At the edge of the pool, another human met his gaze. She was wearing a one-piece garment that Capillata had never seen before, all black. The "pants" that should have split open were like a piece of fabric wrapped around her waist.

Capillata had never thought that he could meet someone of his own kind other than his father. The other person casually placed the wicker basket on the ground, and some black flowers with thorns fell out. A gust of wind carried the sour sweetness of blackcurrants and the fragrance of silver grass.

"Hey, don't be afraid. Can you understand me?"

The words seemed to be played by taut strings, making Capillata stiffen in place. His legs were as immobile as the water plants rooted in the bottom of the pool. The other person gathered the hem of her skirt and stepped carefully into the water. She held Capillata's arm and rubbed it from bottom to top, pulling his golden hair roughly to test its authenticity. Capillata lowered his head and endured these actions; for some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off the slightly raised bosom.

"You have hair like golden thread," she said carelessly, pushing aside Capillata's eyelids with her fingertips. "But eyes like iron blocks," her tone became serious, holding up the boy's chin to check his teeth. "You are the 'Morning Star', aren't you?"

Capillata spoke vaguely, "And you are a woman." The girl was stunned, and a faint smile appeared on her thin cheeks as she said, "Follow me." She then led the boy out of the water. For Capillata, the places where she touched felt slightly warm, and it seemed that the reason was more than just pain.

Just as Capillata was hopping on one foot to put on linen pants and a tunic, the girl with her back to him undid the strap under her chin, revealing a pair of horns on either side of her head and a pair of black braids at the back, but neither were as eye-catching as her pale nape dotted with sweat. As if noticing his gaze, she turned around, walked towards Capillata holding a lace hairband.

"Put it on," she said.

Though Capillata was somewhat puzzled, he still put on the hairband. Seeing him in this way, the girl's previously tense smile also melted away. She couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth with the knuckles of her index finger.

"Not like that, silly." she covered Capillata's eyes with the hairband. "Now we are good to go." In the darkness, Capillata felt a slender and warm palm take his hand and lead him forward. The blindfold wasn't tied very tightly, and Capillata could see through the gap between his nose and the hairband - beneath the hem of the black dress, he saw bare feet. Under the ankles covered with gray hair, there were hooves that forked like those of a goat.

"Where are we going?" Capillata could barely keep up as the hooves stepped lightly on the soft, carpet-like moss.

"To see my family," came the reassuring voice from the darkness. "They're looking forward to meeting you."

"Are there others?"

"The 'Stargazer', you mean the 'Stargazer'. There are also the Foy family, the Babatos elders, and the Quine family," the girl answered as she led the way, "My name is Vit’via, everyone calls me Vi."

Vit’via - this was the first name Capillata learned outside of the storybook. "Is it really something to be happy about when you see me?" He found it hard to imagine.

"Of course," Vit’via paused for a moment. "But not because you've done anything. You're just someone people like... like how people who have never seen a shooting star still like shooting stars."

"What about you, Vit’via?" Capillata lifted his heavy feet as if wading through water.

"Me?" Vit’via stopped for a moment and waited for the boy to catch up, "I like whoever the people in the village like." She lifted her head and sniffed the air to get a sense of direction.

Capillata followed behind her like a little lamb, stumbling along throughout the day. Even though the village hadn't appeared yet, Vit'via suddenly stopped in her tracks and untied Capillata's blindfold.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The boy looked around. They were standing on bright green moss, and behind them was a towering plank roots tree. In front of them was another ocean, even larger than the one they had seen earlier that morning. The scenery was similar, but the sky displayed a gradient of orange and indigo.

"Have we arrived?"

"Almost," Vit’via replied as she searched for dry driftwood along the lake. Compared to the morning, she seemed to have grown accustomed to having a boy accompany her and spoke less awkwardly. "Walking at night is more troublesome. Besides, this lake is beautiful at night. You like the lake too, don't you?"

The clouds, like flames, caused Capillata's heart to race uncontrollably, and panic occupied his thoughts. He ran towards the tree and checked the trunk one by one.

"What's wrong? You see a squirrel?" Vit’via put down the firewood, put her hands on her hips, and watched the boy's behavior with amusement.

"Come help me, Vit’via!" He shouted anxiously, "It's almost dark, we need to find a tree hole."

