I couldn't have been more wrong.

Nearly a week passed. Over and over, night after night. It was the same thing, that same nightmare. After that second day I stopped talking about it, thinking it would go away on its own. Still, it continued to plague me.

Yet again in the sunless-hours of the morning I awoke, feeling sick with my head aching like it always did. Stifling a groan, I laid my forearm over my eyes and took a deep breath. At least you're awake now. You're awake, I told myself. That was all I could think of to keep me from falling into negativity.

But honestly, what the hell was wrong with me? I'd never dealt with anything like this before. Well, I'd had nightmares, but not this frequently and not a recurring one.

I took another deep breath. I just wanted to go back to sleep, though I was sure that wouldn't be possible at the moment. Then my skin prickled with a familiar feeling of being watched, and I sighed. I had an audience.

"You don't need to stay quiet, Cyryl. I know you're awake," I said tiredly as I moved my arm away. "You too, Dew." Dew sheepishly crawled up the bed to the headboard while Cyryl spoke up in a quiet, nervous voice.

"Um, well, I saw you tossing about." I heard their sheets rustle as they got up. "I wanted to wake you, but I-I didn't want to frighten you any more by touching you."

I sat up, looking over at them. "You probably would've done that, so I'm glad you didn't." In the moonlight, their hair had turned as silver as their eyes, giving them an ethereal quality. Several times I'd thought they would've made a great Fairy magician, and that was definitely the case at the moment. Weird, what thoughts came to me in the middle of the night.

Not wanting Cyryl to just stand there, I quickly tilted my head to the side, a gesture to show I was fine with them sitting down. Smiling faintly, they climbed onto the bed, sitting at its foot cross-legged and facing me.

"I'm really worried about you, Loto. I'm really, really worried," they said, winding a strand of hair around one of their fingers. "You wear your emotions on your sleeve, so it's been easy to see how much this has been bothering you."

"I hate how that's the case," I sighed. "But yeah, it has been bothering me." I rested my head in my hands. "I just hate how damn scared it makes me. Doesn't help that it gives me a headache too." I massaged my left temple, wincing.

"Why does it frighten you so much?" Cyryl asked.

I sighed, dropping my hand to the sheets. "I don't know!"

They offered a hesitant smile. "Then perhaps if you tell me what it's about, we could solve this together."

   "Ne!" Dew exclaimed in agreement.

There wasn't any harm in doing so. It wasn't like I wouldn't have it again the next night. You will with that attitude. I partially couldn't help it. It was hard not to slip into my old habits during instances like this. "Well, I'm in a room... I think. There's shouting, and I'm terrified for some reason. Then something, like, hugs me, a Pokémon maybe? B-but then there's this awful noise, like a building being torn apart or something. Then there's another scream, and I wake up."

"This started a week or so ago, right? It was after you had gotten home from Veylei." Cyryl frowned. "Even before we went to sleep that night, you were quiet, like something was on your mind. Did something happen in Veylei?"

"That's the thing, nothing did!" I whisper-shouted.

"You were fine that morning, so something had to have happened. Try to remember."

I wanted to laugh at that. Remember? Wanna ask the blind man to see while I was at it? But no, it made sense. Like Cyryl said, I'd felt fine that morning. About halfway through the day was when I started experiencing the dread, after I'd been at that bar. I'd been okay until... I'd heard about the shipwreck.

No, no damn way.

Splintering wood, twisting metal... Obviously a ship's hull was wood, but their engines were also metal. The dread rose up even stronger, horror mixing with it.

It can't have been real.

I abruptly got up and started for the bedroom door, snatching my cloak from the bedpost as I went.

"Wh-where are you going?" Cyryl asked as Dew squeaked in equal surprise.

"Just out. A walk will clear up my mind." It will, it will. Just go. Before either of them could say anything else, I was out the door.

