I moved back in with my parents. This was standard practice as you wouldn't be granted a hovel of your own until you had reached the status of adult. I had been back here on several occasions when the Kite's Klub (TM Pending) visited as part of our daily field trips, where Mother would share some insights about the bonecrafting trade, and found that it still hadn't changed from before I had left, with one exception. I had a sister.

She was still very new to the world and her eyes had just opened. You might be wondering where she was during my graduation, or why only now I am bringing her existence to your attention. Well to the latter question, because it was irrelevant, and to the former question, she was handed off to one of the older and more mature kites in the group. My parents called her Dusk because she was born at dusk, I suppose.

However, if they were familiar with my culture back on Earth, they most certainly would have named her Christmas, because that is the first thing that came to mind upon casting your eyes on her. She looked like a Christmas decoration with a green coat and a rich mop of red hair. She even captured that star at the top of the Christmas tree, with her golden yellow eyes. It is strange, as far as major colors go, it doesn't seem to be a heritable trait. It certainly wasn't in the case of myself or especially my sister, though she did have that black strip under her eye from our father, and a bit of that speckling from mother.

Along with my new sister came the nearly round-the-clock telepathic noise. The den was completely inundated with calls for attention. Basically, this was the psychic version of crying, with the small consolation of knowing why she was crying. Calls for feeding, for changing, for attention, for no reason at all, she always made sure you knew exactly how she was feeling. Needless to say, my parents were stressed out because of it. However, they informed me that this was normal, the implication being that I was abnormal. It was true, so I had no cause to complain. For my part, I just tried to "cover my ears" to block it out most of the time.

Despite all this activity, or perhaps in large part because of it, Mother especially was glad to have me back in the house. She was sad to see me go, those several years ago, and she probably just liked having her children around. So it made sense, but I couldn't help but think that my sister's arrival made my fortuitous return a particularly welcome event. For my part, I wasn't about to neglect my duties as an older brother and I would help out where I could with catering to her needs, though I wasn't sure that I was up to the task. By no means was I obligated to help—I was supposed to be finding my niche in the tribe. Not that I had any idea of where to start on that front, but I still wanted to help.

The birth of my sister also got me thinking back to my siblings in my previous life. I was a middle child and I don't remember helping care for my younger brother, though he would not have been that much younger than me. As it would turn out, he would become a very serious person, probably out of necessity as he was still fairly young when our parents divorced. Our parents were not the most reliable, especially after the divorce. Neither were his siblings for that matter, present company included—I was pretty much absent from the world after our parents split until I was about 20. My sister on the other hand was pretty laid back and kind of an airhead. However she did show moments of insight, and there were a couple times she really pulled through for my brother and me. Thinking about it now, maybe the whole scatter-brained thing was only a ploy.

At any rate, aside from helping out with my sister, I had no idea what to do. It was as if I had just been dumped into an open-world sandbox that came with no instruction other than "figure it out." I needed to find my place in the tribe, but they didn't offer much direction—no guidance counselor here! Perhaps I could look to my peers. Dawn and River just seemed to bum around the village all day—those freeloaders! But maybe I'm being uncharitable. I only ever saw them when they visited the Kite's Klub (TM Pending), so maybe they made themselves useful otherwise. I felt like Dawn especially would need to be a value add.

The simplest solution though was to ask my parents. They were right there after all. "You should get acquainted with your fellow tribesmen," Mother advised, conjuring up images of her frequent visitations from before I had reached my first year. "You should see if they need help with anything, although you don't have any specialized skills..." she trailed off as she realized something. "Well actually, you do!" She lit up at the secondhand accomplishment that is so common in parents. "I would say you could be quite helpful."

"Go and be free!" Father was a little less socially conscious with his input and took a more "Season of your youth" approach. "If there is something you have been wanting to do, now's the chance!" He was especially energized in his remarks, to which mother just gave him "the look." That threw some water on his fire. "Within reason of course..."

I don't know how helpful their advice was, father's especially didn't provide much in the way of direction—there wasn't anything in particular that had me chomping at the bit. That said, I wasn't eager to start making cold introductions to my fellow tribesmen either. But I had been interested in exploring the forest, it's in a boy's nature after all! Plus it was spring time and life was just returning to the forest. It was literally the Springtime of my youth! Helping other people could wait—or at least not be a priority. It's not like people make me uncomfortable or anything!

