When the following morning arrived, Temenos felt as if his insides had been hollowed out and then strung all across his room for him to try and clean up. He blinked to awareness slowly, the light of the morning too much for him to bear. He rubbed at his eyes, though if he was being honest with himself, he was just trying to block out the light as much as possible so that he didn't have to acknowledge that it was time for him to get up and face the rest of the day. He didn't know if he would ever be ready for it, but he knew he had to be. 

To put it simply, the previous day had been... Emotional. Temenos couldn't believe the way he had behaved when he looked back on it. Temenos had buckled beneath the weight of the pressure when Castti approached him to ask about his grief, and it didn't take long for him to entirely cave in. After that, he spent much of the rest of the day with her. They didn't speak too much, but Temenos was fine with that. He wasn't sure of what he would have even said if he had the strength to talk. Castti didn't push him into it either. She seemed to be able to tell that something was brewing in his mind, and the last thing she wanted to do was put him in an unnecessarily uncomfortable position. 

Temenos was beyond ashamed of how the day had unfolded. He had been planning on taking charge of the day by going to visit Crick once more before they both had to leave Canalbrine to go on their separate adventures and journeys. Instead, Temenos wound up shuffling his way through the day and only barely scraping by because Castti was there to keep him from falling apart entirely. She had been his shoulder to lean on and to cry on, and Temenos was grateful for it... But at the same time, he wished she hadn't witnessed it. If there was one thing Temenos hated, it was showing anything resembling weakness, and he couldn't help but feel weak when he reflected on the events of the previous day. How could he not be? He had been doing such a good job of swallowing his grief over the pontiff's death, but it all came crumbling down the instant he was faced with even the slightest bit of pressure. 

Temenos didn't have time to stop and grieve. He had known it back when his adoptive father was first killed, and he knew it now as well. If he was really going to make progress in helping the world to move forward, then he was going to have to pull himself together and face the world. He would have to continue his investigation into Vados, the Keepers of the Flame, and the wicked god Vide. The world was not going to stop simply because Temenos found himself in need of a moment to breathe. He had to find a way to keep up with it. He couldn't let his grip slip when he was so close to finding the truth. 

No... That wasn't true. He didn't feel like he was close to finding anything. In fact, Temenos would say that he had only drifted further away from the truth of everything he had learned about the pontiff over the last few weeks. He didn't understand a single thing, and he wasn't going to be able to comprehend the secrets of the past unless he developed the ability to speak with the dead. That was beyond impossible though, so Temenos would simply have to push his shoulders back, pretend he was stronger than he felt like he was, and deal with it. He could do it. He knew he could. He had to. 

Osvald was already awake and out in the common area of the inn by the time Temenos had dragged himself through the rest of his morning routine. In fact, all of the travelers were ready for the journey to Conning Creek when Temenos arrived. The cleric settled down at the last available seat at their table and cast the rest of the group a smile he knew he would never be able to believe in. "Good morning," he greeted. He felt overwhelmingly fake, but there was nothing he could do to make any of this real, so he didn't even try to convince himself. So long as no one else was trying to pressure him into talking about that which he was too afraid to speak of, he would be fine. 

"Good morning, Temenos," Hikari returned with a nod. His gaze didn't linger for long on Temenos, and the cleric was beyond relieved for the act of mercy. "As soon as we have gathered the rest of our supplies, we should be able to leave and make our way toward Conning Creek. If we move quickly, we can make it there within the next few days. I have heard the journey is not far."

"It will be relatively simple," Osvald chimed in. "I have traveled the road between Canalbrine and Conning Creek many times. It has been years since I last had the chance, but I still know the road well. If any of you need guidance, then I would be more than happy to provide it."

"What all do we have to do in Conning Creek again?" Agnea asked. "I know we have to look around for information about the man who killed Osvald's family."

"There are also rumors that we should be able to find one of the three Creatures of Legend there in Conning Creek too," Ochette answered. "I think this one will be called... Cateracta. I'm really looking forward to it. Once we're able to get the Creatures of Legend to stand with us, we'll be able to make sure the entire island of Toto'haha is safe from the calamity."

Temenos began to concentrate on enjoying his meal to the best of his ability, glad to have the distraction to pull him out of his own head. If all the people around him were focused on upholding another conversation, then he would be safe from having to talk about what had been haunting him the day before. The only person who may have been able to break through that veil of normalcy was Castti, and... 