Night still had a hold when I left the house, blanketing everything in navy with pale white emanating from the half moon. I started making my way down the path that led to the nearest street. The air held a cool crispness, which felt good on my face and bare arms.

When I reached the street, I followed it in the general direction of Waywyn's center. Faint glows of lamplight lit up the occasional window like strange Volbeat or Illumise. Rattata scampered away and into the shadows when they saw me. A lone Noctowl hooted somewhere nearby.

Of course almost nobody was out, save for one or two other people, though I ignored them. I was confident that could handle myself if something happened. And even if they were magicians, which they likely were, I didn't sense the foreboding air magicians of a type strong against me usually gave off. But I couldn't have sensed anything anyways since my mind was racing.

Why was I so stupid? How could I have been so dense? I'd taken bits and pieces from previous dreams and sensations, and I treated them as facts about myself and my past. Why didn't I do it for this one? And combined with those other pieces, it was so obvious now.

I'd been in a shipwreck with my parents.

It only made sense that I'd been. And it wasn't difficult to piece together a reason of why we were on that ship in the first place.

"I couldn't get them to dismiss this, Natia."

"If they catch you, they'll likely suspect him as well!"

"We're leaving, Loto. We'll be safer."

One was my mother's voice, and the other unknown. Had it been my father? Had he survived the wreck? The point was that my mother had been under the suspicion of something, likely being a magician. My head was spinning. The more I thought about this, the worse I felt. Feelings of terror and confusion welled up, compounding with the aching in my head that had made a resurgence. But I was finally putting the pieces together.

If my mother was being suspected of being a magician, then I might've also been. Because of that, we left Verelum to get to safety. To end it, the ship had wrecked, and in the process I must've been injured and lost my memory.

Still, there were so many holes in this. Why did we crash? How did I wind up in that field? What happened to that mystery Pokémon that was comforting me? My head was hurting so much now...

Swallowing hard, I turned my gaze skywards, looking up at the stars. Stargazing always made me feel better, and I truly needed some positivity right now.

One by one, the names came to mind as I named every constellation that shone above me. All except one. That same pattern, the one I'd first seen while on my way to Erinne. Even after two years of seeing it, I still didn't know what it was. So much I didn't know, so much that I probably wouldn't ever know...

I gritted my teeth. No, I would find out what it was. If I was going to find out anything, it would be that.

I didn't hear the footsteps until it was too late, and by then I was colliding with someone, my shoulder hitting their arm. My nerves were already bristling then, so the abrupt contact combined with that usual sick instinct made me scream. I stifled it, luckily, as I jumped away from the person.

"S-sorry about that!" I apologized as they continued to walk, apparently unaffected by me bumping them. I thought there would've been more of a reaction considering I'd somehow managed to run into someone on an empty street.

"There's no need for that. It's fine," the person replied as he cast me a quick look over his shoulder. In that brief moment, everything seemed to stop. The moonlight slightly illuminated his face, showing messy bangs that draped down over it.

But it wasn't enough to hide his purple eyes.

My breath caught in my throat, resulting in a small hitch as my jaw dropped. No way, no damn way... My eyes widened as much as they could. I could vaguely feel myself trembling as I continued to stare at the retreating man, utterly dumbstruck. By the time I could move again, he was out of sight.

No, no, no, no! Don't do this! "Don't leave!" I cried out. I turned the corner I thought he had, only to be faced with an empty street. Mind racing, I quickly turned in a circle, looking in every direction. But he was gone.

Right in the middle of the street, my legs gave out, and I fell to my knees. Where had he gone? How could he have gone? Yeah, I'd stood there like an idiot and let him walk away. But unless he turned down some alleyway, I would've seen him.

My lips curved into a slight, nervous smile. Had he even been there in the first place? I put a hand to my still-aching temple, letting out an unsteady laugh. Or was I just seeing things? It could've been since I'd just been thinking about him.

