Many fruit juices were had..

  Sail was not fond of drinking or the process of being drunk. The smell and the idea was always tethered to his father who often lost his reason and partook in becoming a self-made zombie through alcohol. Drinking was always the catalyst for misery rather than the shelfing of burdens for Sail.

  However, the current fruit juice was already riddling around his body. It was not the same as being drunk, these drinks were a wide array of more distinct strong mood makers. Either way, Sail still felt he had been had. In the end he gave up and continued drinking throughout the night.

  The various beverages all had different effects on ones mood depending on their fruity ingredients. Turns out the Bouncing Gonutgo was not simply a bouncy flavor but a bouncy mood instigator. The Trinut Breeze he had been downing over and over was supposedly a relaxant and anxiety destroyer.

  "I definitely didn't take a step on it. No, no. It looked like it would topple instantly and the planks would just fall. I certainly didn't fancy it"

  A girl with a tight baseball cap placed on a bob cut was currently talking to Sail with many gestures as she talked.

  "The fog was so thick.. You could not see anything close to where it would end. It was dipping down a bit towards the horizon and into the fog. I imagine the bridge would be dipped in the centre and then rise back up. So, because it was still going downwards when it went out of sight i think its not even close to being half way.. There was not much to do or check out so i bailed us out pretty quick. We had Reyy step on a few planks but that was all"

  This girl he was chatting with was perhaps the most defended and valuable lady in the tower. Illi was currently in a much more sporty attire and mood then when Sail first briefly saw her. Perhaps because she had watched a movie about him or because she had been drinking a lot of fruit juice.

  "What was the name of the floor given by the tower?"

  "Its called the 27th floor! The Full Sky Overpass!"

  "Full sky? That sounds exhausting for sure. The goal is to simply reach the other side it said?"

  "Yeah. A giant rickety bridge that stretches out across the whole sky maybe. It's probably going to take a long time to clear. Hopefully its more of a metaphor. Or some kind of trick! If crossing the bridge is more some metaphysical thing we should get ahead of it before we waste our time!"

  "I see, and you want me for this then?"

  "Of course. Honestly Gastin, is that the name your going by?, i would feel quite nervous without you. Your our new number 1! You passed the 26th, i thought we might just all keep dying there forever! You can probably be a real safety blanket over our climb. Please do help us. Most my friends are all deceased from back on the 14th... If Wander was there, they may have all been fine you know. You can be the new Wander!"

  "Hmmm. Well don't get ahead of yourself. Ill have a look but be assured I'm taking a break for a while. Don't rely on me, ok? What's the rush exactly?"

  "Wander always said there is no reason for hesitation. Its a mantra that he used when he beat floors 8,9 and 10 back to back to back! Its like a mantra for us floor wanderers. Regardless, climbers are always inspired to the next floor like magnets. We get more power and an entire world when we beat it, plus the entirety of everything itself when we reach the top of the tower!"

  "The top... 74 more floors then unless there's some gimmick. You seem quite confident throwing in a 'when' instead of an 'if'"

  "Optimism is good for the heart. If we don't reach the top then what's the point of all this."

  "I suppose that may be true.."

  "You have the same skill as me Gastin!"

  "Oh yeah?"

  "Yep, dash! You really made it look so useful out there!"

  "It is useful though"

  "But its only 30 seconds. I never thought it was worth much other than getting away. I'm always being told to stay in the back anyway so maybe im just not using it right..."

  "Are shared skills common?"

  "Its fairly common. A lot of C rank skills are passed around. Dash is one of the more well known. The most common is Strength."

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  "It seems the tower isn't that creative in naming low rank skills"

  "Yeah, its a bit simple down here. Anyway, do you want to maybe.. maybe. Maybe race?"

  "Race?"

  "Yeah, us dash folk do races all the time. We can run down the beach!"

  "ok"

  Sand was running down the nightly beach air at full speed. The dark blue waterfall to his side was a blur as he went about doing laps of the island. The sky was filled with stars and three moons which all cast reflections that evoked the heart. Truly he should have thought to do such a thing on his own without it needing to be suggested.

  'Running. Running at such speeds. How simple i am. This may end up being more addictive than those fruit drugs'

  Naturally after having his skill elevated to mad sprint he had no trouble winning his race vs Illi. He was planning to run only slightly ahead of her but controlling and fine tuning the speed would take some time to master. Thus, he simply just sped off.

  "You.. your not part of the dashfolk.."