Castti was staring blankly at the inn's nearby window, searching for something beyond the glass but seemingly not finding it regardless of how hard she tried to look. Temenos was on the verge of asking her what was wrong, but he couldn't figure out how he was meant to start. If he pressed her, then she could end up pressing him in return. Temenos was too exhausted from the last few days to mount a sturdy defense in front of the rest of the travelers, and he selfishly found himself struggling to find the words to probe Castti's current mental state. 

Luckily, he didn't have to worry about doing it. Throné took charge before he could consider it in full. "Are you alright, Castti?" Throné questioned. "You've seemed out of it all morning."

Castti blinked her way back into her body, trying and failing to fully ground herself in reality. Throné's words made a little bit of progress in getting through to her, but there was still a lot playing behind Castti's eyes, and that was just what Temenos could easily see. "I... I'm alright," Castti forced herself to reply. "I'm not entirely sure what's going through my head right now. I feel like..." She trailed off at that, the words refusing to come even as she tried to push for them. "I'm not sure. It's nothing for the rest of you to worry about. I'm sure I'll feel better soon."

"If you wanna talk about it, the rest of us are more than happy to hear you out, y'hear?" Partitio said, and Castti nodded. "Just give us the word, and we'll be right there to talk to you about whatever it is you need."

"Thank you, Partitio," Castti hummed, but she didn't say anything else. Instead, she tore her gaze away from the window and back to her food. Temenos wondered if there was anything he could say or do to push her in the right direction to talk, but he didn't knwo if he wanted to take the chance. Castti was an adult. Surely she would be able to handle it for herself if she decided that she wanted to talk. Until then, the offer was open, and Temenos was fine with leaving her to it in the meantime. 

The rest of the meal passed by relatively uneventfully, and Temenos was glad for it. He finished off his food and then went through town with the rest of the travelers to gather the rest of the supplies they would need to make it to Conning Creek. The journey would not be a long one, but it never hurt to be overly prepared for something like this in Temenos' eyes. The groups' funds were doing just fine, and Temenos was certain that would remain true for as long as Ochette was able to prepare monsters and then sell the meat at local markets when they passed through towns. 

After the travelers had finished up their preparations, they walked toward the exit of Canalbrine that would take them deeper into the western continent. Temenos paused for a long moment, looking out over the rest of the city and forcing himself through a slow sigh. He really had been hoping that he would be able to say goodbye to Crick before he had to leave town, but he had no doubt missed his chance when he woke up disoriented the day before. He would have to do something to make it up to Crick later on. Temenos already found himself missing his lost lamb's presence, and he wondered if perhaps Crick missed him in return. 

"Temenos!"

Crick's voice jolted Temenos out of his thoughts instantly, and the Inquisitor looked up to find the Sanctum Knight rushing over to him with one arm stretched high above his head in a wave. At first, Temenos thought perhaps his loneliness was making him imagine it, but the familiar clack of armor against the ground was too consistent with what he remembered for it to all be in his head. Crick was breathless by the time he arrived in front of Temenos and the rest of the travelers, and he had to bend over and press his hands against his knees in an effort to regain his suddenly lost breath. "I'm... I'm so glad I was able to catch you," Crick wheezed in between heavy gasps for air. "I was worried you had left town already."

Temenos pressed a smile onto his face even though he doubted it would ever look even close to genuine. "Of course not. Was there something you needed before we left? Or have you chosen to walk away from your position in the Sacred Guard to travel with us instead?" Temenos phrased the second question as a joke, but he wouldn't have minded it at all if Crick said that was actually the truth. In fact, it would have been a delightful surprise given the recent string of bad days he had suffered. 

Crick's face immediately went red not from exertion but from embarrassment, and he huffed as he looked away from Temenos in offense. "No! Of course not!" he exclaimed, but there was a bit more doubt on his face now than there had been when the two first met. As far as Temenos was concerned, that was a sign of a victory. Crick was learning to push back against the authorities that governed the world, and one day, he would perhaps be ready to turn away from the Sacred Guard permanently when he realized how corrupt they could be. "I just... I wanted to have the chance to say goodbye."

Temenos couldn't help but smile a bit wider at that. Then Crick had missed him in the day they were apart to carry out their various duties in town. "Well, you arrived just in time. We were preparing to leave for Conning Creek in a few minutes, but it wouldn't hurt to stall our progress to bid you farewell."

