Kari and I spent that night in Erinne, planning things out, gathering things, and just trying to get to know each other. To prepare for the nights out there, we (or really, I) stole any clothing we could get our hands on along with bed sheets since a blanket was too bulky to store in my bag.

   We managed to pull this off without much resistance, though Kari was almost hit with a broom on one occasion. Dew made that woman regret it with what seemed like a Thunder Shock.

   Layers was the name of the game here, and both Kari and I put on enough to hide how thin we looked, which made me feel slightly better. At least we sorta looked like we weren't such easy prey due to our physiques. I also decided it was for the better that I wore long-sleeved shirts and tunics, though I made sure they were loose enough that I could easily push up the sleeves if I needed to transform.

   In my inquiring about Kari, I learned that his full name was Kari Noma, and it turned out he was actually thirteen years old instead of eleven like I'd thought.

Kari had lived in Erinne with his father, sister, and Dew. His father was a sailor who'd died in a shipwreck off the coast of Rubrelum when Kari was ten. He and his sister were able to make it for two years before she died as well, and Kari and Dew had been on the streets since then.

I wanted to ask what happened to his sister, but Kari's pained look told me to not ask. With her having been a magician as well, I already had an idea of what could've happened.

Our first stop was going to be Stilden, since it was the closest to here but still at least a day of travel. We set out on the roads heading south, all of us happy to leave Erinne behind. I was caught off-guard when we left the city. Had the air always smelled this fresh? Was the sun always this bright? Skulking around in shadowy alleyways for months probably hadn't helped things at all.

"What I remember from the encyclopedia," I started, "is that since before the Black Purge Stilden has existed. It was a village established due to the amount of ranches surrounding it as housing for the families of ranch hands, and that Mareep and Miltank products are the ranches' specialties."

"You remembered that from the book?" Kari asked, picking up a stray stick from the side of the road and adding it to the bundle he'd started as a result. He'd been doing this all day, and it was pretty weird. Maybe the kid just liked sticks or something?

I nodded at his question. "Yeah, surprisingly," I answered. "But somethin' confused me. It said that the products stay high-quality, even during autumn and winter." I raised an eyebrow, frowning. "What the hell is autumn and winter?"

Kari gave me a look. "They're seasons. Y'know, seasons?" At my blank expression, he continued. "We're in autumn right now. The leaves turn all kinds of different colors," he kicked a bright orange leaf on the path and the breeze caught it, setting it aloft, "and it gets nice and cool, not too cool though. I really like autumn because of that. I can't stand the summer heat."

The hell are you talkin' about? It's freezing out! I thought bitterly, subconsciously rubbing my arms. On top of the extra layers of clothing, I'd wrapped them up in a spare set of bandages, but I could still feel a chill leaking through the cloth.

"The best part about autumn is that the harvest comes in, so all the markets get really busy," Kari continued. "That's probably why there were so many guards out the day after we first met. What the harvests bring in is pretty valuable."

I looked at him. "And you still tried to steal from the market?" Pot calling the kettle black here, but at least it didn't take long for me to figure out I shouldn't steal from there around this time.

"Apples are the best this time of year," Kari huffed. "But winter... In winter it gets really cold, and a lot of the wild Pokémon go into hiding until it gets warm again. And sometimes this stuff called snow falls and covers the ground. It's white and cold, and when the wind blows it stings when it hits you. I don't really like it that much."

That lingering dread again... So it was just going to get colder.

"You don't like winter?" Kari asked, seeing my expression. "I thought an Ice magician would love the cold."

"No, I really don't." I shook my head. "So winter just sounds horrible."

"I won't lie and say it isn't, but at least it can be pretty. Icicles sparkle a lot when the sun hits them. Same with the snow. But you really must not be from Tranquelum if you don't know what autumn and winter are."

"Why do you say that? I've forgotten a lot of things, maybe I just forgot the seasons."

Kari tilted his head, frowning. "I dunno. It seems like one of those things you should always know about, y'know?" His eyebrows rose. "Maybe that's a clue about your past! I've heard that the other islands don't have the seasons like we do. Verelum has a rainy season, apparently. I mean, it makes sense. You don't look like you're from Tranquelum, your name isn't Tranquel, you don't know about something like the seasons."

That did make sense. But if I wasn't from Tranquelum, then where? And how did I end up in that field if that was the case? As far as I knew, ships couldn't fly over the islands. I pulled up my cloak's collar to hide my frown. I was bringing up more questions the more I thought about things, and it was starting to give me a headache.

"You okay?" Kari asked. He probably saw my expression.

"Uh, yeah, just... I'm fine," I lied.

