Ienzo stood on his very tippy-toes, lifting his discovery as high as he could. "It's--!" He made the mistake of jumping-- a mistake, for he didn't quite stick the landing. The real world was silent for a few moments before some shuffling could be heard.

"Hold on." Ienzo whispered in embarrassment before running off.

Ienzo didn't recognize anyone milling around the gardens today. He may not exactly be a social butterfly, but he at least recognized the people that hung around the same spots he did. Today though, everyone he saw was completely unfamiliar to him. A few of them even gave him weird looks, as if he was the one out of place... They stared at him like there was something wrong with him, like he shouldn't be walking down the same road as them.

The roads themselves were weird, too. In some places they were rougher than they used to be, and in others they looked brand new. Ienzo knew Ansem hadn't ordered any roads paved recently... Why would someone go out of their way to add a fresh coat of paint to random roads? It wasn't as if they had been in poor shape or anything...

And don't get him started on how freaky the state of the gardens were. It was like someone had uprooted every single flower in a single night-- and planted entirely different ones in their place!

Maybe... Maybe Ienzo really was the one out of place. But how? Why?

At least the ice cream stall was still there... even if the person that ran it was different. Ienzo paid for his ice cream and continued his wandering, this time heading towards the fountain plaza rather than his usual hangout in the outer gardens.

Really, he should just head home but... He was scared that if he went to the castle, he would find it was different too. So instead, he procrastinated.

He had just been about to stop and sample his ice cream when he saw someone. They looked even more out of place than Ienzo felt, and from their expression Ienzo knew they were already aware. He lowered his ice cream from his mouth, and set off in the strange man's direction.

While normally Ienzo wasn't a fan of sharing his ice cream-- especially not with adults that could pay for their own-- he decided to make an exception just this once. The guy looked like he needed it, after all.

Even-- No, Aeleus, no Even, no Aeleus, no Aeleus, no Even, no Aeleus, no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus, no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus,  no Even, no Aeleus, no--

Ienzo's heart was beating so fast, he was sure the butterfly would realize how excited he was and fly away. Though he had held bees before, butterflies had always eluded him. Perhaps the lack of a stinger meant they held more fear in their tiny little bodies. Thankfully, perhaps because the butterfly found Aeleus's presence as soothing as Ienzo did, the little guy didn't fly away... instead perching on Ienzo's nose, just like the two humans had hoped it would.

Ienzo had been considering picking a flower to bring Aeleus-- that poor man, thanks to his job as castle guard he didn't get to enjoy the gardens as much as Ienzo could. He had just found the perfect flower when he was interrupted, and he looked up at the person sullenly before realizing who it was and what they had asked. Instantly, he perked up. He had been waiting for this moment.

Wood carving... So he had been working with knives. Ienzo supposed he was lucky that his own interests were safe, mostly involving books and computers. He wouldn't get any scars from papercuts, after all.

He removed his hand from the man's, his curiosity satisfied. He nodded; his way of showing gratitude for a question answered.