Crick sighed with relief, his previous flustered demeanor melting away in an instant. "How soon will you be coming to Stormhail?" he asked. "I'm already looking forward to your interrogation. And... I'm looking forward to seeing what you can learn of the rest of the case."

Temenos paused, humming to himself. "I'm not entirely certain. I have many other matters to resolve before I can go to Stormhail comfortably," he answered. "But when I arrive in town, I will be able to tell you the results of my investigation in the Fellsun Ruins here on the western continent. I wish you could come along, but..."

Crick shook his head. "I can't do that. I have to take Vados back to headquarters. We'll be leaving in an hour to sail to the dock in Cape Cold so we can march up to Stormhail from there," he said, and Temenos could see the tension in his eyes that explained everything his words could not. Crick would have loved to be able to come along with the travelers for the next leg of their investigation, but so long as he was bound to his duties within the Sacred Guard, he could not. "I hope you will write when you get the chance. I know not where you will be, but if you send letters to Stormhail, I would be more than happy to hear updates of your investigation."

"I can tell you where we will be traveling as well so that you can contact us in return," Temenos offered. He didn't say that he would be looking forward to receiving any and all letters from Crick when he was given the chance. He most certainly would be, but Crick didn't need to know that so long as it would only serve to embarrass Temenos first and foremost. "I look forward to hearing the results of your investigation into Vados' recent behaviors as well. If there is anything you wish to tell me, then I will be listening."

"Of course." Crick paused for a moment, feeling the weight of their farewell hanging heavily in the air between them. In a gesture Temenos never could have expected, Crick stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Temenos' torso, pulling him in for a tight hug. "Please... Stay safe. I know how you like to get into trouble."

Temenos was too stunned to return the embrace for a long moment. He didn't even know the last time he had been held so tenderly. He was certain it had been by the pontiff shortly after Roi went missing, and that had been years prior. It was an agonizing thought, and yet, that made it all the more tempting for Temenos to sink into Crick's grasp. As soon as he was able to return thought and motion to his limbs, Temenos hugged Crick back. "You hardly need to worry about me. I have a fine group taking care to look after me... If anything, I should be worried about you. Proceed cautiously to ensure no crows decide to pick your corpse clean."

Crick sighed as he pulled away, his hands still pressed against Temenos' shoulders. "It never seems to stop with you... But so be it. I'll see you in Stormhail, Temenos." Crick looked up at the rest of the group and offered them a smile that shone like the sun. "I'd be happy to hear from the rest of you as well. I hope our next meeting will not be so constrained by time."

"Of course. We'd be more than happy to reach out," Hikari nodded. "We wish you nothing but the best on your travels, Crick. Should you ever have need of our help, you are more than welcome to send a letter to us as well."

Crick nodded one last time, and he slowly but surely let his hands retreat from Temenos' shoulders. Temenos found himself missing the touch almost as soon as it was gone, but he didn't let it show on his face any more than was absolutely necessary. "Thank you... I look forward to seeing you in Stormhail. Until then... Good luck."

Temenos nodded and waved as Crick turned on his heel and started off toward the dock at the other end of Canalbrine. Temenos fought down the pang of misery that came with watching Crick leave. He couldn't believe Crick had already done so much to endear himself to Temenos in so little time. It took ages for Temenos to truly warm up to anyone, and there he was, finding himself close with a member of the Sacred Guard and smiling at the mere thought of him. He was looking forward to being able to see Crick again already, and they had only barely parted ways. Temenos could only hope Crick was able to stay out of trouble until they saw each other again. The last thing he wanted was for this to be their last meeting without Temenos even realizing it. 

He had dealt with that more than enough times to last for the rest of his life. 

"Alright," Agnea smiled once Crick was out of view. "Now, it's time for us to go to Conning Creek! Are you ready to get going?"