"What happens if we can't find it?"

"The monsters will come out at night and use claws sharper than knives to cut our throats."

Capillata was shaking with fear. As a sheep, Vit’via seemed to know what to be afraid of and what wasn't. She sighed and walked over, taking the boy's hand.

"Relax, there are no man-eating monsters around here. And not to brag, but I'm the most knowledgeable person in the village," Vit'via said, and under the moonlight, Capillata looked closely at her face for the first time. She had a pale face, as if she had been frightened, but her eyes were bright and lively. Although her cheeks were thin, her mouth would lift slightly when she spoke, like the dimples of a cherry, drawing people in.

"Did you hear me? No monsters, just hunters, and they won't come this far or hunt at night."

"I don't know if what you say is true, but your voice makes me feel safe," Capillata replied honestly, making Vit'via laugh. He pulled the boy towards the pile of firewood by the lake and sat next to him on the fallen tree trunk.

"It's getting a bit cold, isn't it?" Vit'via said nonchalantly, tucking her skirt under her legs.

"Yeah." It would be warmer in the tree hollow. Capirata thought to himself, but didn't say it out loud.

"Show me then." she suddenly leaned forward, her eyes sparkling in the night sky as she looked at Capillata.

"What?" The boy felt his cheeks flush, but he didn't understand the meaning behind her words.

"I've prepared fuel for you." Vit'via tossed a twig into the pile of firewood. "Why don't you show me how you start a fire?"

Even if you say that, I don't know how. The boy replied.

"You might have misunderstood me. I don't mean for you to chop wood or strike flint. I'm referring to the magic that only you can perform. To be more precise," for a moment, Vit'via's smile resting on her knee didn't change, but lost its humor, "you carry fire with you, don't you?" Her voice became quite small, and one could only discern what she was saying by watching her lips.

Capillata felt a chill, not from the evening breeze blowing over the water's surface.

His father's words echoed in his mind - there are terrifying monsters lurking in the forest at night, and they will take away your most important thing. - causing Capillata to instinctively protect his chest with his hand. He didn't know if he could trust Vit'via or if he could hide the truth from her clear eyes.

However, on the other hand, Vit’via did not look like a "terrifying monster"; besides, she seemed to hold a lot of knowledge, and his purpose in this trip was to find out about his own origins.

"Perhaps I could meet you..." Capillata said, stunned.

"It's fate," Vit’via's face hung a mysterious smile like moonlight, "or as we say, it's the arrangement of the stars."

Capillata looked down at his chest. Under his palm, an orange light flickered with his heartbeat. He opened his palm and showed Vit’via his most precious treasure. The dazzling light emitted from its irregular surface took away Vit’via's sight.

"Can I hold it?" Despite the warmth of the flame, she tried to remain calm. But when Capillata handed her the gemstone, her hands visibly trembled, as if she feared the flame within. The flame sensed a different body temperature, and seemed to burn more joyfully, causing the gemstone to hum.

"This is the 'Flamma Varmah'," she murmured to herself, "but it has been sealed."

"Sealed?"

"The crystal structure isolates the flame, preventing it from interacting with the outside world. I can only vaguely sense the power hidden within." Vit’via lowered her eyelashes, which were as dark as if they were rubbed with rosin, and rubbed the gemstone. "However, it is already so hot and endless."

"Do you know how to break the seal?"

Capillata's question brought Vit’via back to reality from the flame. She quickly returned the gemstone to the boy.

"Why do you want to do this?"

"Whether it's birds in the sky or beasts on the ground, it seems they all know what they should do... except me." Capillata placed the gemstone on his knee and examined it intently. "Since this flame is so precious, my mission must be hidden within it."

Vit’via opened a small circular iron box, took out flint and pyrite, knocked them against each other, and then used a sulphur-dipped pine match to light the charcoal on the pile of wood in front of her. It wasn't long before white smoke, mixed with the fragrance of wood, rose up.

"I can't tell you the method to break the seal yet." Vit’via took out a spoon from her bag and heated it over the fire after fetching water from the lake.

Hearing her words, Capillata couldn't help but slump his shoulders in disappointment.

"Because I am not sure either." Vit’via removed the floating herbs and hid her face under the spoon. "Maybe one day I will have some understanding, but not now."