So venturing into the forest is where I went. As a "not child" I was permitted to go out of the village, but only to a certain distance. Mother made sure to remind me of this every day, even on days when I wasn't leaving the village. This boundary was the same as the distance that the Kite's Klub (TM Pending) would venture. The rule of course was a pragmatic one. It was dangerous out there, and as a "not child" you were not equipped to handle it. Violators would be subject to anything ranging from a light chiding to being thoroughly berated and dragged back by the ear, depending on who found them. That being said, I would prefer to get caught by someone like my father, rather than someone like Dawn, though if it were Dawn, that would necessitate that she too was breaking the rules.

Needless to say, I sometimes took my adventures further than strictly allowed. Rules are for chumps, and what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Of course, I wasn't stupid about it either. I didn't just saunter off into the great green yonder, like some over-privileged rich kid, shirking his responsibilities to go off into the mountains, only for his half-eaten remains to be found several years later with a bear using his bones as toothpicks. I was well aware that I had no formal navigation skills, outside of using Google Maps, but with a little common sense, I wouldn't need any. For instance, if I followed the river, it was easy to find my way back. Furthermore, as long as I knew the general direction of the river, I could always find my way back to it and thus back home.

In an absolute worst-case scenario, I could always fly above the tree line to get a good look at the land. I should be able to spot the river from up there, as well as the Two Trees—they towered above all the rest. I will say though, that I would prefer not to have to do this, the tree line was very high up, and flying was taxing. Sure I could hover for over an hour and a half, but that was different. Hovering was like standing, and ascending was like going up a flight of stairs. To reach the tree line would be equivalent to going up several dozen flights of stairs, not a fun prospect. Not that I would have to do that, I could use the trees as platforms to aid my assent, but still. Once above the treeline, I would have to make sure I was very clear on the direction I needed to take before descending because as mentioned before, flying is not a pragmatic way of traveling.

Going off on not strictly permitted adventures was great and all, however my favorite place to venture was easily in bounds, the sacred lake I had discovered with my father all those years back. It was a great place to relax, practice any techniques I had been working on, or just take in the view. I would climb up my favored tree and kick back and relax. I quickly became aware that this was in fact a place that villagers like to come and bathe, and that included many of the ladies. However, I would like to point out that this was NOT the reason I like this spot so much! Not that I averted my gaze…

One day, while several of the tribal lasses were frolicking in the lake, "Hey Indigo! Whatcha doing??" The voice came so suddenly that I nearly snapped my spine jumping up from my perch and falling out of the tree. The sound of my crash landing alerted the nearby girls as evident by the sudden cessation of sounds coming from the water. "Oh, sorry for the noise, didn't mean to startle you," River called out to them to let them know there was no man-eating tiger or the like to worry about. That seemed to placate them, as they went back to their bathing. With that, River turned her attention back to me.

"Indigo... were you... Spying on them?”

"N-No!" I had to look away. It was a force of habit and served no real purpose, as the mask would hide the blood rushing to my face.

"Are you... Lying Indigo??"

"Never! I came here to relax and practice… some things I've been working on." That was in fact, the reason I had come here.

"But you seemed to be looking over at them quite a bit." She scratched her chin. "I would know, I've been watching you for a while." Damn, how long has she been there for?

"That a... courtesy I extend to all females." I nodded in agreement. "Not looking would be nothing less than an insult." While blocked by her mask, I could feel her eyebrow lift right off her forehead.

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"...You're a model tribesman," she said with folded arms seeming nonplussed.

"I do what I can," I said, Trying to play it off like I was unperturbed.

"Well, we should make sure that you are recognized for your deeds." She went to beckon their attention.

"No, no! That is completely unnecessary." A chink in my composure had formed.

"But I wouldn't want your good deeds to go unnoticed." It was now that I became aware that she was giving off subtle mischievous vibes. I began to think she might have a grin to match under that mask.

"True heroes don't seek recognition for their deeds."

"But they ultimately get recognition via the praise of others." Damn, like she can pick up on the nuances of the Sparrow Hero legend. She turned back to the lake. At this point, my composure was sundered.

"Come on, River! You can't really expect me not to look! I really do just like this spot!" I was grasping at her arm pleading by this point. "Is it my fault if some people come here to bathe..."

"Honestly Indigo, I'm surprised someone your age would even be interested in this stuff. I guess you are precocious in more than just smarts." I felt the sensation of an evil smile as she looked at me, "It would be a shame if word got out that you are already like this."

However, by this point, I was on to her game. "Are you really going to tell them?" I didn't think so, she was probably just teasing me for her amusement.