I continued laughing, moving my hand to my mouth to muffle the noise. It was shaking, and so was the rest of me. I felt overwhelmed to the point of collapsing completely. I really wasn't okay, was I? If only I'd let Dew come with me, she would've at least been able to validate what I thought I'd seen. But she hadn't.

I was glad that nobody else was out right now, because for a long time I couldn't bring myself to move from where I'd fallen. A violent torrent of emotions churned within me, but none of them were the happiness I thought I would've earned from remembering something. Joy was the farthest thing from my mind at the moment, and it made me feel worse.

Eventually, the horrible feelings began to subside, enough that I could get up. I slowly got to my feet, swaying in place a bit before steadying myself. There really wasn't any use in dwelling on any of this tonight; I already felt drained enough as it was. But I couldn't stand to leave it alone. I didn't exactly remember the happiest thing, so why should I feel that way outright? And there was the fact that I saw the man. Not only saw, but physically bumped into him. He couldn't have been a figment of my imagination.

A faint spark of determination ignited in me, chasing away some of the lingering dread. I clenched my fists and headed back home. Forget my trip to Veylei tomorrow. This was the first lead I'd had in years. I might as well chase what I thought was a real lead instead of the many fake ones I'd fruitlessly pursued.

When I arrived back at home, thankfully Cyryl had fallen asleep again. I had no clue how I was going to explain what I'd seen to them, or what I'd realized about my nightmare for that matter. Then again, I didn't know how I'd explain it to anyone, even Dew. But she was right here, sitting at the foot of my bed and giving me a glare that could kill. I'd have to try and explain it to someone. Well, at least some of it.

"I'll explain out in the dining room," I whispered as I held my arm out to her, and she took it as permission to climb up it to my shoulder. Once we were alone, I started talking. "So... we're not going to Veylei tomorrow," I started.

She tilted her head, giving me a quizzical squeak. I reaffirmed it with a nod.

"I was pretty sure I saw someone while I was out just now." I took a breath, composing myself. "I-I thought I saw the purple-eyed man."

Her reaction was as I expected. Complete shock. In a different context, I would've thought her dropped jaw and wide eyes was both funny and cute.

"We're gonna search for him tomorrow," I said. Of course, she frowned and looked at the hallway leading to the bedrooms. She gave me another confused squeak. I didn't want to tell them, not because I didn't think they wouldn't help me, but I was sure I'd get in trouble for going outside in the middle of the night. Even though I was eighteen, I still had a curfew. And after my talk with Iga, I wasn't about to admit I broke another rule already.

After giving it some thought, I decided that if I didn't find him while I was out tomorrow, I'd tell the Noseks. Then I'd have an excuse that I would've seen him during the day. It pained me to not tell Cyryl especially, but I knew it was for the best. I told Dew my thoughts. She seemed to understand, though she still was a bit leery at me for not wanting to admit it right away.

I couldn't sleep again that night. Both worry mixed with a giddy excitement ate away at me, making me toss and turn. Morning soon came, and I wasted no time hanging around the house. I usually didn't on my days off, but it was different this time.

Where to even start? Well, we only had one inn here. He might've been heading back to his room there last night, so it was as good a place to start as any.

The closer I got to the inn, the more my doubts grew. What exactly was I expecting when I asked? I knew I wouldn't be kicked out since I'd delivered some books here a couple times, and the innkeeper knew my face. But it was the response I was concerned about. The usual "no," or the miraculous "yes." It was like expecting lightning to strike twice.

No, I couldn't think like this now. I'd make sure lightning struck twice, if not here then somewhere else in town.

"Good morning, young man," the innkeeper said with a warm smile. "I'm surprised to see you here. I don't recall placing any deliveries recently."

I shook my head. "It's not about that. I wanted to ask about your patrons." No negative response, so I continued. "Maybe you've seen him? He's over six feet tall and sorta looks like me, dark hair and skin, narrow purple eyes. He also has a bit of a deep voice."