Kari nodded slowly. "All right."

The day wore on, the time passing surprisingly quickly with the continuous flow of conversation between me and Kari. But eventually the day wore itself out like we had done with ourselves. While I didn't mind just collapsing on the side of the road, I had enough common sense to move a couple yards away from the path.

Kari didn't sit down right away. He began tearing up the brownish grass around us while Dew tried to unsuccessfully help him.

"What're you doing?" I asked.

   "Making a fire," Kari said. "The grass is dying, so it'll catch a spark real easy. We just have to keep feeding it because grass burns fast."

I stood up. "Then let me help you."

With the three (mostly two) of us working, we cleared a space that was both three feet across and long and piled the grass in the clearing's center. Kari arranged the grass better—he mixed in some of the sticks he'd picked up throughout the day, so I was impressed he'd thought ahead like that—before asking Dew to give him a spark. The mouse let loose a jolt of electricity, which ignited the grass and set it aflame.

Kari handed over one of the last fruits he had, an apple, while he poorly impaled his own on a stick and held it over the fire. "I haven't had a baked apple in a while, so I thought I'd try it out here," he said when he saw my questioning look.

"Whatever you say," I said. I leaned back to look at the darkening sky while using my free hand to prop myself up. There were some new constellations I hadn't seen months ago, yet I still somehow knew these ones too.

Kari joined me in my stargazing a few minutes later. "My sister said that certain groups of stars were named," he said. He pointed to one. "That one's... um, something about a follower?"

"Fora and her Follower," I corrected. "You can see them nearly all times of the year."

"Do you know any others?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, but don't ask me how. I'm not sure how I remember them myself." I started off with a rough outline of a person. "That's the Crimson Suitor, a swordsman seeking a princess' love with his oddly-colored Honedge at his side. Over there is Rosan, a warrior who's one of many reincarnations." I traced my finger along the lines of a larger constellation. "And I think those two are Swanna and Braviary, a pair of ancient heroes who're always represented by their Pokémon."

"What about that one?" Kari pointed to a patch under the moon.

"That's Morningstar, a blind Xatu that could still see the future," I answered. "Usually Lone Mightyena is there, though I guess not at this time of the year."

"Mm," Kari hummed absentmindedly. "This probably sounds dumb, but do you think the stars ever get lonely up there?"

I shook my head. "Nah. Even the ones that look like they're on their own have somethin'. You just gotta think about it."

"Makes sense." Kari nodded. "Speaking of, thanks again for lettin' us come with you."

"And you're welcome again. It's nice to have other people with me," I said.

Kari grinned. "Even if I'm a weird kid who likes stabbing apples with sticks?" he jokingly asked.

"I never said you were weird for doing that," I said defensively. "I've just never seen anything like it before."

"Then you're definitely not from Tranquelum. It's a tradition here," Kari said sagely.

I raised an eyebrow. "Stabbing fruit with sticks?"

Kari looked at me with a completely serious expression. "Yes." After a moment he cracked another smile. "I'm always like this. Get used to it," he said.

I snickered a bit. "Guess I'll halfta," I said. This kid...

As the moon continued to rise, I pulled my hood up and laid down, crossing my arms behind my head. Kari took this as a hint that I wanted to sleep. That was true, since the day's exhaustion quickly caught up with me, and I was out not five minutes later.

—~*~—

My awakening the next morning wasn't a pleasant one. I awoke to the feeling of somebody grabbing my arm. In an instant, panic shot through me, and I violently shoved whoever it was away. Ice pulsed along my veins as I fearfully yelled, "Get away! Get your damn hands off me or I swear I'll—!"

"S-sorry, Loto! I'm so sorry!"

I froze and turned around, seeing Kari kneeling next to where I'd been with a stunned and apologetic look on his face. Dew, however, looked pissed. Her fur stood straight on end as she looked about ready to either shock or bite me.

"I-it's, uh... Good morning, Kari," I choked weakly, my gaze falling to the ground.

Dew squeaked angrily, but Kari placed a finger on her mouth, trying to silence her. His voice was quiet when he next asked, "Loto, are you really okay?"

I glanced at him and flinched when I again saw his expression. "Stop givin' me that look." I turned away and trained my gaze back on the ground, a bit embarrassed. "I'm the older of us, so I should be the one askin' if you're fine!"

The sound of scratching grass was heard as Kari reoriented himself. "Well, I'm not the one waking up screaming, so sorry if I'm concerned for the guy who does." I could tell he wasn't trying to joke here. "Do you wanna talk about it? Or am I too bold for asking that?"

