

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(Avocado) Horizon Line

Chapter 1: A Heart of Logic and Empathy

AO3 Link

Summary: Due to an unfortunate accident, Avelyn finds herself injured and stuck in a stranger's house in the middle of nowhere. Eco, meanwhile, is just trying to deal with having another person living in their home. Under other circumstances, neither of them would have guessed that they'd get along so well, but maybe with time, they'll find out that this accident wasn't so unfortunate after all...?

(The world of Deltarune belongs to Toby Fox, Avelyn and Link belong to @pukeseven, and Eco and Click belong to @brightgoat.)

High above the dark sea, a biplane weaves amongst the green light cast by the grid that stretches across the sky. The plane’s pilot steers it through a series of increasingly complex maneuvers, showing off the fact that she is extremely skilled. (She knows it, too.)

However, all the skill in the world isn’t enough to help her when a critical component in the engine, weakened from all of the back to back long-distance flights across the water, stops working entirely.

As the plane begins to lose altitude at dangerously high speeds, the pilot struggles to eject, only to discover that this is one of the systems that has failed her. Left with no other options, she works to maneuver her aircraft into a glide, fighting to bring it closer to the faint lights of the shore in the distance in hopes that someone will see her.

Clinging to the yoke with all her remaining strength, she braces for impact—

…

“NEMMUY…”

“Good night to you too, Flash.”

Eco smiled at the pod of poppups that lived in the channel of water by their house, taking their time to give each one their own special good night. This was one of the few routines of theirs that they maintained with each new pod of poppups that passed through their house, and they liked to think that it made each member of the pod feel special and loved. To be fair, it also helped them to grow up into healthy and friendly advertisement companions, but they’d be lying if they said that was the only reason they did this each and every evening.

They waved at the entire group one last time, before walking away somewhat reluctantly. It was always sad for them to say goodbye to their beloved creatures, even just for a night.

Suddenly, a loud crash resounded nearby, startling some of the younger poppups out of their sleep and making the scientist’s fins shoot up in surprise.

“Really?!” Eco hissed to themselves, their heart racing. “I just got the little ones to settle down!”

They hurried back over to the channel once again. “Flash, Ink, Escape, you three take care of the little ones, alright? Everybody, behave yourselves while I’m gone.” As much as they would have liked to stay and comfort their poppups, they had to make sure that…whatever that was…didn’t pose a threat to anyone.

The ad-creatures were abnormally silent and wide-eyed, clearly frightened by this unexpected occurrence. Eco offered up a small, sharp grin in response. “Hey, don’t worry! I’ve got this under control!” they insisted.

Then, they raced off to go see who or what had dared to disturb their pod. Sand wasn’t generally the best surface to run on, but Eco was used to it enough that even in their high-tops, it hardly slowed them down at all.

Once they saw the smoke rising in the distance, however, their speed only increased, but now fueled by fear instead of frustration. No matter how annoying the noise had been, the scientist could never stand to see anyone get hurt. They’d always been that way for as long as they could remember—it was part of why they were so good at caring for poppups.

As Eco skidded to a stop in front of the wreckage littering their beach (their poor beach!), they offhandedly noted that it resembled a modified amphibious plane, retrofitted for light cargo flights. The scientist didn’t know much about airplanes, but they did at least know that light cargo transports…were still required to have pilots.

And at that very moment, they noticed the one thing that definitely didn’t match the rest of the wreck—a flash of reddish-orange amongst the twisted metal. Quickly making their way over and around the broken remains, they found an unfortunate Addison trapped inside what had most likely once been the pilot’s seat.

With a decent amount of effort on their part, they managed to shift the broken pieces enough to get the Addi free, lifting them up in their arms. The pilot was completely unconscious, but thankfully seemed to have been protected from the brunt of the crash by their cockpit and flight gear. Their ankle did seem to be swelling slightly, though, and Eco knew they’d have to take a look at that once they got back to their house.

Once they were sure that the other was secure, they rushed back the way they’d come, slipping slightly more on the sand now that they carried an extra weight. Careful not to jostle the mysterious pilot, they called for another member of the pod, Tracker, to come and help open the door to their house as they approached.

“What are you even doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” Eco muttered to the unconscious Addison.

Gently laying them down on the sofa, the scientist began to heal what injuries she could, switching to her first aid kit once her magic began to falter. There was only so much she could do, anyhow, given that the pilot had some nasty scrapes plus a twisted ankle. Quite frankly, they’d been extraordinarily lucky as it was.

Once she’d done all she could, Eco ran out quickly to settle her pod down once more before they slept. “Don’t worry, guys!” she reassured them. “It’s all going to be okay. I’ve fixed everything up, I promise.”

They seemed plenty reassured by that, given that one or two had even fallen asleep by the time she’d finished checking on them. For that, at least, she was grateful.

Then, she came back and sat down on the couch next to her unexpected guest, keeping watch over them until they woke up.