The innkeeper frowned, going into thought. He didn't say anything, which made me more than a little antsy. Then he finally responded. "Last evening I had someone like him check in for the night, and about an hour ago he walked out," he said. "It was odd. Before he left, he asked me if I knew if there were any Ice magicians living or visiting here."

Excitement rose in me. "And what'd you tell him?"

"I said I wasn't sure," he said, shaking his head. "But is that who you're looking for?"

"Yeah, it is. Thank you for your help!" I said before immediately heading for the door. I couldn't believe it. It had to be him, it just had to be. And not only that, but he'd been looking for me. But where would he have gone from here?

I decided to start with the edge of town and close in towards the center. That way if he was leaving, then I had some chance of encountering him beforehand. The chance was slim as all hell, but it was one I clung to. I just had to find him no matter what.

The edges of town were the least frequented during the day, since nearly every business and place that provided work that wasn't farmwork was established close to the town's center. This left some dirt paths speckled with smaller homes and even fewer people. This just made me more aware of the people that were around.

I recognized all of the people I saw. There was the daughter of the town's butcher, a boy with his oddly-colored Aron, a couple Poison magicians who always caused trouble in the bazaar... None of them were who I was looking for. I began to grow discouraged again.

I then caught a glimpse of a dark brown cloak as someone rounded a corner. My gaze quickly traveled upwards before they left my sight, showing whoever it was to be quite tall with dark brown hair. Then they were gone.

Wait, no! Not again!

Without hesitation I ran after them, calling out for them to stop. Dew desperately clung to my shoulder as she was almost flung off. The few other people who were around gave me odd looks, but I was blind to them in my pursuit.

I nearly threw myself around the corner, skidding a bit on the dirt path. There they were, heading for the open fields of the areas beyond Waywyn's edges. I began running again.

"Stop, please!" I cried. To my joy, they did. I stumbled to a stop before them, briefly doubling over as I caught my breath. "Th-thank you... I..." I wheezed, straightening up, only to have my breath catch.

This... wasn't him.

The man that looked down at me was a couple years older than me, in his early twenties at the oldest. Despite the youthful spark in his brown eyes, his weathered appearance made him look much older. He looked like he spent most of his time out in the elements, making his skin deeply tanned, but it wasn't the dark hue I was hoping it would be.

"O-oh..." I breathed, still stunned.

The man looked amused. "Were you looking for somebody else?" he chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm sorry for chasin' you down like that," I apologized. "Hopefully it didn't freak you out." I tried to give him a sheepish smile, but it was hard to with the brief rush of hope and adrenaline painfully withering in my chest. "You look kinda like him. Maybe you've seen a man with dark hair and skin with purple eyes?"

The man's eyes narrowed a bit. "No, I haven't," he then said, shaking his head. "But if I can't help you, then maybe you can help me."

"With what?" I asked. I then sensed someone staring at me, affirmed by Dew's squeak. A female Meowstic walked out onto the path behind me where she stopped. Dew and I exchanged confused looks. "Uh, can I help you?" I asked the Psychic-type. She said nothing, just continued staring at us with a creepy, dead-eyed gaze. An instinctual wariness chilled me.

"It's nothing much, I'd just like to ask you something," the man said.

"Just a question? Fine. But can you tell her to quit starin'? She's weirding me and my partner out," I said.

"Meowstic usually tend to have that effect on people, but I think that makes them more charming if anything," the man chuckled.

I held back a frown. No, something was wrong here. If he really needed his question answered, he could ask a different person. I turned to leave, saying, "Forget it. Ask someone else."

"No you don't!" the man said. "Meowstic, use Psychic!" Dew let out a brief cry of surprise and pain before she was yanked from my shoulder and pulled into the Meowstic's waiting paws.

My heart twisted. "Dew—!"

