#tomarang

She and Violet did make it out to the Sulea Tiger Sanctuary, but the tigers stayed hidden from view for most of their stroll through the jungle park.

"My mom's old vet students, Andre and Karla, are supposed to come take over this place, but it's probably not so easy securing the necessary permits from Nevada."

"I've heard time moves at its own pace in Nevada," Violet mused. "Kinda like here in Tomarang!"

By the time they left the sanctuary, Lavender fixed her disappointment by 'adopting' a tiger and joining the Cub Club.

The sanctuary might not have been Andre and Karla's yet, and she might not have seen any tigers, but she came from an animal-loving family and wouldn't think of leaving without a donation.

The girls settled into something resembling domesticity even though they lacked much in the way of personal space, and though they both knew these living arrangements were temporary.

Lavender was still getting used to the squat toilet in the bathroom - she always forgot not to wear socks in there first thing in the morning! But she liked getting up early to make them breakfast before Violet left for her program, and the girls would sit at the kitchen table to talk about their plans for the day.

And today was the hottest yet. "While you sweat it out in a classroom for your program, I'm heading to the beach covered in SPF 90."

"I'll text you when class is done and come find you," said Violet. "Stay hydrated."

Lavender grew up in frigid Brindleton Bay, and the Tomarang sunshine was really something else. She knew better than to mess with the heat, and she loaded herself down with two litres of water before trekking out to one of the public beaches in Koh Sahpa.

Lavender beat the heat by swimming laps in the turquoise blue bay. The water in Brindleton Bay was never this clear, and she knew the water in Evergreen Harbour's Willupette Sound wasn't great for swimming, either.

It wasn't just the heat that drove her into the water for a swim, but the novelty, and she was taking another dip when Violet found her from the shore. She grinned and swam forward, greeting her girlfriend with a kiss as the sun dried her skin almost instantly.

"How was your day?"

"Good! I'm glad they let us out early because of the heat. I saw Vanesha at the apartment when I went to get my suit, and I told her to bring her sister out to join us."

"You did?"

"Yeah, it's hot out and the fans are only so good."

"The fans in her apartment are a lot better."

"Not that good...why are you being weird about Vanesha and Zhafira? You said they're cool!"

"They are! But they're around a lot. I found a really quiet beach because I thought we'd get to be on it just the two of us."

"Well, you didn't say that."

"Like you won't say that you secretly want to stay in Tomarang?"

Violet reeled. "What are you talking about? Is this just because you're jealous of Vanesha for no reason? It's easy to tell, Lavender."

"I'm jealous of Vanesha because she sees you every day and I'm only here for six weeks! Six weeks that are almost over, by the way. Don't change the subject."

"From what?"

"From the fact that you keep buying things for your apartment as if you're never going to leave, and every time I bring up Evergreen Harbour, you have nothing to say."

"Because you keep talking about your new home...that you bought without even asking if I wanted to live in a bunch of shipping containers covered in fake grass! Are you even listening? Did you clean up the beach before I got here?"

"I..." Lavender stashed her bag of trash and focused on their conversation. "Do your parents even know you don't want to come home?"

"I didn't say I didn't. I haven't decided anything yet, Lava. I'm trying to get through the program before I make any life changing decisions. But I wasn't going to do anything without talking to you first."

"It's not like I'd force you to move there. I'd keep doing long distance."

"For how long?"

"Long enough. Longer than we've already done it, because I love you."

"I love you, too, Lava...can I take a rain check on the beach? It's too hot, and I'm not feeling great all of a sudden."

"Let's head back," Lavender said easily, and Violet frowned.

"Do you mind if I spend the evening alone? I'll find you later, I promise."

Lavender felt Violet's words like a punch to her gut. She knew the girls had been grating on each other a little in the small apartment, and their fight on the beach revealed it had to do with a lot more than just the heat.

So Lavender stayed by the shore and Violet headed back to Morensong by herself. Wandering the Night Market, she ran into Vanesha, but she felt too guilty over Lavender's jealous feelings to chat with her for long.