She didn’t have to wait long, as it turned out—only half an hour. In a fraction of a second, the pilot jolted from sleep intto full awareness, gasping. Their eyes darted around, and they began to push themselves upright…only to be startled again by the sight of Eco. This time, they glared directly at her, scrambling into an upright position (and wincing as their injuries clearly flared up).

“Hey, take it easy!” Eco cried. “You’re going to hurt yourself all over again!”

The other Addison simply continued to glower. “And why do you care?” they snapped. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave me and my plane alone.

Eco sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly. She really didn’t have time for all of this—she had enough on her plate with this pilot’s presence alone, without also having to convince them that she wasn’t the bad guy in this scenario. “Listen, if you want to be like that, could you just go do it to someone else who didn’t save your life? I literally just finished patching you up after you crash-landed on my beach.”

“Crash-landed? I—” The Addison sprang up off the couch. “Oh, god! Airdr—owwww…” They winced, lifting their twisted ankle off the ground.

“Didn’t you hear me earlier?” Eco said, giving them a stern look as they sank back down onto the sofa. “You’re going to hurt yourself more if you keep acting like that!”

“Fine…” they muttered.

Eco folded her arms, not ready to let up just yet. “You have sustained severe bruises across your entire body, mild lacerations on your arms and side, and damaged your ankle. I would not recommend doing any kind of strenuous physical activity whatsoever for the near future.”

“Geez, not pulling any punches with that, huh?” the pilot said. They sat there in silence for a moment, but then sighed. “Sorry. I was just rushing home after a massive delivery job, looking forward to resting…and now I wake up in a stranger’s house with a busted ankle and an even more busted plane. Not exactly the way I was hoping to spend my night, but none of that’s your fault.”

The pilot cracked their first smile since waking up—a small one, seeming slightly embarrassed now. “I’m Avelyn, she/her. Nice to meet ya. And, uh, sorry again for snapping earlier.”

“Eco, she/they. You too, and thank you.” the teal Addi replied, feeling some of the tension in the room dissipate.

A moment of mildly uncomfortable silence passed before Eco remembered what hosts were typically supposed to do. “Can I…I don’t know, get you anything?” they asked awkwardly.

“Some water’d be nice. I feel drier than a desert right now.” Avelyn sighed, sinking back into the couch.

Quickly, Eco darted off into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water, which the pilot downed in one go. It was only after they’d come back again with a refill that they thought of another question to ask.

“Hey, is the couch comfortable enough for you to sleep on? If not, I have an air mattress…or I could take the air mattress, and you could take the bed…”

“The air mattress oughta be enough for me, thanks.” Avelyn said, smiling again. “Damn, you’re being awfully nice to someone who just smashed up your beach, yelled at you, and basically pushed her way into your house, aren’t ya?”

Eco grinned sheepishly, not having expected a compliment like that. “Oh, really? I’m actually surprised you think so! My friend always says I don’t know the first thing about having people in my house. He’s kind of been giving me tips…in between the sass.” They rolled their eyes, recalling the numerous choice words said friend had had for them over the years. “And the fact that you got hurt wasn’t your fault, after all, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t be decent, you know?”

“Well, maybe because I wasn’t exactly decent to you? But, uh, I appreciate that you’re not takin’ it out on me. And by the way, that guy sounds like a real charmer.” the reddish Addison muttered, rolling her eyes.

“He likes to think he is, but I would personally beg to differ.” Eco elaborated. “He wouldn’t like me saying this, but he’s actually a dork most of the time.”

Avelyn snickered. “You roast all your other friends like this?”

The scientist frowned, genuinely confused. “Other…friends? I mean, I have my pod, but he’s the only Addison I spend time with.”

The pilot’s eyes widened. “Oh! Oh geez, I’m sorry!”

“What for?” Eco asked, not bothered in the slightest. “I don’t need that many people in my life—I have him, and now you’re here to stay for a while…honestly, I think that’s about as many Addis as I can handle at a time!”

Avelyn tilted her head. “Well, you don’t need to worry about me, really. I can take care of myself!”

Suddenly, a distinct growling noise came from the general area of her stomach, and she visibly cringed. “That is, if you happen to have a kitchen ‘round here somewhere…”

Eco perked up at the sight of a distinct goal once more. “Indeed I do! Why don’t I make you something and show you around?”

Avelyn made a valiant effort to stand up, but couldn’t rest any weight on her left ankle at all. Eco frowned for a moment, before their fins shot straight up. “I almost forgot! Hang on, wait right there!”

“Not like I can really go anywhere…” the pilot muttered, but Eco had already dashed out of the room.

They rushed up the stairs to their room, dug their old crutch out of the closet, and then raced back into the living room, before pushing the crutch on Avelyn eagerly. “There! Now you should be able to walk just fine.”

“…should I be concerned that you just happen to have this on hand?” she asked, raising one eyebrow warily.

