The hot sun rose on the oceans of obsidian, waking Mina up instantly. She groaned as she sat up, she wasn’t used to sleeping on anything besides her bed. She looked at Saken and saw he was still fast asleep. She smiled as her heart sank, she still felt bad for how she acted yesterday. As she walked over to Saken she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked and saw a crimson leaf gently floating in the breeze. This confused her because there weren't any trees around for miles. But what confused her more was the coloring. She never saw such a beautiful red, not even during the Harvest season. Saken groaned and sat up while she was mesmerized by the leaf.
“That’s not something you see everyday…” He muttered while rubbing his eyes.
Mina shook her head. “I’ve never seen a leaf like this my entire life.”
Saken stood up and started packing. “Then let’s see where it came from.”
Mina agreed and started packing the tent and her sleeping bag. She was glad that they had at least an idea of where to go.
Saken suddenly went west. Mina looked and saw exactly where he was going. Long dark trees stood in the distance.
“We can make it there by nightfall if we don’t stop.” Saken looked at Mina, “Ready?”
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Mina nodded and they started walking. It took just as long to get there as Saken had guessed, which was impressive. As they made their way into the forest, they noticed the sand underfoot had turned into maroon grass with crimson leaves scattered around.
“Strange… It’s still Heat season…” Mina muttered under her breath.
“What?” Saken looked very confused.
Mina gave Saken a look, “Do you not know that the leaves of trees don’t fall till Harvest?”
Saken shook his head, “I know leaves fall in Autumn, but what’s Heat?”
“The hottest season. We call it Heat.” Mina stated. He gave her a look that said he thought of something else entirely.
“... I see. Back in my world we called it summer.” Saken muttered. He looked like he was upset about something, so Mina tried to take his mind off it.
“What did you call Frost and Renew?” Mina asked Saken, genuinely curious.
Saken’s bad mood dissipated, “We called Frost Winter, and Renew Spring.”
Mina's eyes lit up. “Winter… Autumn… I’d love to name my children that.”
Saken gave her a look and blushed, his face was easier to read than an open book.
“Those would be nice names…” Saken refused to make eye contact with her. Mina smiled, when she looked on ahead she saw a town in the distance.
“Who would live all the way out here?” She asked, looking at Saken confused.
“Let’s ask.” Saken answered with a determined look. Mina nodded and set her own face in determination. They would find out why her parents died here.