"Well... no. I just wanted to have a little fun." Even though I was pretty sure she wasn't actually going to rat me out, I still let out a sigh of relief. "But I do think you owe me for successfully uncovering your secret."

"You want to find the Forest Guardian?" It was an absurd idea.

"Yes! What better way to prove my hunter's bona fides than to hunt the ultimate prey?" River fancied herself a hunter, as evident by her habit of sneaking up on people and causing them acute spinal injury.

"Ultimate prey, huh? What have you hunted so far?"

"Hmmm, let's see..." River rattled off a number of small game animals that she had successfully brought down, not bad. After a moment's pause, "Oh, and Indigo too." I blushed with chagrin. I'm sure she had a shit-eating grin under that mask.

"I don't intend to kill him though, obviously." The fact that she said that clearly indicated she had no idea what she was getting herself into. "I just want to touch him."

"...Touch him?" I made no attempt to hide my cynicism. "I think that would be... incredibly difficult."

"You think so?"

"And even if you could touch him, I don't know how he would like being touched."

"It will be fine."

"Well don't say I didn't warn you when you are getting trounced by him."

"What's with the pessimism? It's not like you to worry so much." She crossed her arms as she leaned against a nearby tree.

Sigh…

"So in exchange for keeping your secret, you will help, right?" She held her fist in front of her eager.

"Sure, though I would have agreed without the blackmail."

"Where would the fun in that be?" Maybe River was more of a delinquent than I originally gave her credit for. My shoulder dropped in resignation.

"Okay, let's head out!" She said as she thrust her hand forward towards adventure.

"You mean you want to start right now??" I figured she would have at least given me a day to prepare.

"What, did you have other things you planned on doing?" As she finished, she turned her head back to the direction of the bathers.

"Sigh... Do you have any leads?"

"No."

"So we are just charging ahead blind?"

"We are not blind!" She asserted.

"But we have no clues to go on."

"We have clues! We know he likes his solitude!"

"Great, so we have basically ruled out the village."

"So why haven't you become an apprentice hunter." Seeing that our chances of actually finding the Forest Guardian were only slightly greater than coming across a unicorn, I figured I might as well strike up a conversation as we made our way through the brush.

I was hit with a wall of lament, "they won't let me, they say I'm too young and nobody will take me on as their apprentice."

"Oh..."

"But! If I can find the Forest Guardian, then they will have to take me!" She perked up, but now I felt bad. She was just trying to achieve her dream of being a Hunter. And here I was belittling her futile efforts to prove herself. And they were futile, but regardless, I still could have been more supportive.

"Look, if you are serious about this, are you sure you want me tagging along?" She looked at me with a questioning gaze. "If this was just a fun adventure, then it makes sense to do it with a friend, but if you're serious, I can only imagine I will get in the way. That's what happened last time..."

"Last time?" Her ears stood at attention.

"I've seen him before with my father."

"YOU HAVE SEEN HIM!?" If it was possible to get your psychic ears blown out, mine were.

"Well, yes..."

Any sadness she might have had, was now completely replaced by joyful exuberance as she pumped her fist up and down. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you along."

"But..."

"Where did you see him? What did he look like? Is he fast? Tell me everything you know! Spare no details!"

As it would turn out, she had no idea what she was looking for. The only thing she did know was that he existed and probably had something to do with guarding the forest. At any rate, I got her up to speed with what I knew of him.

"Wow, he is really that big?" She apparently didn't think he was that big.

"Well yeah, he is the Forest Guardian. Did you expect him to be some small cute little creature?"

"Kind of... how else does he stay hidden so easily?"

"He is light on his feet, and he is also psychic, so maybe he uses that somehow."

"Hmm..." Judging by her chin grip, and collapsing posture, she had to be reflecting on this deeply. After it seemed like she had come to some profound conclusion, "that arrogant punk!" But I was wrong. "Going around hiding from everybody while being so big! Now I am even more determined to find and put him in his place!"

"If you approach him with that attitude he might just put you in YOUR place."

"Haha, let him try," she jested. I was being serious…

That day, we ventured far beyond what was acceptable for "not children." River was of the same mind as me—probably more so—and disregarded the rules on this front. We would search the area, looking for who knows what, and not finding what who knew. That is to say, we come up completely empty-handed, except for the good memories and pleasant anecdotes that we would surely look back at one day with nostalgia. So while our first day ended in failure, a good time was had by all.