"Ah! Don't say anything," the man interrupted. I froze and looked back at him. He was now inches away from me, wearing a shit-eating grin. "The question's either a yes or no, so don't say a thing unless you or your Dedenne want to get hurt." He leaned down to me as he withdrew a dagger from his cloak and held it up to my chest, the blade's tip just centimeters from piercing my shirt. I suppressed a whimper at the sight of it. "Now for my question, and you can just nod or shake your head," he said in a hushed voice. "Are you a magician?"

I furiously shook my head, but of course the guy didn't buy it.

"I think someone's lying," he said mockingly. "Now tell the truth." The energy seemed to constrict tighter around Dew, twisting her mouth open in a soundless squeal as the pain increased. I scowled. I wasn't going to give myself up, not without a fight. Ice started to weave through me, frosting my skin.

But then I stopped. The last time I'd reacted like this, Kari's arm had been broken. Worse could happen to Dew here. Nausea and regret filled me, and the frost halted its progress. It began to recede as my expression turned grim. I solemnly nodded, and the man's grin widened.

"Fantastic!" he said. His smile looked so horribly out of place. It was too joyful for the situation. "My friends will be so happy to see you, and we'll definitely enjoy the reward for turning you in." He then placed the tip of the dagger on my chest, the blade biting into my skin slightly. "How about we go meet them now?"

"Don't you make another move," a voice said, this one much more familiar.

The man stopped, his eyes narrowing. He looked to the voice's origin, as did I. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

There he was, the person I thought I'd never see again.

His hood was down, allowing me to see his face in its entirety. Under the dark brown hair that was tied back in a rough Ponyta-tail, I could see a somewhat thin face with sharp features. His messy, long bangs covered his forehead and most of his eyes. I could still see their purple hue and narrow shape, which were nearly slits now as he stared on in distaste and anger.

"I didn't think I would see you again," the purple-eyed man growled. In his left hand he held a broadsword, which he raised to us as he spoke. The blade glinted in the sunlight, sparking the amber-colored designs scoring its length. A horrible feeling filled me when I laid eyes on it, a sensation I hadn't experienced in a while.

I tried to choke out a confused response, but the other man answered. Apparently the statement had been for him instead of me. "I could say the same for you, Ainalani." He spat the purple-eyed man's name with vitriol. "Come to steal another catch of mine? Things don't change with you."

"Going after magician children again? Things don't change with you," Ainalani retorted. "I should have struck you and your group down when I had the chance last time."

"Says the man whose throat I'd nearly slit," the hunter laughed. "If I can remember, which I can, you were begging for mercy. If anything, I should've killed you."

"But you hadn't," Ainalani said with a smirk. "Now release him."

"Not on your life! Meowstic—!"

Ainalani bolted forwards, raising his sword. He was right behind the Meowstic in moments. In a flash, he sliced down towards her. I shut my eyes, and I stiffened as the feline screeched in agony. Then I felt an arm snake around my neck, pulling me to the man's chest while a hand covered my mouth.

Disgust and horror overcame me, and I let out a muffled scream as ice shot through me. The dagger pierced my shirt, but it was stopped by the icy coating that had already covered my skin. Icicles tore themselves free from my neck and buried themselves in the man's arm. As he cried out I slammed my arm against his chest, both ramming more icicles into him along with pushing myself away from him.

I fell to the ground, landing hard on my side. Nearly all of the icicles on my right arm snapped or shattered upon impact. It sent a rain of stabbing spikes through me, and it felt like my arm had been set aflame as a result. I clutched my arm as agony coursed through it.

"Ne dene!" Dew cried as she scampered over to me.

"Dew, y-you okay?" I stuttered through gritted teeth. She nodded, and relief dulled some of the pain gouging at my arm. But since she was free... I looked past her. Behind her laid the Meowstic, face-down in a growing pool of blood caused by a deep wound across her back. She wasn't moving, and both anger and sadness struck me at the thought that she might be dead.

"Don't move, or I'll kill you as well," Ainalani said. I saw him pointing his sword at the man, the tip of the blade scraping his neck. Ainalani then turned to me with a worried expression. "Lotario, are you okay?"