"You're not, but no, I don't wanna talk about it." I was quiet for a second before adding, "I... just don't like being touched. Bad experience. Really bad experience."

Kari nodded. "I'm sorry for asking, then."

I then felt bad for saying that. "Don't be. I didn't tell you before," I said. "Probably would've saved us this mess if I had." I ruffled my hair, giving him a nervous smile. "Let's just get movin'," I said, standing up.

Kari looked relieved to have had the subject changed. "R-right." He stood and began stomping on the remains of the fire. "You can never be too careful," he said.

We were maybe a bit more than half a day's walk away from Stilden, so if we left now we'd have a few hours before dark to look around.

Things were pretty quiet for a time, the remnants of the morning's events obviously still lingering. I joined Kari in picking up sticks from the path, which he seemed appreciative of.

"Aster taught me this," he said, breaking the silence. "She used to travel around Tranquelum as a healer and had to spend a lot of time camping outside."

"You really looked up to her, huh?" I said.

He nodded. "Yeah, and I still do. I think older siblings really are great. They can teach you as much as your parents can. Aster was definitely like a parent, but I don't think most parents would let you sneak a wild Dedenne into your room and feed it your dinner," he snickered. Dew swished her tail about, flicking Kari's ear.

"It sounds like she was a good person," I said.

"Besides her healing, Aster did a lot of good things for me and others. So even though she's gone, I know she went to the best place there is," Kari said, smiling. "I wanna be a healer and do a lot of good things too. Of course, that'll be when I get older and better at my magic."

   After going through so much, it surprised me that he was as upbeat as he was when I first encountered him. I couldn't say the same for myself. And it was admirable in a way.

Eventually, the distant clustering of brown and tan ahead of us began to take shape into structures. Along with this, fences began to line the road, and beyond those fences yellow and blue sheep Pokémon milled about.

Kari ran to the nearest fence, leaning on it. "Aw, the Mareep are so cute!" he gushed. "I really wanna pet one, but I heard their wool's all staticy..."

   He lingered at the fence a moment longer. Dew squeaked loudly and tapped Kari on the cheek. After a minute the boy rejoined me on the path, and I internally breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment I thought he was gonna jump the damn fence!

"I said I wouldn't slow us down," Kari said, more to Dew than me. "But you can probably tell that I haven't really been outside Erinne until now, huh?" He bowed his head sheepishly while Dew glared at me from his shoulder, almost like she was expecting me to chastise Kari or something.

I waved my hand dismissively. "It's fine. We're almost there anyways, and that little break from walking was nice." Kari looked up, smiling, and Dew's stern glare faded.

Stilden was a surprisingly small town, more like a village than anything. It had maybe fifteen or so cobblestone cottages arranged in a multi-layered ring surrounding a town circle with a well in its center. It was even smaller than Lainsel and had the quietness to match.

"I don't even think this place is big enough to have an inn..." I muttered.

"Then we'll just have to look around out here," Kari said in an "obviously" sort of tone.

We searched around the town, questioning what villagers were out and about. But it didn't take long for us to come off as suspicious, and we began getting odd looks from people, even through their windows. Kari didn't think so, but I knew that was when we needed to take our leave.

After exiting the village we decided to follow the river downstream, setting up camp when the dim lights of the town were a decent distance away. We shared the water from my canteen, refilling it from the river afterwards.

Not gonna lie, I was pissed, though I didn't get why I was. Coming here was a crap-shoot, so I didn't know why I got my hopes up, really.

"Don't be upset," Kari said. "Yeah, we didn't find him, but just because we didn't find him here doesn't mean he's gone for good," he said reassuringly.

At least I don't have to worry about that until tomorrow, I thought to myself. A clinking of rocks caught my attention, and then I noticed that Kari was picking them up from the riverside.

"Startin' a fire?" I asked.

"Yep," Kari said matter-of-factly, arranging the rocks in a circle.

"I can help you with that," I said.

Kari shook his head. "Nope, me and Dew can do it this time. You can do somethin' else." He glanced at me, and again he had an authoritative glint in his eye. "Are you hungry? 'Cause I am," he said. Did he even have to ask? None of us had eaten since last night. Kari then started dumping the grass and collected sticks into the rock circle. "I saw how you hit that girl with Ice Shard back in Erinne. You think you can hit a Pokémon like that?"

"I think so," I said. "I haven't tried it out before—"

"Then you can try now! There's lots of Buneary and stuff around here, so if you bring me back something, I can cook it up."

"You can cook?" I asked. "Wait, lemme guess, another Aster skill?"

Kari nodded. "Yep! I picked up my first knife when I was eight!" he beamed, a huge grin on his face.

