Reial cocked a brow at Charette as she collected starry-blue flowers from the roadside. He wasn’t one to press for answers, especially when the issue didn’t concern him. If anything, this was little more than a childish whim.

When he grew bored of watching her, he skimmed through the Sygnal, trying to keep himself entertained. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that interested him, so he quickly tapped out. Scorch being Scorch, pranced around the road, enjoying his game of scare-the-animals-away.

It had been a relatively calm day. They passed a few others taking the walk-road, and even hearing the distant rumble of Essence-based coaches rolling down the vehicular paths.

Charette had utterly refused his offer of Striding across the land, as she had made a point to mention his state two days ago. Saying how it felt as if she was practically taking care of a corpse. He hadn’t known it was that bad.

Out of respect for her feelings, he didn’t push the subject. Despite this, he had to convince her that they didn’t have much time on their side and had to make a quick getaway. The further they were from Aunesfern, the better.

In the mix of all of these thoughts, his mind returned to the voice. He hadn’t heard from it since, yet what bothered him was deciding if it was real or not. Was he just losing it, was the voice nothing more than his reason? Like a living person in his mind? Nothing on the Sygnal suggested this had ever occurred before.

What did he make of it then? Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him. He’s heard that when people suffer from mind dissolution, they begin to hear voices, but that voice had continued to pester him since his fourteenth year. He’d long since discarded the possibility that it was the Almagest trying to communicate with him.

Perhaps Charette could lend him some insight on his situation. She was familiar with the Solvaylian Arts, after all. It could be a Trick of sorts someone had erected around his Striding barrier. The problem lay with who cast it though. Animals, save for drogs, nezerines, and tetetomas from Khaantan, were almost entirely incapable of wielding Essence.

He shifted his gaze to Scorch, watching as he scrambled through the forest brush, scaring away insects and small, furry animals. It was difficult to imagine innocent little Scorch doing something so evil. Even if unknowingly for so long. No, there had to be some underlying factor he couldn’t see.

Charette then approached him, a bundle of those starry-blue flowers in her hands. “Are you finally going to tell me what those are for?” Reial inquired.

Charette grinned.

The flowers began to glow, mimicking the shine of the night sky. Thousands of glowing orbs rose from the petals, hovering above them and bathing the area in soft blue light. Then, they scattered. Exploding outward like a shower of shooting stars. The display left Reial dazzled.

“Did you like it?” She asked eagerly.

“I did, but what was that?”

“Oh, those were called bright flowers. I remember learning about them on the Sygnal and how they interact with Essence-based organisms. Using an infusion of said organisms Essence to pollinate.”

Reial stared at her. “You can remember that, but you can’t remember the date of the Hazrekian Descent?”

“That’s because history is boring! These aren’t.” She said defensively.

“But they’re just flowers.”

Charette shot him a pouty look before smiling again. “Perhaps, if I had your teachers, I would’ve paid more attention.” She countered.

Reial hesitated. While she was partially right, his teachers were an awfully strict bunch. Catering towards perfectionism, as many Aunesfernish should achieve. Charette had the luxury of avoiding being belittled by her foreign tutors. He was thankful that she was able to freely speak her mind without fear of harassment.

“What? You had some pretty fun teachers too! Remember Yi’Len?” He reminded her.

Charette scoffed. “And her broken Aunesfernish? Do you remember how she used to pronounce mother’s name?”

Reial snorted.

“Ray-nay,” Charette said. “It’s Ray-nuh.”

Reial rolled his eyes. Despite how she spoke of Yi’Len, he knew that she was by far Charette’s favorite tutor. Spending too much time recounting stories of her life rather than actually teaching her, which did make him question his parents’ standards.

Charette’s smile widened. What was it this time? Was there something she wasn’t telling him? Something he didn’t quite catch. If it made her happy, then he didn’t see anything wrong with it. If it was legal. Would it be rude of him to ask?

Scorch came scrambling towards them, his mouth full of bright flowers. Reial arched a questioning brow, to which the drog jumped up excitedly in response. The flowers began to glow, sending forth a shower of gleaming pollen in his direction. He flinched as he was assaulted by the soft, puffy glowing orbs that stuck to him.

Charette burst with laughter as Scorch yipped, hopping from one pair of legs to the other. To them, he must have looked like a pillow. Reial sighed as he rubbed the orbs from his body.

“Very funny, did you put Scorch up to this?” He asked.

Scorch nodded an affirmative, making Charette blush. “Sorry, I thought it would cheer you up.”

“Cheer me up?”

“Yes, you looked like you had a lot on your mind.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong there. “I was just thinking of what we would do in Thírion.” He lied.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Really?” “Yes, really.” It hurt to lie to her, but she seemed so happy he would’ve felt bad for admitting the truth. If this could last long enough, then maybe he could forget.

“Like what?”

Hyvas, now he had to come up with something clever. “The state-of-the-art Solis Realm near the palace, for one. Heard the Warp there is something else.”

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“Yeah, they say that people can live different lives there! Isn’t that cool?”

Other lives, huh? “Didn’t La’Vina make it herself?”

“Yes, she did! Isn’t that amazing? She really is the best when it comes to the Solvaylian Arts. No one can compare, not even Exania Mechora.”

“Quite the bold statement you’re making.”

“Not if it’s true.”

Reial grinned. “I guess so.”

Their conversation devolved from there, jumping from meaningless topics of what they’ve seen on the Sygnal to Scorch, and of happier times. It was mostly to pass the time, but as long as Charette was enjoying herself, he didn’t mind. She was much more talkative than usual anyhow, or was that just him? The thought, while simple, bothered him.

The spring in her step suddenly slowed as she changed the subject. “Do you think Jadica is doing fine?”