  "Yeah, i now have a mad sprint. I suppose im a sprintfolk"

  "ohhhh. The B rank edition of dash... Its a least three times as fast dont you think? Im pissed you already beat me so badly Gastin but its pretty cool... And it lasts a whole 2 minutes. That's a bit unfair"

  "My bad"

  "You think you could just dash across the entire bridge on the full sky overpass? You'd need to have good foot placement"

  "Are you trying to kill me Illi? Didn't you say the planks are all a couple feet away from each other? Stop trying to get me to climb the 27th floor!"

  "Aww, come on.."

  "Your free to do it yourself. Go upgrade your dash yourself"

  "Ill try. Its the first time ive seen the evolved dash before.. Ill do my best!"

  As the two ran across the white beach under the moonlight, they saw a giant raging fire down by the cove across the beach. An enormous 2d square of fire kept folding in on itself and spinning out to form cubes and all sorts. It was not a threat as Sail briefly thought but instead a special party trick of Match. The trap arsonist had lit up a large bonfire along with creating a mystical arial display over the beach.

  Sat around the bonfire was Lanturn who was once again wearing a long thin dress even upon the beach. A light cream dress with one of Rerki's cats on her lap. She had both her small hands out to the fire.

  Sail wanted to sit beside but apparently still couldn't easily muster such a thing. He found her so lovely that even after everything he had been through it was still too much for his anxiety. Even with so many Trinut Breeze's in him.

  "Gastin!" A man with long white hair suddenly took up Sail's entire view and bowed forward smacking his long hair into Sail's face.

  "Thank you good sir! What an excellent climb! My heart is moved. So moved. I need to thank you. I hope to be cataloguing the many legends and tales you shall ever forge!"

  September gave a little honorary salute.

  "What do you think about the sucker punch? I think it was the mother's soul in there! Many say it was the daughter but she was beaten upon by the mother! The beating was akin to the boxing found in the jack in a box toy. The toy was never actually cursed but the mother forged such a curse! Thus in her misery she became the very thing she loathed and you vanquished her tortured soul!"

  "uhhh...Yeah, i figure it was something like that."

  "You were doing laps with dash! I see. I too wish i had such dashing ability. This would allow be to convince folks to let me join in on the climb. Or just any sort of defensive measure really.. For now i must watch all the same as my viewers"

  "Right. Your movies September.."

  "Yes. Yes what of them?"

  "Well first i think its good practice to inform your cast and actors that they are going to be in a movie before you broadcast it. Second, I really am interested in watching all the climbs of the tower so far. Can i please watch your discography?"

  "Discography! well said! My apologises for not informing you. How foolish of me. In my defence i didn't even know of you before i watched it myself. I only control the theatrics and have the movie play out in tune to my spirit and ambition. I don't know the contents until played myself"

  "Well, that's fair. So then, can i watch sometime? Preferably in a private theatre"

  "Well... im booked out quite far. Ill have to think about this one Gastin. My apologies but you would likely need to watch a public screening. It would be a waste to just have you watch alone after all. Quite terribly so. The cooldown on replay is a month each time."

  "Oh..."

  "Yes. My films are also unable to be recorded other than through ones memory. If you wish to know about the past climbs then sadly its best to simply ask around. I do wish i could play such films to you on mass... I would grant you an infinite pass. Hmmmm, how about I change the showing next month to be whatever floor you like!"

  "Ok. Well thank you September. Ill take you up on that. Ill get back to you on what climb i wish to watch. Do you have a favorite?"

  "A favorite? How could I choose? Each one is a wholly different flavor. I cannot choose such a sacrilegious thing. Different genres cannot be ranked under the same lens! Though i am a sucker for Itai's doomsday tale on the 12th.. And i suppose now im quite the fan of Gastin's ghastly quest on the 26th! But have it known that all climbs so far have there own charm. I'm endlessly impressed by how the tower forges such interesting endeavors"

  "I see. You think its entertaining then? Ill have you know im not fighting for my life for the amusement of others"

  "Yes. It is a tragic state of affairs sometimes. But its only right to learn from past tales and understand as much as possible in order to better respect others. A valiant climb and a hurt soul will always be worth recognizing and is to never be left truly alone. Though i may come across loud and a touch insensitive sometimes, I assure you I always carry such souls of the fallen with me. I will never forget what i have witnessed"

  "...Well said. I have found a respect for you September. Were you born in September?"

  "How can i be born inside September?"

  "Its a month, no?"

  "Months are just numbers.."

  "Then why are you called September?"

  "I was the 9th sacrifice cast to be impaled on the severed field of limbs. My being was forged out of the sombre petals dripping from whistle pipes. I was named in tune by the god of Downforth. Tattoos bestowed on me by painterly sanguines in tune with the wave of Downforth dictated the name of my being as September"

  "..movies really might be necessary to understand these things..."