[ He leans into the touch to his face and gives Luca a small, self-conscious giggle. It's a bit too late to try to hide the fact he's crying, but he knows his friend won't make fun of him. It doesn't escape him how Luca brushes them off to make the scales vanish, looking after him even in these small ways. The rest is confusing, to say the least. ]

Uh? But... It's been more than two weeks. I've counted. [ Because yes, he's started with the tally marks again. They covert the wall of one of the many caves along the beach, but one that is not that easy to reach. He wanted to keep track of time, yet he didn't want to be reminded constantly of how long he had been separated from everything he knew. That's why he didn't make the marks inside his new hideout. ]

Yes! The floating pearl thing in the middle of the city told me that, and then I talked to people from others planets who confirmed it. I think they're called aliens? One is a really amazing robot person and can jump really high. His name is Cayde, he's nice. But I haven't seen any rings, not even at night. There are a lot of weird animals and plants, you need to be careful.

[ Alberto has seen mosquitoes the size of a person's head, which was gross and terrifying. A new thought occurs to him, and Alberto is both hopefully and a little scared to ask. ]

Is Giulia here too? I haven't seen her and I've been looking for you two.