Temenos nodded, pulling himself out of his thoughts to the best of his ability. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to go to Conning Creek given how stressed he had been for the last few days, but if it would get him away from Canalbrine, then it was more than fine. "Of course. Let us be off."

~~~~~

Castti didn't know what was wrong with her. 

It was a thought that had occurred to her many times since she woke up on that skiff in the middle of the sea, but each time, she found herself struggling to figure out what exactly was wrong with her all over again. She just felt like there was something deeply wrong with the way she was conducting herself, and whenever she began to calm down, that fear came rushing in all over again. She couldn't seem to spend more than a few days without wondering just what she was missing about understanding herself. The other travelers hadn't asked too much about it, and Castti was glad for it. She wouldn't have known how to answer their questions when she barely understood a thing about herself as it was. 

Castti had been out of it all morning. She couldn't even begin to guess why. She and the rest of the travelers were going about their business as usual. The day before, she had been fine, but now, she couldn't seem to convince her eyes to focus for longer than a few seconds at a time. Her gaze kept drifting up to the sky, but she couldn't even begin to understand why. What about the world was so intriguing to her today that she couldn't focus on anything but uncovering the truth?

Castti couldn't notice any visible differences between yesterday and today as she walked down the road to Conning Creek. The rest of the travelers were taking charge in looking over their path, and Castti was glad for it. She felt too disoriented to properly read a map, and she couldn't concentrate on anything regardless of how she tried. She most certainly was trying, but it simply wasn't enough. Nothing felt like it was enough, and it was driving her up the wall. She didn't know what was going on, but she needed to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. 

Castti once again turned her gaze away from the ground and up to the sky. Clouds had rolled in from the horizon, blocking out the sun and bringing with them the promise of rain. Castti didn't think she had seen rain since she first woke up on the skiff, but that didn't really do much to explain her circumstances. Why would she be so distracted just because the day was a bit overcast and rainy? That made no sense. She had seen rain before. How could she have ever lived without knowing what rain was? Even if she had somehow been a hermit before she lost her memories, she would at least have seen rain a handful of times through a window or when stepping outside for some reason or another. What about it was bothering her now? 

And yet, Castti found herself filled with deep distress each time she thought about the pending weather event. It was just rain. It shouldn't have been that big of a problem. In fact, she would argue that it shouldn't have been a problem at all. There was no reason for her to be so stressed by a little bit of weather. She knew what rain was like. It was just water from the sky... Right? But if she thought about it in too much detail, she felt like she was going to explode. Why did it feel so significant to her? Why couldn't she remember?

Castti did her best to be patient with herself and her missing memories. She wasn't going to remember anything as long as she was constantly pressuring herself to learn as much as possible in as little time as she could manage. That would only serve to stress her out, and she was under more than enough strain as it was trying to figure out how to cope with losing touch with everything from her past. But at the same time, it was hard for her to be patient forever when she wanted to tear her hair out from frustration. She was acting in such bizarre ways, but she couldn't even begin to understand why. How was she meant to find a solution to her issues of attitude when she didn't know why it was happening? How could she calm down on a rainy day when she didn't understand what was distressing her in the first place?

A droplet of water fell onto Castti's cheek, and her head immediately whirled up to the sky. The rain was starting to fall at last, and her entire body was shaking violently from the single kiss of liquid. Castti forced herself to look away from the sky, but when she blinked, she could have sworn she saw a trace of purple. Instead, she concentrated on looking down at her gloved hands... There were scars located beneath the fabric though, and for some reason, her hands were shaking more than the rest of her body. She felt like she was going to die if she stood there for too much longer. How could she ever hope to survive in a place like this? The rain was going to kill her. It was going to destroy her and everyone she loved and everything she had ever known and she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it and she was going to die and and and and and--

"Castti?"

Hikari's voice snapped Castti out of her thoughts, and in the blink of an eye, there was sudden calmness washing through her body. She blinked a few times, and the shaking of her hands began to ease and then fade away entirely. She continued to watch her hands for a few moments more before forcing them to fall down by her sides. "Yes?" she asked, her voice suddenly cool and composed in a way she had never thought possible given the circumstances. 

"Are you alright?" Throné questioned next, taking a small step toward her. "You just stopped walking all of a sudden." 

Castti shook her head and stepped away from Throné, the touch suddenly feeling like a threat even though the thief was nowhere close to actually reaching out for her. "I'm fine," Castti managed to reply. "I just got a little bit startled by the rain. That's all." After a few moments of silence, Castti swallowed dryly, her dread continuing to catch up with her despite her best efforts to stay calm. "Do... Do you think we should find a place to camp soon? Maybe there's a cave around here we could stay in until the rain passes. I wouldn't want us to end up trudging through mud if we can at all avoid it."

The rest of the travelers all looked at each other quietly, and Castti had to wonder if perhaps she had said something wrong. She didn't know how it would have been wrong exactly, but it felt like it must have been. In the end, Osvald was the one who spoke up, and he nodded slowly. "There's a cave a short distance ahead. Night will be falling soon, so we can stop there for the night and continue the rest of our march tomorrow," he offered. "Does that sound like a fine enough idea?"

"Yes," Castti answered. She wished she would be able to get out of the rain a bit sooner than that, but if this was her only choice, then she had no reason to complain. At least she would be able to hide away from the sky's tears before she was pressured into shedding her own. "Thank you." 

Castti watched as the rest of the travelers continued their journey forward. She could feel their eyes following her with each step she took, and even though none of them openly stared, Castti knew they were still trying to watch over her. None of them knew how to respond to what had just happened, and if she was being honest with herself, she didn't know how to respond to it either. She just felt like she was going to die, and it was a fight to keep herself breathing... Or at the very least, it had been before that sudden wave of calm rushed through her. 

No. She couldn't think about it too much. That would only destabilize her more. She could do this. She just needed to keep walking for a little while longer. She would make it to the cave, and she would be fine. She would be out of the rain. It wouldn't be able to hurt her. Everything was going to be alright. 

She could do this. She had survived the rain before, and she would survive it again.