“Oh, not at all!” Eco chirped, already heading towards the doorway they’d previously used. “I just got mauled by a sidebar shark once, had to use that for a week or two until my leg healed up. But now I have a really neat scar, so it was all fine in the end.”

Avelyn just stared for a second, dumbstruck, before following the scientist through the door.

“So, this is my little kitchen-slash-dining room, and over there’s my medbay. It’s mostly for my poppups in case they get hurt or sick, but I’ve used it once or twice myself.” they explained.

“Oh, so you’re a poppup breeder?” Avelyn asked.

Eco grimaced. “I don’t love the term breeder…I’m more of a caretaker, personally. I let them do what they need to do, teach them what they don’t know, give them a safe place to live until they’re needed. That kind of thing.”

The reddish-orange Addi smiled briefly. “That does sound nicer than most breeders I’ve heard of.”

Their wince switched abruptly to a beaming smile. “And I’m proud of it!” they declared, thinking happily on all the poppups they’d helped raise to maturity over the years.

“Oh, right, back to the tour.” Eco continued, gesturing towards the stairs. “I don’t want to make you go up and down those any more than you have to, so just know that up there’s my bedroom and office. I’ll run up and get you the air mattress so you don’t have to climb the stairs every night and morning.”

“Hang on, didn’t you say you had food in this house?” Avelyn interrupted.

“Oh! The food!” Eco slapped a hand to her forehead, eyes wide. “Here, let me see—” she began rummaging around in her cabinets—“would you be…partial to…some soup? I have a can or two of that…”

“Sounds good to me.” Avelyn said.

“Excellent!” Eco cheered, attempting to sit up and promptly knocking her head into the top of the cabinet, given that she hadn’t gotten fully out yet. “Oh, damn…don’t want two of us injured here.” she muttered.

“Are you alright?” Avelyn asked, stifling a giggle.

“Yeah, I just don’t go down there very often.” Eco said, shuffling a few more things around in order to gather up what she needed. “Oof, I really need to organize this place sometime…” she added, mildly embarrassed now that she actually had a relative stranger over and looking at the moderate mess of her house.

As soon as she’d gotten out, she shot upright, putting a pan on her small stove and setting everything up. “Yeah, but soup’s good, actually,” she said, half to herself, “not a lot of work…”

“You talkin’ to me?” the pilot asked, sounding more than a little bewildered.

“Oh! No, sorry, I just talk to myself sometimes.” Eco explained, shrugging. “Comes with the territory when you live out by yourself, you know?”

Avelyn blinked. “You sure you’re not a…mad scientist, by any chance?”

“I…don’t think so.” Eco said, answering the question completely seriously. “Click calls me that as a joke sometimes, but I have too many morals and ethical constraints to be a true mad scientist.”

“…Click? Wait, is your friend from earlier Click?!”

“You know him? How?” Eco exclaimed.

“He and I hang out when I’m in town sometimes—how did you meet him?”

“He heard me talking about Addison code at some conference-type thing and wouldn’t leave me alone until I talked to him about it.” Eco laughed at the memory. “After that, we just…never stopped talking, I guess!”

“Who would’ve thought?” Avelyn muttered, shaking her head. “I guess you’re not such a stranger after all.”

“Soup’s all heated up!” the scientist declared, before replying, “He might come over while you’re here. Or he might not! He’s been pretty busy lately with that new partner of his.”

“Ooh, a partner?” Avelyn asked, sitting down as Eco poured the soup into two bowls. “I haven’t heard about that!”

“He refuses to tell me much of anything over text.” they said, before adding, “But I do know it’s his boss.” They accentuated the last word with a smirk, and Avelyn gasped appropriately.

“No! Link?!” she cried. “I’ve been away for ages on work, I didn’t even know they were into each other! How have I missed this?”

Eco grinned. “I did know Click had the hots for Link—he would not shut up about them the last couple times we talked! It was kind of annoying, but also a little cute, if I’m being honest.”

“Oh, they’re definitely going to be super cute together!” Avelyn added, grinning. “Please tell me he at least told you how they got together.”

“Yeah, he did do that. He actually panic-texted me the same night it happened…” the teal Addison began, launching into the story as the two sat down to eat.

They talked for hours, but eventually the two began to grow exhausted, and headed off to set up Avelyn’s bed and then to sleep.

After Eco had gotten her new guest all set up, she turned to leave, but was stopped by the sound of Avelyn’s voice. “I don’t think I ever properly thanked you.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“You let a total stranger into your home…bandaged me up, got me food, made me feel welcome…and I haven’t even had the decency to say thank you. I guess I’m not used to this kind of hospitality, but that’s still no excuse. So, thank you. For all of this.”

Eco blushed slightly, equally unused to this level of attention and thoughtfulness. “Oh! Of—of course! I’m happy to help!”

“I appreciate it.” Avelyn replied warmly. “And…I hope you sleep well.”

“You too!” Eco replied, before leaving the room herself to (at last, several hours later than expected) go to sleep.