Meanwhile, just an awkward silence away... (--Mercy Route START--)

In her heart, Marigold knew this con would be special.

It was more than her woman's intuition. It was something bigger and brighter that made her so sure, something beyond herself. She didn't know how she knew; she just did.

So why couldn't she do anything but stare at her feet, clutch her Caduceus staff and pretend to be invisible?

Marigold followed her best friend in the whole world, Kiona, across the con floor. The taller girl's ceramic boots crashed against the floor in a deafening boom, demanding that the crowd make way for Pharah and Mercy. The crowd was happy to oblige.

"Whoa..." one con-goer breathed as they passed by. She was dressed in an underwhelming Harley Quinn-as-nurse cosplay and clearly suffering from a hardcore case of Con Envy.

Marigold didn't blame her. Kiona was strong- strong enough to carry the weight of an enormous suit of blue armor and matching jet pack. She was confident- confident enough to make even a Master Chief back away to make room for her to pass. She was beautiful- beautiful enough to make her audience struggle to decide whether to stare at her heavy-duty cosplay or her exquisitely painted Eye of Horus tattoo on her right cheek.

There was no way to measure up to Kiona. It was beyond impossible. So Marigold did what she did best and slunk along in her shadow, letting her amazing friend catch every bit of adoration she deserved.

Kiona was mostly oblivious to the attention, or she was used to it. Either way, Marigold was jealous. She followed her friend towards the voice actors' panel, on the opposite end of the con's main floor. They passed plenty more awestruck people, and every time they raised a camera, Marigold considerately ducked behind Pharah's wings. She wouldn't want to ruin their photo. She just wasn't photogenic at all. Not like Kiona.

Marigold took a deep breath to steady herself. She's your friend, she thought. _Be happy for it. Be happy for _her.

"There," Kiona pointed once they were near the panel room. "Looks like it's not as popular as some other ones."

Marigold peeked around Kiona's side. There were maybe one or two people in line for her show, but the line for the _Jessie Jonas _panel stretched for miles. She wilted. Now Kiona would think she was an unpopular loser for liking Hostess Club.

"This is perfect!" Kiona said excitedly, once again completely oblivious to Marigold's worries. "We can search for merch while we wait!"

"Y-Yeah..." Marigold sighed in relief.

"Hmmm... what looks good to you?" Kiona scanned the horizon. "I see so many strange and exciting things!"

"Um... wherever you want to go," Marigold said. She kind of wanted to hide in a corner and wait for the panel, but if Kiona wanted to shop, she was more than okay following.