I was instantly confused. "Lo... tario?" I asked numbly. Had he been looking for someone else? Before either of us could speak again, a loud scream erupted from nearby. A woman had stumbled across the scene, the man at her side staring at us, shocked.

"Please alert whatever authorities you have here," Ainalani said calmly. "I believe I've apprehended a magician hunter."

—~*~—

What followed could be described as mild chaos. The magician hunter was arrested and taken away for questioning while Ainalani and I were both questioned ourselves. Since magician settlements weren't part of Tranquelum's government, Waywyn had its own way of dealing with incidents like this. Yeah, it was obviously one-sided with magicians being in more favor, so it was easy to imagine the verdict.

Hours later I found myself back out on the street, injuries treated and waiting for either Iga or Alan to come get me. I told the authorities I was eighteen, and of course they didn't believe me. However, I wasn't waiting alone.

Ainalani stood beside me, quietly eyeing me. I wanted so badly to say something, but I had no idea where to even start. I'd imagined this scenario a couple times, and now it was finally happening. Yet I couldn't even get the first word out. Thankfully Dew didn't pester me to say anything. She just stared at him as well. Eventually, Ainalani spoke up.

"Why are you being so quiet?" he asked. "We haven't seen each other in so long, and this is the greeting I receive?" When I still didn't say anything, he moved his hand to his sheathed sword's hilt. "If it's the sword, then I understand, and I'll explain it," he said. "I would have preferred any other type, but with the situation I was in, beggars couldn't be choosers."

My eyes again fell to the blade. Type? It must've been an enchanted sword then. I guessed it was Fighting-type because of the orange designs adorning it, along with how it gave me that same foreboding feeling that the pirate's Fire dagger had.

"I know you're confused, Lotario, and I don't know what you heard before—"

I cut him off. "Look, I don't know who you're talkin' about. I'm not Lotario! My name is Loto," I said. Yet, something about that name resonated with me. I then started to second-guess myself, further bolstered by Ainalani's response.

"Of course that's your name..." He trailed off when he seemed to understand what I said. "Wait, why do you say that?" His brow furrowed in confusion of his own. "Do you... do you not recognize me?" he asked slowly. "I know it's been two years and Airial isn't with me. Still, I haven't changed that much," he said as he self-consciously ran a hand through his hair.

How was I going to explain this? "I have no clue who you are, but I don't know who I am either," I said. His confusion grew, and I continued. "I've been lookin' for you, though. Two years ago I woke up with amnesia, and then a couple days later I saw you in Lainsel. You looked so familiar to me. That was why I was searching for you."

Ainalani frowned. "Amnesia?"

"I-I know that sounds insane. It's true though." I reached into my shirt and pulled out the Gracidea pendant. "This is yours, right?" I asked. The shocked look on his face gave me my answer before he could even say anything.

"My Gracidea charm!" He reached out a hand, and I took it off and gave it to him. He clutched the flower to his chest, sighing with relief. "I thought I'd lost that years ago." He looked at me. "How did you get this?"

"I had a friend who stole it from you in Erinne. If he was here, he would've apologized," I said. "But I know I've seen this pendant before, and I know I've seen you. So just who are you?"

I couldn't exactly make out the look in his eyes. There was the confusion, but there was something else too. He muttered something to himself under his breath before a small smile parted his lips. But then he looked back at me, and I was itching for him to say something.

"My apologies, I should be outright with things because of the circumstances. I just didn't expect our reunion to be like... this," he said with a faint exhale of a laugh. "But to reintroduce myself, my name is Rangi Ainalani. Hopefully my name sounds familiar, che'lu."

My heart dropped. I hadn't ever heard that word before, yet I knew what it meant. I was almost too shocked to speak, but I managed to get out the words, hardly believing I was even speaking them in the first place.

"You're... my brother?"