My face fell. "Oh," I said, wary at his enthusiasm.

Kari seemed to realize his blunder, and his grin became sheepish. "That came out wrong, didn't it?" he said.

"Maybe a little," I said.

"But you know what I mean," he said, his excitement returning. "Now go get something!"

"All right, all right!" I held up my hands defensively, a nervous smile sneaking its way onto my face, though it was more humor-laced than anything. Something about that kid made it hard for me to not crack a smile of some sort. Maybe Grass magicians had some sort of other power I hadn't read about. Who knew?

Choosing the direction that pointed away from Stilden and its surrounding ranches, I wandered out farther into the plains. The western wind whipped up my hair and cloak, making them both billow out behind me like churning rapids of blackish-brown and gentle waves of deep tan. A few minutes later I looked behind me and saw that a small splinter of orange and red had sprung to life.

Farther still I walked, the golden sheen in the sky slowly receding in favor of pinks and purples.

The cries of bird Pokémon caught my attention, and my head snapped up to see a v-shaped formation of Starly approaching, heading east. I quickly pushed up my sleeves and unwrapped my bandages, shivering as the cold wind skated across my skin and left goosebumps in its wake.

"Glacies Testa," I hissed, pointing one of my hands skywards. Misting shards of ice formed and gathered, aiming at the Starly. With a flick of my hand, the shards sailed towards the unsuspecting birds.

Even though they were heading right for the center of the flock, none of the shards hit their targets. I cursed aloud but paused when the group of Starly broke formation to flap about in place in a frightened frenzy. I took the opportunity and sent my other hand of shards at them, and to my surprise one them hit. The victim had been struck in the wing and started tumbling down towards the ground, impacting it with a soft thud as the grass provided some cushion.

I ran to where the Starly had landed, seeing it writhing about as one of my shards had pierced right through the center of its left wing. When the Starly saw me, it let out a screech and lunged at me, intent on burying its beak into my ankle. I jumped back, raising my foot and bringing it down on the Pokémon's head, sticking its beak into the ground and immobilizing it.

"Damn bird," I muttered, readying another handful of Ice Shards and aiming it at the trapped Flying-type. But then I saw the Starly's eye peering up at me from under my boot, piercing and desperate. It knew it was cornered.

I hesitated for a moment. Even if the thing was wild, it still had done nothing wrong besides try to defend itself. I'd agreed with myself that I'd use my abilities to hurt others for the sake of survival, but at the time I was only thinking of defense. For once, I was the aggressor.

I stared at the Starly, and it stared back, not even trying to fight anymore. Then I thought of Kari and Dew. Yeah, we hadn't known each other for that long, but that didn't stop Kari from depending on me regardless. I could already tell the kid was developing an attachment of sorts to me, who knew why. Attachment or not, I'd told him I'd try to look out for him.

Is this really what I've become? I raised my hand again, leveling the shards at the bird. I then took a deep breath. Yes.

"Oh wow, nice job!" Kari said happily when I brought back the Starly. He took it from me, and it looked much larger when he held it. He raked a hand through its feathers before yanking one out. "We got lucky with this one. The feathers come off pretty easily." He hesitated. "Um, can you do one last thing for me before I heal you? I need a knife, and none of the rocks around here are sharp enough. Is there a way you can make a single Ice Shard that could work like a knife or something?"

"I can try," I said. "You're gettin' pretty demanding, aren't ya?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kari smiled mischievously. "You'd rather I ask for an actual knife?"

I shrugged. "You have a point."

"Not yet, I don't," Kari snickered.

I rolled my eyes. But how would I go about doing this? Well, get the obvious out of the way. Another minute of ice and agony later, I was staring down at my frost-coated hands. The Ice Shards always formed at my fingertips, so maybe I could mess with that?

I brought all five of the fingers on my left hand together and concentrated. The spell spilled from my lips, and ice began to coalesce in a single shard. The end result was a palm-length Ice Shard about a quarter of an inch thick.

"Wow, it actually worked!" I said, amazed.

"I don't think it's strong enough," Kari said. "It has to cut deep. But I think I can use it as a paring knife..."

"All right," I huffed. This time I brought all of my fingers together and channeled another stream of magic, really concentrating this time. The shard it produced was around six inches long and twice as thick. I carefully handed him the shard, a bit out of breath from doing that. "Here's... your knife," I sighed.

Kari was careful to take it from me, looking incredibly pleased with his new tool. "Okay, I'll get this started after I heal you." He carefully placed the ice knives and Starly down.

"Y-you can just stop the bleeding for now," I said. "I don't think... you wanna waste all your energy."