"I did want to tell you that Zhafira told me you want to be a DJ, and I think that's so cool. If I become an event planner, I'd book you as the entertainment all over the world."

Vanesha laughed. "If Zhafira ever figures out how to fix the electrical, I might think of leaving her alone in the apartment so I can travel around. Until then, I'm not interested in burning the place down."

The girls shared a smile as Vanesha realized she was alone. "Where's Lavender tonight?"

"Oh, she was at the beach, but when I texted you not to come, it was too hot for me. She should probably be back pretty soon from Koh Sahpa."

The women parted ways and Violet texted Lavender, who was hanging out in a park not far from the house. I found some chalk and a hopscotch court, she wrote.

Violet found her and offered her a hug. "I'm sorry about earlier. I do think about staying in Tomarang sometimes, but I don't want to fight."

"I don't want to fight, either. Let's go home."

They made their way back, but Violet's next day off was grey and rainy. It was welcome after sweltering heat in the days before, but it put a dampener on their plans to bask in nature at ZoSul Taman Botani National Park.

With umbrellas in hand, they headed out, anyway, before parking themselves on a bench under a wooden gazebo with views of lush, manicured gardens leading out to the bay.

They sat in silence for a while, until Violet slowly broke the peaceful sound of rain against the roof of the gazebo.

"I wanted to talk about the other day..."

Lavender breathed a sigh of relief. "Me too, and I was thinking, I wasn't thinking about how much you love Tomarang when I found my new place in Evergreen Harbour, but I could run LavaKnits from out here. We could look for a bigger place with room for me to work, and it probably won't take me too long to sell the place I bought. It had been on the market for a while when I got it, but someone out there must think it's a cool place to live just like I did. But you mean enough to me-"

"Lavender, I...I think we should break up."

Violet's words fell heavy against her, sinking into Lavender's skin and clawing at her heart. "You...what?"

"I think I do want to stay in Tomarang after my program is done. You were right that I was thinking about it and didn't say anything. I haven't even talked about it with my parents because I thought I could just make up my mind when I was done. It's a big decision and I wanted to be really sure, but I wasn't being fair to you, either. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? I just said I wanted to move here to be with you."

"You want to move here because you're jealous of Vanesha."

"And you breaking up with me doesn't make me feel like I have no reason to be jealous of her, for the record."

"It's not about Vanesha!" she insisted. "Lavender, I love you. I love you even though we're headed in different directions. But if there was a way for us to want such different things in the same place, maybe we wouldn't be fighting against even having this conversation."

"I don't want to fight with you, Violet. I don't want to lose you."

On the verge of tears, Violet shook her head. "I don't want to lose you, either, Lava. But we...we probably shouldn't talk for a while. I'll finish my program and let you get situated, and then maybe we can see where we are and how we feel."

Lavender felt as though part of her had been sucked into a black hole, with an endless expanse of nothingness slowly filling the empty space. "Yeah, maybe...What now?"

"Are you going to be okay to get back to the house if I go meet some friends from my program? I don't know if you want to look into changing your flight home or not, and Vanesha says you can stay on her couch for a few days if flights are too expensive."

Lavender grimaced. "You told Vanesha you were going to break up with me?"

"Lav...she's my friend. Do you think I wasn't a little bit jealous when you and Brea got matching tattoos without me? We used to be like the Three Musketeers. But I didn't make a big deal about it because it's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal if you felt left out, and I would've included you if I knew it mattered to you even a little bit!"

"Lavender, I'm sorry. I have to go meet my friends."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too. Tell Vanesha thanks, but no thanks; I'll find a hotel if I can't change my flights, but it won't take me long to pack up and be out of your apartment."

Violet nodded solemnly as Lavender stood from the bench. It was raining harder now than when they arrived, and she buried herself, and her tears, beneath her appropriately black umbrella. ->

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NOTE: The writing really has been on the wall for this one for a while, but I wasn't trying to blindside anyone with a shocking breakup. Violet's Child of the Village trait means she's unhappy whenever she's not in Tomarang; if there's a path back together for them in the future, it still felt realistic that their very young relationship (with so, so many communication errors on both sides), wouldn't survive this trip.