Reial frowned. He tried not to think of her. Mostly to save his already guilty conscience. She was a sweet person, which made it harder to leave without saying goodbye. Jadica was like an aunt to them, having taken care of him and Charette since they were little. Sure, their parents were her employers, but they’ve always shared a special connection with her.

“I don’t know.” He finally said.

Charette nodded solemnly. “I hope she isn’t feeling too lonely. She doesn’t even have Scorch there to bother her either.”

The drog had taken slowly to their caretaker in his earlier years. Chewing on her shoes and clothes as she lived under their roof. They weren’t certain of why he had these destructive tendences. Perhaps he was afraid she would take them away.

“I’m sure she’s helping mother and father get through this,” Reial added.

Charette’s face hardened in thought. “Don’t you think it’s weird that there hasn’t been any news of…you know, us? Four days and still nothing.”

“I can’t deny that it is strange, but at least gives us some wiggle-room. Perhaps they think Jadica had something to do with it?”

It was a horrifying thought to consider. Their parents would never turn on their caretaker, would they? She was far too clumsy to save herself in most cases, let alone plan an escape.

“I’d sooner believe a Nether Dweller returned before considering the possibility that Jadica was able to orchestrate a midnight escape,” Charette admitted.

She did make a good point, but wouldn’t it be equally wise to suspect the most unsuspecting individual as well? Not that it mattered anyhow. If Jadica was fine, he didn’t have to worry.

The nearby roar of water caught Reial’s attention as he peered over the road. The trees were far too tall to make out anything but a city. It was both a blessing and a curse to the people of Aunesfern.

Eventually, they came upon a branch of the Vaesian river known as the Scabbard. The only reason he knew this was because of the sign posted at the foot of a modern Aunesfernish bridge. Sturdily built without appearing bulky, the bridge was sleek in design, the railings resembling that of the sloping roofs of Aunesfernish architecture.

Scorch poked his head through open slot, trying to lap at the rapid stream as it continued downhill to the west. Resting his arms on the metal railing, Reial watched the water froth as it raced madly. It would’ve been easy to stand on it, water was just another surface after all, but he didn’t want his sister to worry. The other day he had casually run up a tree to see if there was a town nearby only to get a scolding from him. Right now, he wanted to do as little as possible to upset her.

Charette joined him, pointing out a fish that jumped out of the water and over the bridge. Which, Reial had to admit, was an entertaining sight. The bridge itself didn’t hold any true significance. It was just a wooden metal structure supported by Essence.

To them, it was something more. A stop in their journey, a moment to “breathe and take in the sights” as Charette put it. He was still trying to learn how to do that.

The steady tapping of his finger was drowned out by the sounds of the rapids. It was deafening but unlike the aggravating songs of the birds, it didn’t stop and start up again. He could handle that much.

His thoughts, which were usually an unpleasant affair, quieted. Granting him a precious freedom he rarely enjoyed. A freedom he sorely missed when his worries were nothing more than a distant thought.

He watched as several more fish hopped the entire width of the bridge, their tailfins glowing with a faint white light. Lightskippers, if he recalled correctly. Eston had spoken about them on more than one occasion. How could something so elegant live in this brutal part of the river?

Then he felt a disturbance. His Essence whispered to him, guiding his head sharply to the left side. A lightskipper flew harmlessly by the side of his head before flopping onto the wood helplessly. It remained there, its gills opening and closing as if to secure more water.

Scorch removed his head from the slot, and turned around, pawing at the still-living fish. He continued to push it to the edge of the bridge before it slipped and fell back into the rapids. That same lightskipper hopped several feet in the air and then left to rejoin the rest of its kind somewhere down the river.

Reial returned his gaze back to the roaring rapids. This time, with a companion he hadn’t noticed before. A treedint roach by his hand. It’s black and white carapace, along with its twin longhorns, and six legs made it noticeably stand out in the red forest. To Reial, it was a peculiar choice for a Dull.

To anything less than a human, Essence-related activities would be difficult to perform, as proved by the lightskipper. He shooed it away so that it wouldn’t disturb any more of them. Thankfully, it flew back off into the wilds.

“Nice show!” Charette yelled.

“Agreed.” He yelled back.

Crossing the rest of the bridge, they returned to the walk-road. The sounds of the rapids muffled by the thick redwood forest. Scorch nuzzled Reial’s legs, mostly to dry his fur.

“Ugh, Scorch, really?” Reial asked.

The drog yipped an affirmative before turning to Charette and doing the same. Reial snorted as she reacted in the same manner. Reaching down, he scratched the drog’s ear, slipping his bag from his shoulder and taking out a stick of beef for him. He deserved one for his good deed earlier.

Scorch munched on it with gusto, ripping and tearing into the dried, seasoned meat.

“Want to stop by the museum in Osafa?” Charette proposed.

“A bit sudden to be asking that. Aren’t you afraid someone might notice us?”

Charette shrugged. “Kind of, but no one’s bothered to report we’re missing. Besides, it’ll be quick.”

Reial considered her suggestion. The whole point of him leaving was to see the world, wouldn’t this be an excellent opportunity to do just that?

“I’m not sure.” He said hesitantly.

“Come on, it’ll be fun. Remember how we always used to talk about going to the museum back home?”

It was childish of them to want such a simple pleasure, but they had been deprived of it, as well as many other things when they were children.

Reial hummed. “One look wouldn’t hurt.”

Charette beamed with delight. “Great! What do you want to go see first? I heard they have an exhibit showing Vaes’s first Silk! Or maybe the artistic recreation of when Hyvas came and banished the Nether Dwellers? Oh, I read somewhere on the Sygnal that they have a candy shop that sells golden drops!”

Her flurry of questions nearly overwhelmed Reial as he labored over the decision. It dawned on him just then how much he liked this side of her.