"Thanks," Kari said appreciatively. I wrapped up my arms and neck with my freshest set of bandages afterwards, and Kari was only a little winded. "So now all I need is for the fire to keep going, and I'll take care of the rest!" Kari said.

I'd seen some disturbing things, but I didn't think a small child skillfully yet viciously carving up a Starly would top that list. I actually started feeling a bit queasy watching him and had to go elsewhere for a while.

Making myself useful, I snuck back to Stilden. Although I didn't know much of anything about fires and cooking, grass and sticks didn't seem to make for that strong a fire. Luckily the people around here were stupid enough to leave their woodsheds unlocked, so I snagged some small cut logs and a handful of sticks for good measure. Where these people were getting the wood was beyond me, but it wasn't worth it to question things. Halfway through the walk back, I knew my arms were going to be killing me the next day for doing this to them.

When I reached our campsite by the river, I was greeted with the sight of Kari trying to roast the now plucked and cleaned Starly over the fire. Dew announced my return to him, and the boy turned to me, greeting me with a smile and wave.

I froze. The sight was significantly less gross than before, though that wasn't what stopped me in my tracks. The smell. It was one that had taunted me so many times walking past vendor's stands in Erinne, so tantalizing yet impossible to take for myself without getting caught. And now I'd finally be able to indulge in that amazing smell and the tastes that would come with it.

   "It'll be ready in a bit, so come enjoy the fire," Kari said. I was more than happy to since the heat was just as amazing.

   As I waited, I undid my Ponyta-tail and tried to comb out my hair with my fingers. I debated trying to wash it in the river, but it would've just made me colder. Not that the river would've made it any cleaner. With my luck, I'd get sand or leaves in it or something.

   "Why don't you try to cut it?" Kari asked while I tied my hair back up.

   "I don't know... I kinda like having it long," I said. "It gives me the feeling that I look less like a kid than I already do."

   Kari seemed to think for a moment before responding. "I guess that makes sense," he said slowly. "But it seems like more of a hassle than a benefit," he finished, his words quicker then.

   I played with a strand of my hair as I shrugged. "Maybe I'll cut it one day. Who knows?" I tried to change the subject. "So how's the cooking going?"

   "Our previously feathered friend needs a few more minutes... Or until this log burns out, whichever comes first," Kari said.

I wouldn't be lying if I said I was transfixed by the roasting bird. Watching the meat's skin turn to a light, crispy brown was frankly beautiful. My mouth flooded with water, and my stomach growled eagerly in anticipation. I found myself fidgeting about like an impatient child. Really, why was waiting so tortuous? I would've been embarrassed if Kari wasn't acting the same way. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Dew giving us both exasperated looks as she chewed on grass seeds she'd dug up, though she couldn't hide the amused glint in her eyes.

   We'd burned completely through the logs I brought back when I heard the words I'd been waiting for this while time. "I think it's done!" Kari announced.

It took every last ounce of self-restraint I had to not tear into my Starly leg when we divvied up the meat. I wiped away a drop of drool that tried to escape my mouth before taking my first bite. I was instantly in love. It was hot, very hot, but I didn't care one bit. Plenty of the meat's juices had been retained, scalding and heavenly at the same time. For not having any seasonings, it still had a rich, if not gamey taste. Besides, smoke was good enough a seasoning, being lightly present.

"This is so incredible," I sighed as my taste buds melted under the roasted bird's flavor.

Kari looked relieved. "I'm glad it turned out well. This was actually my first time cooking without Aster's help."

"You did a damn great job!" I couldn't be more sincere if I tried.

The boy's relief became happiness. "Thanks!" he said with a smile. "But yeah, this is great. I haven't had meat in, what, two months?" he mused.

"I don't even remember eating meat at all!" I countered.

Kari grinned. "You've topped me there."

The meal was over quickly, even with me deliberately trying to take my time. To boot, I'd unabashedly eaten every bit of cartilage and fat. I sat back, reveling in the feeling of a full stomach while looking at the stars. For the first time in who-knew-how long, I felt satisfied after a meal. In fact, I hadn't felt so content in... forever, really, as far as I knew. It was strange.

"You think you could do this again?" I asked wistfully.

Kari nodded. "If you can get somethin' every time, then yeah. But I'd need better cooking supplies. Some kinda roasting spit would be fine since it looks like we got the knives covered."

"So a piece of long, thin metal and two pieces to hold it up with?" I said.

"Sounds about right."

I looked at him. "Then I'll... look around, before we leave tomorrow."

Kari chuckled. "All right, I'll leave things up to you."