Rangi nodded. "Well, if you'd prefer to be technical, I'm your half-brother," he said. "But yes, we still share blood."

My mind was absolutely reeling. Countless questions surfaced and tried to make themselves vocal. But I had to make sure of something first. "Wait, how can I be sure you're tellin' the truth?" I asked. "I-I know that's nearly impossible right now since I really don't remember anything. Just try though!"

Rangi's lips pursed as he tried to think. His gaze then moved downwards, and his eyebrows lifted in surprise. "I just now realized that you're wearing Father's cloak," he said. "He'd made it himself, and he was quite proud of it. He even made one for me to match his own."

With a bit of a flourish, Rangi opened his cloak, revealing familiar designs. White intricate swirls, painstakingly stitched. They perfectly matched the designs on the underside of my own cloak, or... my father's cloak?

"You loved them both so much that Father promised he'd make you one when you were older," Rangi said. "Do... you remember that?" he asked hesitantly. "I'd just turned sixteen, and Father made it for my birthday. You were so envious when I recieved it."

No, I didn't remember, but I felt as though I should. Even the scenario felt familiar. I swore something was right at the edge of my mind. Still, it stubbornly refused to surface.

"At least you've grown since then, so he would have been right to wait until now," Rangi said. With that, I remembered.

A man stood before me, looking to be in his late fifties. In his weathered hands he held a folded bundle of brown cloth, and the light of a nearby oil lamp danced in his purple eyes as he presented it. "Well, it's finished!" he announced, grinning. "Happy birthday, Rangi."

"Thank you, Father!" I turned to face who seemed to be a younger Rangi standing next to me, his hair cut short but his stature still lean and taller than mine. He happily took the cloak before turning to me, crouching down so he was eye-level with me. "Do you want to see it, Lotario?" he asked.

I nodded eagerly, and I almost snatched it from him when he offered it to me. He held the end of the cloak so it wouldn't fall on the floor as I examined it. I ran my small hands across the Mareep wool that lined its underside, marveling at the designs. I couldn't help but frown when Rangi took it back.

"You're so lucky, Angi," I pouted. Rangi gallantly unfurled the cloak before pulling it around his shoulders and fastening the clasp at the neckline.

"I'll make you one," Father promised me, "when you get older and hopefully a little taller."

I frowned. "'Hopefully?'" I whined.

Father nodded, tousling my hair. "You will," he reassured. "Just wait."

I clutched the hemming of my cloak, twisting the fabric between my fingers. No, it wasn't mine. It was... Father's cloak.

"Do you remember?" Rangi repeated.

I faintly nodded. I did. Somehow, I did. The reeling thoughts in my mind began spiraling.

"So perhaps you really do remember a few things," Rangi said.

I stared at him blankly. Was this actually happening? I wasn't alone in this world like I'd thought? Rangi looked at me expectedly, like he thought I'd hug him or something. I felt as though I should, and something deep in me wanted to, yet I couldn't bring myself to.

"This is too good to be true," I muttered.

Rangi's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would you say that? I'm right here in front of you."

"Ne," Dew squeaked. She looked both confused and wary, just how I felt. And really, this couldn't be fake. After all, Dew was here to validate it for me.

I grasped at words for a few moments before I could find what I wanted to say, though it came out incredibly underwhelming. "I-I don't know." I didn't know how I could say that, considering that I'd just remembered something about us and our father. It was like the joy I knew I should've been feeling and frankly was desperate to feel was sealed behind a wall of wariness.

Rangi gave me a sympathetic look. "Give it some time. Things will surely straighten themselves out."

"Y-yeah," I stuttered, nodding.

He smiled then. That smile wasn't just familiar, I knew it instantly. I could faintly remember seeing it so many times in the past. The face it was on was hazy, but it quickly became clear. It was Rangi's smile, it was my brother's smile. "Either way, I'm so happy to finally be reunited with you, Lotario."