~~~~~

Castti smelled weird. 

Ochette had been struggling a lot over the last few days trying to get to the bottom of the mystery that came with Hikari's changing smell, and now, something else was presenting itself to her. Out of all the travelers to suddenly undergo a drastic change of scent, Castti was perhaps one of the last ones that Ochette had expected. But it had happened in an instant, and Ochette immediately recognized it. All of a sudden, Castti smelled less like herself--a woman with traces of herbs and earth--and more like a flower. Ochette wasn't sure of which flower specifically, but she knew that it was certainly a bloom with a strong scent. 

Ochette was going to have to ask the rest of the group if they knew anything about this sort of thing. She couldn't expect humans with a relatively weaker sense of smell than her to be able to help her get to the bottom of it, but Ochette still wanted to try. If there was something strange happening with first Hikari and now Castti, then Ochette was going to have to push it. Maybe she would be able to ask Castti honestly and just get an answer out of her then and there. 

But it didn't seem like that would be happening any time soon. Castti was staring down at the ground with vacant eyes, and as far as Ochette could tell, she didn't seem to be truly seeing anything happening around her. In a way, it was even more worrying than the sudden burst of violence that came with Hikari's rage taking him over. At least then he actually did something. Now, Castti was wandering through the world like she was barely tethered to it at all, and Ochette had no idea of what to do about any of it. 

"Are you worried?" 

Temenos' voice cut through Ochette's thoughts, and she looked up to find the cleric walking just beside her. There was a distant sheen to his eyes as well, but at least he was focused enough to be able to uphold a conversation with Ochette. That was certainly more than either one of them could say about Castti at the moment. 

"Yeah," Ochette replied. "I feel like something just changed, but... I don't know what it is." After a few seconds of silence, Ochette frowned. "Do you think Castti smells different now?"

"I doubt any of us have a strong enough sense of smell to be able to detect a change like that, Ochette," Temenos replied, and Ochette bit back a whine of dissatisfaction. "But if you think something changed, then it may be worth investigating." He watched Castti for a handful of moments before humming. "After a little bit of time has passed."

Ochette sighed. "I guess you're right." She really didn't know what the problem was with her new traveling company. She thought all of them were great friends to have, of course, but she couldn't shake the feeling that a few things were being kept from her. She wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not. She had no reason to assume ill intent of any of them, but it still worried Ochette that there were secrets being kept in the first place. She wanted everyone to feel safe enough to talk to her and the rest of the group. They shouldn't have had to hide anything. 

That just meant Ochette would have to do everything she could to prove she could be trusted, and she really was willing to do anything. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And there's the end of Temenos' chapter two! Wahoo!

This chapter is all about setting up details for later on. I love working through this story and having so many surprise tools that will help us later. I'm microdosing on tiny little things that won't come back until the chapter threes and fours, but that's the fun of it. I love teasing things. This story has a few changes from canon, and I need to make sure everyone has the chance to figure it out before I actually expose it. 

And I think this chapter is definitely making some of the pieces come together for those who have read my other fics for Octopath II. Um... Yeah. That's all I'm going to say about that. You can check out my other stuff if you want, or you can keep it a surprise. It's up to you. I am having fun doing this either way. Oh, the joys of storytelling. 

Next time, it'll be time for our next chapter: Ochette's first chapter two! Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital