Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Blue light pulsed behind Ari’s eyelids as they breathed in the smell of grass. It itched their cheek, and the subtle chill of the damp earth was seeping into the front of their shirt. A girl’s voice called out — Ari inhaled sharply. 

Pushing themself up, Ari clenched their jaw. Their body felt stiff, completely drained. A headache began beating at their temples. The girl cried out again — calling for help? Ari rubbed their hand over their face and looked towards her voice. Trees surrounded them. Something pink flashed through the underbrush. 

Ari swallowed hard. They pulled up one knee, then pressed their hand on it to rise unsteadily to their feet. The weight of a drawstring bag tugged on their shoulders. Metal clinked at their waist. Ari looked down and saw a sheathed sword attached to their belt. Below, glowing blue lines arced over the grass. Shocked, Ari stumbled back. The lines were part of a giant circle full of interconnected runes.

“A spell circle…?” Ari stared at it, dimly aware that they had just been laying face-down along its edge. What was it doing in the middle of a forest? Ari’s eyebrows lowered. “Wait… what was I doing here?”

The girl cried out again, this time in pain.

“Fuck!” Ari drew their sword. They spared the spell circle one more glance, then took off running. “Just hold on! I’m coming!”

The underbrush tore across their legs. The pink flash they had seen before had been her hair and tail — she was a were-fox. By the looks of her kimono-like dress, one from the Eastern Continent, too. She had fallen, and a monster hornet the size of a dog was buzzing after her.

Mentally cursing, Ari ran in front of the girl just as the hornet fired off a stinger-missile. Ari tried to deflect it, but their arm was too slow. The stinger lodged itself in their stomach. “Ah!”

“Oh no!” The girl got back up, stepping towards Ari. “Are you—?”

“Get back!” Ari shouted, waving her off sharply as they ran to the hornet. It fired again. Ari dodged, but the move painfully tugged on their wound. Even still, their sword knocked back the hornet. Its carapace cracked. The hornet screeched, promising that Ari would regret that. 

“You’re the only one who’ll have regrets!” Ari retorted as held up their sword defensively. They listened for the girl and breathed a small huff of relief when they heard her retreating footsteps. Then they hissed another curse. Two more hornets had come.

Between their wound and the woozy feeling plaguing their head, Ari wasn’t confident in their chances of killing all three monsters. Why didn’t they have a shield?

The hornets didn’t give Ari a chance to wonder further. They fired a barrage of stinger-missiles. One grazed Ari’s leg as they dodged. While the hornets readied another volley, Ari closed the distance and swung at its wings.

The swing didn’t hit, but Ari didn’t relent either. Even as they blocked another stinger with their forearm, they shouted and swung and kept at it until they managed to take down the first hornet. 

The two that remained didn’t relent. The monsters kept firing, making Ari feel more like a pin cushion than a person. Their fatigue was getting worse, too, turning into dizziness. Shit. Were those stingers venomous? 

Nothing Ari could do about that now. The second hornet went down with a lucky hit. The last one stubbornly avoided Ari’s increasingly clumsy swinging.

Ari tripped over their own feet. Their sword fell out of their hand. The stingers still lodged in their side dug deeper under their own weight, making Ari grimace with a weak grunt. They couldn’t go down like this. Ari struggled to get back up. The hornet clicked its mandibles, laughing at them. 

“Leave him alone!” The little girl snatched up Ari’s sword and used both hands to swat down the hornet. 

Ari gaped at her, impressed but terrified for her safety. Yet before the hornet could get back into the air, the little girl continued beating it with Ari’s sword. She used it more like a club, but still, it was enough to send the monster to runelight.

The little girl panted and stared in disbelief at the light until it disappeared and dropped the hornet’s mandibles. Then she remembered Ari and ran back to them.

“Mister, you’re hurt!” She started to reach for one of the stingers, but the magical projectiles were already fading now that the monsters had been banished. They left behind bleeding holes. 

“Uh, yeah…” Ari started to roll onto their back, but then they remembered they were wearing a drawstring bag. They tried to reach for it, but their strength failed them. “Check my bag. I might have a potion or something.”

“Okay.” The little girl trembled as she quickly worked it open. She started taking out everything that was inside of it: a canteen, a small book with reinforced bronze corners, a knife, a crumpled paper bag with grease stains, spare clothes, a thin bedroll, a little sewing kit, and a coin purse embroidered with charm blues.

None of it looked familiar at all. Did Ari accidentally take someone else’s bag? 

“That’s everything…” The girl’s voice had gone watery with tears. Her ears were folded flat against her head. “What do I do?” She looked helplessly at their things and then back at Ari. “Are you going to die? Please don’t die!” 

Ari forced themself to smile, even as it broke their heart that this little girl already understood what death was. “It’s going to be okay.” They swallowed hard and rolled onto their back. Their breath hissed through their teeth with the effort. “Those stingers didn’t hit anything important.” Probably, anyway — the one that had hit their stomach might have hit something, but maybe they were lucky. They put one of their hands over that wound to stem the blood.

“You’re still bleeding…” Her hand went near the wound on Ari’s arm, but hesitated. She sniffled and wiped her face on her sleeve as she kept crying. 

Of course she was scared to touch their blood, Ari figured. The girl was what, seven or nine years old? Ari couldn’t tell.

Ari looked at the spare clothes. It was a ruffled pink blouse and a short brown skirt, a sharp contrast to the blue collared shirt and dark pants they were wearing now. Ari didn’t want to ruin what might’ve been someone else’s stuff, but they didn’t have much of a choice. “Can you cut up that blouse into strips? We can use it as bandages.” 

The girl jolted at the hope of a plan and snatched up the blouse. She started to tug on it, trying to tear it like one would with a piece of paper.

“Use the knife,” Ari said, pointing back at it in the grass. “It’ll be easier.”

“Oh! Okay.” The little girl picked back up Ari’s sword. Before Ari could remind her that there was an easier blade to use in their maybe-stolen belongings, she had stabbed it tip-down into the grass. She held the end of the blouse taut against the edge of the exposed blade and did a little sawing motion to start cutting it. 

Ari’s eyes widened. It looked safer than if she had used their knife. Ari wondered how she got so clever. 

While the girl worked, Ari asked, “What’s your name?” 

She looked surprised, then giggled shyly. “My name’s Hina.” She took a moment to wipe her face again before she continued cutting the blouse. “What’s yours, mister?”

Ari smiled weakly. Being called mister felt weird, like putting on a coat that was too big. “It’s Ari, but I’m not a mister.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! So you’re Miss Ari?” 

Ari laughed, but regretted it when it made their stomach hurt worse. “No, not a miss either.” That title felt like a too-tight dress, stifling them. “I’m, uh…” They blinked, fighting off a lightheaded feeling. They had lost more blood than they thought. “I’m neither.”

“Neither?” Hina paused again in her confusion. 

“Not a boy or a girl,” Ari said. “Just call me Ari, okay?” They forced another smile.

Hina nodded resolutely. “Okay.” She finished cutting the first strip. “Where should I start?”

Ari held out their arm. “Easy one first. We’ll need another smaller wad of fabric over the wound before you wrap it up, though.”

Hina nodded again, looking more determined than ever. There were frilly accents along the neckline of the blouse, and she cut that off for the make-do gauze.

“What were you doing out in these woods all alone?” Ari asked while she bandaged their arm.

Hina froze, then bit her lip. Her eyes brimmed with tears again. “I… I lost Mommy…” Her tears fell and she quickly tried wiping them away again so she could continue wrapping Ari’s arm. “Monsters attacked us.”

Ari looked at her in horror. “Oh gods, I…” They nearly swore, but held it back. 

“She told me to run, too,” Hina said. “I tried to find her after it got quiet again, but then those flying monsters found me.”

“Wait, so she… is your mom still out here somewhere?”

“She has to be! Mommy’s really strong!” Hina pulled on the bandage a little too hard, making Ari wince. “Oh, sorry!”

“It’s okay.” Ari was just relieved that Hina hadn’t actually just watched her mother get murdered. Still, though… her mother was missing. The woman was probably in worse shape than Ari if she wasn’t out looking for Hina right now. 

“Mommy’s probably fighting more monsters.” Hina picked back up the blouse to cut another strip. “She’ll find us soon.”

Ari figured Hina said that more for her own benefit than theirs, since Ari sincerely doubted that. They didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise, though. 

By the time Hina finished bandaging Ari’s thigh, she had used up most of the blouse. Ari told her to cut up the skirt next for the wound on their stomach. The rest of their injuries were shallow cuts or puncture wounds, and they were already starting to scab over.

Ari was most worried about the venom in the stingers. Because of how weak they had already been when they woke in that spell circle, it was really hard to tell what was just fatigue and what was the effects of the venom. Either way, they didn’t think they’d be able to stand any time soon, much less walk. 

“What do we do now?” Hina looked back over Ari’s belongings.

“Good question. Can you pass me that canteen and help me sit up?” Ari figured some water would help, even if they still weren’t sure about trying any food yet. 

“Yeah.” Hina pushed them upright and tucked their bedroll behind them, then handed them their canteen. Her eyes were drawn back to the book. Her head tilted. “Is that a spellbook?” 

“Huh?” Ari reconsidered it as they sniffed the canteen and confirmed it was just water. “Maybe? Let me look at it.” They carefully drank a couple sips. 

“It isn’t yours?” Hina looked confused as she picked it up. 

“I don’t know where any of this stuff came from.” Ari frowned, trying to remember anything about what they had been doing in these woods. The harder they thought about it, the more confused they got. They didn’t remember where they had been going, either. “Where are we?”

“Whispering Woods. Mommy and I were going to Rigbarth to see Uncle Kumo.”

Neither of those places jogged their memory. Where the fuck did they come from, then? Throwing that question onto the rest of the pile, Ari held out their hand for the book. Hina passed it over. It surprised Ari that it did actually contain spells. What surprised Ari more was that they recognized them. There were spells for Fireball, Water Laser, Earth Spike… It seemed like at least one for every element. They continued flipping through it and did a double-take when they saw the spells for Heal and Medipoison.

“There’s medical magic in here!” Ari exclaimed.

“There is?” Hina said before her eyes widened with excitement. “We can heal you!”

“That’s assuming we have the runes to cast it.” Ari frowned. Now that they were thinking about it, it was hard to tell if their fatigue was just physical, or if that spell circle had taken a lot out of them magically. “Do you know how to cast magic?”

“Um… no. But I can try!”

Hina’s enthusiasm was cute, but Ari didn’t need enthusiasm. They sighed and looked back down at the spellbook. The fact that it contained multiple types of spells instead of just one struck them as weird, but Ari didn’t know enough about spellwork to know why. Or, well, maybe they did once, but forgot along with everything else. Just how bad was their amnesia? Then Ari noticed that the pages weren’t quite even. Eyes narrowing, Ari looked more closely at the seams and realized the pages were cobbled together from multiple books.

Hina began to look uncertain. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know. This spellbook’s weird, but I think I can use it?” Ari turned their attention back to the spell for Heal. Skimming the text beneath it, Ari noticed the first part of the paragraph was missing. The left page was blank. They flipped back a page, but it was a different spell. Ari glowered at the book. Whoever put this thing together only wanted the spell circles and nothing else.

Instinct more than anything else guided Ari’s hand to the center of the spell circle. Even though they couldn’t remember ever casting magic before, what little was on the page was enough to remind them of how it was supposed to work. They tried to focus on it, straining to push their runes into it, but the effort made them more lightheaded.

“Ugh…” Ari held their forehead. “I’m not strong enough to use this right now.” If they forced themself to cast it anyway, they felt sure the cost to close their wounds would do something worse to them.

“Will you be okay without it?”

“Yeah.” Hopefully, anyway, Ari thought. “We shouldn’t stay here,” they said, starting to push themself up. “Let’s—” Ari’s arm gave out under them, and they fell with a grunt onto their side. “Or… maybe not.” They rolled onto their back. “I think I need another minute.” Monster venom usually wore off on its own, didn’t it?

Worried, Hina moved Ari’s bedroll and helped them put it under their head. “A nap might help. I’ll keep watch.”

Ari hummed in acknowledgement, folding their arm over their eyes. The grass was cold and damp behind their shirt. It kind of felt nice, though, after that fight. They wondered if it would be better to send Hina on ahead. She had done okay against that last hornet. Then again, if they ganged up on her… Ari didn’t want her to take that risk.

“Thank you for saving me,” Hina said more quietly. “Mommy’s gonna be really happy to meet you. I’m sure she’ll find us soon.”

It took all of Ari’s self-control not to let their doubt show. They wished they could share Hina’s trust in her mom, but they couldn’t bring themself to have that sort of blind faith.

Chapter Text

It was midday when the venom’s effects faded and Ari finally felt strong enough to move. They began packing up their things, but hesitated when they picked up the knife. They glanced back at Hina. 

“If I give you this,” they said, holding it towards her, “will you promise not to cut yourself with it?”

Hina’s eyes widened. For a moment, she seemed to balk from the responsibility. Then she pursed her lips with determination. “I promise I’ll be really careful with it.”

“Good.” Ari put it in her hands. They finished packing and returned to their feet. “Unsheathe that and show me how you hold it.”

“Okay!” Hina nodded resolutely. After she pulled out the knife, she looked around for a place to put the sheath before she tucked it into her obi. Then she held it up with both hands.

Ari studied her stance and grip for a moment. “Not bad,” they said, honestly impressed. Her mother must have already taught her something about defending herself. “You’re holding it a little tight, though.”

Hina loosened her grip. “This better?”

“Yeah. Go ahead and put it away now,” they said, waving their hand. “Don’t use it unless you’re cornered, okay? Let me do the fighting.” Ari looked around the clearing. They had no idea which way was the road, much less how to get to a town. “Where were you separated from your mom? Do you think you could lead me there?”

Hina’s expression screwed up in thought. “I think so. But do you really want to fight more monsters?”

Ari snorted. “I mean, no, not really. I’d rather avoid them if we can. But if your mom’s where they are, well…” They shrugged. “I’ll help her deal with them.” Weak or not, Ari felt a lot more confident about their chances in another fight anyway.

“Hmm… Okay.”

Ari stayed close behind Hina as she led the way through the woods. Every time a squirrel sprinted past in the corner of their vision, their hand tensed over the hilt of their sword. It was hard to keep up that level of focus after a while, though, and their thoughts drifted again. Had Ari been alone before they had woken up on that spell circle? Who put it there? Themself? Was it supposed to erase their memories, or did something go wrong?

It bothered Ari more the more they brooded over it. If the spellbook in their bag really was theirs, were they some sort of mad enchanter? A student who bit off more than they could chew? That wouldn’t explain why they were so comfortable with a sword, though. Weren’t bookish types too wimpy to hold a weapon? 

Hina pushed aside a particularly thick swath of the underbrush and held it back for Ari. They thanked her absentmindedly before a new thought occurred to them.

“Hey, Hina?” She glanced back at them, tilting her head. “When you and your mom were coming through the woods, did you see any spell circles?”

She frowned, confused. “I don’t think so. Why?”

“Before I found you, I woke up on top of one. Back there,” they added, gesturing back the way they had come. “I think it’s why I can’t remember what I was doing here.”

“And why you don’t know where your stuff came from?”

“Yeah.” Ari chewed on their lip. “So… you haven’t seen anyone else in these woods, right? It was just you and your mom?”

“Uh-huh.” Hina fidgeted with the tassels of her obijime. “Mommy said the forest is normally nice this time of year. She thought it would be fun to take the forest path instead of the road.”

“People don’t normally come out this way then, huh?” Made sense, considering how dense the woods were here. The road was probably just as overgrown. “Are you and your mom from around here?”

“Nope. We came here on a big boat.”

“From the Eastern Continent?”

“No, but Mommy’s parents did. We’re from Reniphia.”

Ari tried to remember if they knew that city. “Is that in Norad?”

“Yeah! It’s a big city. Mommy says it’s not the biggest city, but it’s the biggest I've been to, and it’s a lot bigger than Rigbarth.” Hina cheered up as she continued talking. “Uncle Kumo says that Rigbarth is so small, you can fit everyone who lives there in his bathhouse. I don’t know how big his bathhouse is, though. Maybe it’s a really, really big bathhouse. Do you think so?”

“I have no idea.”

“I think it’s a big bathhouse. Obasan and Ojisan helped him fix it, and they have a SUPER big bathhouse,” she said, spreading out her hands.

“That sounds nice.” Ari actually wouldn’t have minded a bath now that they were thinking about it. There was dried blood crusted all over their clothes. Their makeshift bandages were looking worse, too, since their blood was starting to stain through the blouse’s airy fabric. They regretted tearing it up. Their shirt would’ve been more absorbent, and it would’ve been nice to change into something clean.

“It’s the best! Mommy and I go there a lot.” Hina went quiet for a bit as she picked her way through another tangled thicket. “Will you come meet Uncle Kumo with us?”

Ari half-frowned at the idea. “I guess so. His bathhouse is an inn, too, right?”

“Uh-huh. He has a room waiting for me and Mommy already. Oh!” She clapped her hands. “You can stay with us!”

That brought out a chuckle. “Sure. Not like I have anywhere else to go.” The idea was actually kind of reassuring, knowing there was somewhere for them. Even if it was temporary. They didn’t like the idea of roughing it with just a thin bedroll.

“Yay!” Hina hopped with a cheer. “We’re gonna have so much fun.”

Ari thought she was getting a bit ahead of herself. Still, if it kept her from freaking out about the very high likelihood that her mother was in more trouble than either she or Ari could handle alone, they wouldn’t contradict her.

Hina continued telling Ari about her uncle and mother. They gave her absentminded answers, thinking more about what the two of them would do if Hina’s mother didn’t show up soon. It probably wouldn’t be very smart to keep trudging through the forest injured and with a little girl in tow to find her by themself. Before Ari could ask Hina if she was sure this was the way she had run from the attack, Ari spotted a dirt road.

“We’re here!” Hina ran ahead.

“Hey, wait up!” Ari hurried after her, a bad feeling twisting between their shoulders.

The road was deserted. Grass grew along the center, spared between years of wagon tracks. Down on their left was an abandoned rattan suitcase, a pastry box, and a paper umbrella.

“That’s our stuff!”

While Hina sprinted to it, Ari followed more cautiously. The road remained quiet. A pair of birds flitted through the budding branches overhead. Whatever monsters had been in the area were gone now, either banished to runelights or dispersed elsewhere.

“Mommy!” Hina turned in a circle around their dropped belongings. “Mommy, I came back! You can come back now!” As the forest didn’t answer, her excitement waned. Her tail curled towards her legs. “Mommy?” She looked back and forth. “Where are you?!” She clutched the hem of her skirt. “Ari? Where’s Mommy?”

Ari’s heart clenched at the dismay in her voice. “I don’t know.”

“Why isn’t she here?” Hina ran around the suitcase. “Where did she go?” She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted louder, “Mommy! Come back!”

“Hina!” Ari rushed to put a hand on her shoulder. “Stop. You’re going to call over something, but it’s not going to be your mom.”

“Why not?” Hina’s ears folded back.

“Because she’s not here. So just… hang on a second, okay?” Ari stepped away from Hina. “Let me look for clues.”

“What would clues look like?” Hina followed them. “Can I—?”

“No, just…” Ari sighed. “Let me think.” They looked around the road. Hina and her mom had dropped their things here, and Hina had run that way, so there should have been signs of a fight somewhere. Did she get carried off? If so, then—

“I can help!” Hina darted in front of Ari. “Tell me what to look for!”

Ari resisted the urge to snap at Hina. “I’m looking for tracks. Footprints, or dragged dirt, or blood—”

“Blood?!”

“Yes, blood.” Ari exhaled hard instead of cursing. “Whatever attacked you and your mom might have taken her somewhere.”

“No! She’s probably just lost! She didn’t see where I went.” Hina looked into the woods. “She’s still looking for me.”

“I don’t think—”

“Mommy’s too strong to be taken by monsters!” Hina screamed. “She wasn’t taken! She wasn’t!”

“Okay, jeez!” Ari held up their hands placatingly as Hina cried. “I’m sorry. No matter what happened, there still has to be tracks. We’ll find her. Okay? Please stop crying.” Ari didn’t think that was the right thing to say, but fuck if they knew what they were supposed to do. Taking care of kids must’ve been one of the things they had forgotten on top of everything else.

Hina didn’t calm down for a while. Ari stood awkwardly through it, their attention divided between Hina and their surroundings. As her tears slowed to sniffles, Ari picked up the pastry box and peeked inside. It was filled with a mix of wagashi, traditional sweets from the Eastern Continent.

“Let’s take a break, okay, Hina?” Ari held up the box. “Do you want to eat some of these?”

“Mommy and I were going to share those with Uncle Kumo…” Hina wiped her face on her sleeve. It was starting to look really gross.

“Well, we can make sure we save some for your mom and uncle,” Ari said. “I think a snack might help you feel better. And maybe while we’re here, your mom will find us. If she’s looking for you, she has to come back here eventually.”

Hina stared at the box. She shuffled from one foot to the other, her tail flicking anxiously behind her. “Okay,” she said eventually, quietly. “Just a little snack.”

“There we go.” Ari sat down on the ground by the suitcase, and patted the top of it for Hina. She swept out her skirt as she sat down on it. “Here,” Ari said, passing the box. “What’s your favorite?”

“Mmm… I like the yōkan.”

“That’s this one, right?” Ari pointed at a little reddish-brown jelly cube set on a paper leaf. 

“Mhmm.” Hina picked it up. “Don’t take the manju or sakura mochi. Those are Uncle Kumo and Mommy’s favorites.”

“Okay, I won’t.” Ari picked up a plain white mochi. They shrugged off their bag and took out their canteen and the paper bag before they tried a bite. It had red bean paste inside. “This is pretty good. Where did you and your mom get these?”

“Tsubaki Sweets.” Hina nibbled on her yōkan.

“Must be a good place.” Ari opened up their paper bag. “Oh, hey!” They held it out towards Hina, showing her the jerky and candied nut clusters inside. “I have some food to share, too.” 

Hina looked skeptical of its quality, but Ari chalked that up to her being tired and cranky. She took one of the nut clusters and mumbled, “Thanks.”

Ari took out a piece of jerky for themself. Neither of them spoke for a while as they ate. Hina took out a dorayaki from the box when she finished her first treat, and Ari took a pink mochi next. Since Hina didn’t have a water bottle, Ari shared their canteen with her. There wasn’t much water left when they were done.

Looking up at the sky, Ari tried to figure out how low the sun was behind the trees. “Hina? What day is it?” 

“It’s the first of Spring.” She looked confused that they hadn’t known. “Why?”

“I don’t think we have much daylight left,” Ari said, feeling just as confused. Today was New Year’s Day? They didn’t know if that was significant or just a coincidence. “How far is Rigbarth from here?”

“Umm…” Hina’s eyebrows lowered in thought. “Not far? Mommy thought we’d get there by lunchtime.” 

“Are we closer to Rigbarth or to the town you started from?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. But Uncle Kumo is in Rigbarth.”

“Right.” Ari sighed. Rubbing the back of their neck, they glanced around the area again. They had hoped to find something that could point to where her mother went, but nothing stood out to them. Nothing that’d help anyone else search for her, either.

What would they do after they made it to town? Ari checked their coin purse. Their eyes widened briefly at the sum. It was more than enough to cover at least a month’s expenses. If Hina’s uncle didn’t take in Ari for free, at least they’d be able to afford a room until they could figure out what to do next.

“Are we going to keep looking for Mommy now?”

Ari shook their head. “We need to get your uncle’s help.”

“But—”

“It’s not safe for us to wander the woods alone,” Ari said a bit more firmly. “We were lucky we found our way back to the road.” They gestured towards their injuries. “I need to get these properly treated, too.”

“But Mommy’s all alone out there…”

“I know.” Ari ran a hand through their hair. “I’m sorry she hasn’t come back yet. Maybe she went to your uncle already, to get him to help her find you? And she’ll be so happy to see you made it there all on your own.” 

Hina pouted. “Mommy wouldn’t leave here without me.” 

“Yeah, well.” Ari tossed up their hands. “I don’t know what else to tell you. We need to get your uncle.”

Ari thought Hina would continue arguing, but instead she went quiet. After a moment, she hiccupped and started to cry again. “I just want my Mommy…” 

“I know, I’m sorry.” Ari felt retched, but what else were they supposed to do? It would be suicide to just start looking again.

Hina slid off the suitcase and sat on Ari’s lap, surprising them. She curled up against their chest as she continued crying. Ari stared at her a moment before they gingerly patted her back. Ari murmured empty reassurances and waited. 

Eventually, Hina quieted down, but she still didn’t move. 

“Hina?” Ari asked. “Is it okay if we get up now?”

She shifted slightly. Ari thought she was just making herself more comfortable, but then she stuck out her foot and crawled out of their lap. In a tiny voice, she said, “We can go now.”

“Okay.” Ari rubbed Hina’s head, both to reassure her and wordlessly thank her. “I can carry your suitcase and umbrella. Will you carry the sweets?”

Hina nodded.

Chapter Text

Whatever good the sweets and resting did for Ari wore off before they made it to the end of the forest path. Their makeshift bandages had soaked through, and they were starting to feel feverish despite the cool weather. Hina must’ve noticed Ari was getting worse since she asked to take the suitcase, but Ari refused. It was nearly as big as she was. They did compromise, though, and gave her the umbrella.

Ari was barely still lucid when they spotted a stone gate on the other side of a wide clearing. “Thank the Mother,” they muttered. 

“That must be it!” Hina exclaimed. “Come on!” She took Ari’s hand and tried to pull them into a sprint.

“Uh—ah!” Ari stumbled and collapsed.

“Oh no!” Hina turned back around. “I’m sorry!”

Ari tried to say it was fine, but it came out more like a groan. The damp grass was soothing against their hot face. Maybe Hina could go on without them. Give them a minute to catch their breath.

Hina didn’t leave, though. She shouted Ari’s name and shook their arm. Ari grimaced. Their wounds stung. Before Ari could tell her to stop, they heard another girl’s voice.

Ari blearily looked up and saw the new girl also had pink hair, but she was human. Hina was telling her about how they fought monster hornets. Right… Guess that venom caught up with them after all. Or blood loss. One of the two.

The girl was asking Ari if they could get up. Even though Ari really didn’t want to, they managed to push themself up, and the girl put her arm under Ari’s shoulder to help them up the rest of the way. Ari muttered thanks.

Another girl showed up. Ari stiffened, caught off guard, before they let her support their other side. She had a nice turquoise dress. Ari said so, and she laughed, but it was a strained sort of thing. Was Ari too heavy? That didn’t seem right. Then they remembered that she was probably freaking out. People tended to do that when they thought someone was seriously hurt. Ari guessed that they must’ve been, but it didn’t feel like it. Mostly they just wanted to lay back down.

The girls took Ari to a doctor, and Ari didn’t remember what happened after that. They must’ve given them some kind of strong medicine. When they came to, Ari found themself in a comfy bed and new clothes. A window was open. There was birdsong, and Ari heard a page turn.

When Ari turned their head, they noticed Hina curled up in a side chair next to their bed. She looked up from the book in her lap and jumped. “You’re awake!” Hina leapt out of her chair and called to the other side of the room, “Mrs. Simone! Ari’s awake!”

“You don’t have to shout,” a woman said, walking over to them. She was wearing a white coat, and Ari was surprised to notice she also had an eyepatch. “Good morning. Hina says you saved her life. She’s barely left your side.”

“Oh. I just killed some monsters, is all.” Ari pushed themself upright. “Hina’s pretty tough.” They looked back at her. “Why aren’t you with your uncle?”

Suddenly downcast, Hina said, “He wouldn’t let me help him look for Mommy.” 

“Half the town is out looking for her,” Simone added. “We’ve contacted the rangers in Fenarva to help search their side of the woods, too.”

Ari wanted to feel relieved, but instead they only felt dread. “She’s still missing?” They glanced towards the window. “Is it morning?”

“Yes,” Simone said. “You spent the night here in my clinic. Do you remember what happened? My daughter Lucy and her friend Priscilla brought you here. Hina mentioned that you had some memory loss before you found her.”

Ari frowned as they tried to remember. “Everything’s still fuzzy.” They rubbed their head. “Like, I remember finding Hina, but nothing before then. Did she tell you there was a spell circle out there?”

“She did. We’ve warned everyone to keep an eye out for it.”

“That’s good,” Ari said, though they still didn’t feel very reassured.

“Would you like breakfast?” Simone asked. “Once you’ve eaten, I would like to give you a more thorough examination. You suffered grievous injuries, and memory loss is nothing to scoff at either.”

“Uh, sure.”

Hina leaned on the edge of the bed and hopped. “Can I have some breakfast, too?”

Simone chuckled. “You can. I’ll be right back.” She turned back towards the front of the clinic, where Ari was startled to notice a little boy about Hina’s age lurking on the stairs. “Julian! Watch the desk while I make our guests food, will you?”

The little boy looked caught red-handed, but he nodded and hurried down.

“Did you sleep okay?” Hina asked.

“Huh? Oh.” Ari scooted back to sit more comfortably. “I guess so.” They thumbed their bandages under their sleeve, wondering where the new shirt came from. It looked like a uniform. They glanced around the room and noticed their bag on the floor by Hina’s chair. That was one less thing to worry about, at least. “What about you?”

Hina faced her skirt. “I didn’t sleep much. Uncle Kumo stayed out late.”

“Sorry.” Ari sighed. There was an awkward lull as they struggled to think of how to redirect the conversation. “Was your uncle’s bathhouse as big as you hoped?”

Hina’s ears perked up. “Oh, yeah! It’s really pretty. Priscilla helped me bathe, and it was just like Obasan and Ojisan’s bath.”

“Nice. You’ll have to take me there as soon as the doctor lets me leave.”

“Mhmm! Oh, wait.” Hina paused with a little frown. “Priscilla said there’s someone who wants to meet you today.”

Ari frowned. “Who?”

“The Field Captain here. She wants to ask you questions about everything.”

“Great…” A tang of disappointment accompanied their annoyance. For a moment, they had thought Hina meant someone who actually knew Ari. 

Hina tilted her head. “Is that bad?”

“No, it’s just… I really don’t think I’ll be able to answer anything.”

“Oh. Well, it’ll just be a short meeting then!” Hina said, brightening again. “We can go to Uncle Kumo’s bathhouse when you’re done.”

Ari chuckled. “That sounds like a good plan to me. What else were you going to do today?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. I wanted to play with Uncle Kumo, but I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

“Right.” Ari really hoped Hina wasn’t going to end up with two missing family members. “Well, I’m sure we can figure something out together. What else does this town have besides a bathhouse?”

“A lot of stuff! There’s a beach, and a lake, and a bakery…”

Ari readjusted themself as Hina told them what she knew. Julian chimed in after a bit, mentioning that there was a big park with an even bigger tree in the center of town. The reminder excited Hina, and the kids began talking about their favorite places to play.

Simone came down not long later with breakfast on a tray. While Ari and Hina ate, she went to a table lined up with medicine-making equipment and worked on measuring something into a bubbling beaker. Julian stole half a piece of toast, and Ari let him have it.

When they finished, Simone shooed the kids out of the room and brought a clipboard to Ari’s bedside. Hina protested, but after Julian told her that they could play outside, she reluctantly agreed to go. 

“Hina seems really attached to you,” Simone remarked once the kids were gone.

“Like a duckling,” Ari lamented. “So, is this the part where you say I have a chronic disease or something?”

“No, but your amnesia might be a chronic condition. I haven’t run enough tests yet to rule that out.”

“Oh.” Ari suddenly wished they hadn’t been so glib. “You mean I might just randomly forget everything again?”

“Given that you woke up with memories of yesterday, the likelihood of that decreased significantly. My current theory is that you suffered some sort of traumatic runic loss.”

“Because of that spell circle?”

“Yes. We’ll know more once the rangers from Fenarva find it and send us their report,” Simone said. “Hina told you that the Field Captain of Rigbarth wants to meet with you, didn’t she?” When Ari nodded, she continued, “With any luck, Captain Livia will have their report when it’s time for you to go.”

Ari doubted it. “What all do you need to do now, then?”

“Well, I’d like to get a medical history started for you, and then we’ll decide on a treatment plan. Do you remember where you live?”

The question felt like an itch they couldn’t reach. “Probably Fenarva? That’s the place on the other side of the woods, right?”

“It is.” Simone noted it on the clipboard. “Do you remember your birthday?”

That was another question that seemed like it should have been easy, but wasn’t. “It’s in Autumn, I think?” Ari pushed their hand into their hair, tugging on their roots as if that’d help pull out answers. Simone waited. Ari struggled to think. The fact that they couldn’t remember the day or year was freaking them out. “How did I forget so much?” They looked up at Simone helplessly. “Is it ever going to come back?”

“I can’t say definitively yet,” Simone said apologetically. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Ari didn’t want to wait. Simone kept asking questions, and they kept drawing blanks. It seemed like their personal history had been completely erased, and random chunks of their general knowledge was missing, too. They didn’t remember the King of Norad’s name or that the Sechs Republic used to be an Empire, but they knew Palermo was Norad’s capital and enough about Eastern cuisine that Simone had thought it was above average.

The physical portion of the exam went more quickly. Simone gave Ari a recovery potion to help speed up the healing for their remaining injuries, a list of warnings about allergies they might have but didn’t remember, and a pocket calendar to begin tracking their period. The last one made Ari squirm to think about, even though it made sense. They had no idea if they had been sexually active or not.

Before Ari left, Simone also insisted on getting blood and urine samples to screen for any other possible complications. It would take her the rest of the morning to process them, but Ari was free to return any time after that to get their results.

If Ari had their way, they wouldn’t return at all. Not that they admitted this to Simone, anyway. She told them where to find Rigbarth’s SEED outpost and to take it easy.

The outpost itself was an unassuming building, but it had a big plot of land next to it. Poor thing was overgrown to hell, though. The meeting with Captain Livia wasn’t what Ari expected either. For one, the captain was a tiny waif of a woman, practically Hina’s size. And for two, Ari got offered a job of all things.

Ari was still kind of reeling over it all after they met Hina at the bathhouse. Priscilla and Lucy had welcomed them, since apparently the girls were filling in for Hina's uncle. After an awkward conversation about whether Ari should use the boys’ side or girls’, they decided to just let them go into the girl’s bath with Hina. While they washed themselves and settled into the hot water, Ari told her about what she had missed. 

“You’re going to be a SEED ranger?” Hina said, splashing bathwater in surprise. She had sat down on the shallow side of the bath. The two of them had it all to themselves.

“I guess.” Ari shrugged, holding up their hands. They sunk deeper into their side of the bath. “The captain said I’d get to live in the upstairs apartment for free, too.”

“So you won’t stay here with me and Mommy?”

Ari snorted. “No. But since I’ll be living in Rigbarth for a while at least, you’ll still see me around. Besides, wouldn’t you rather hang out with that other kid? Julian, right?”

Hina pouted. “It’s not the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mmm…” Hina leaned back against the edge of the bath and swung her legs. “He’s just a kid.”

Ari laughed. “You are too!”

“Yeah, but…” Hina’s ears turned shyly. “You’re really cool.”

What was Ari going to do with this girl? Shaking their head with an exasperated smile, Ari said, “Thanks, but I’m just a dumb grown-up.”

“You still saved me!”

“And you killed that last hornet before it could eat my face,” Ari countered. “I’d say we’re even, okay?”

Hina grumbled something under her breath. She slid down and held her knees against her chest.

Ari rolled their eyes. “When we’re done, the captain said I’m supposed to introduce myself to everyone who lives here. You know, as my first assignment.”

“Can I come?” Hina asked, brightening back up.

“I don’t know,” Ari said, exaggerating their uncertainty to get a rise out of her. “It’ll probably be pretty boring.”

“No way! I want to meet everyone, too!”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“I am!” Hina grinned.

Her enthusiasm made Ari chuckle. “Okay. Let’s dry off and get going then.”

“Yay!” 

Chapter Text

Introducing themself to everyone in town was both harder and easier than Ari expected. Easier, because apparently there were barely any people living in Rigbarth full-time, and harder, because a lot of people weren’t home, and the ones who were home wanted to sit and chat.

“…and that’s the difference between pumpernickel and rye,” the town’s baker, Randolph explained to Hina. She was utterly enraptured while he told her about all of the different kinds of bread and baked goods that he and his wife, Yuki had for sale. They were a cheerful, elderly couple that made Ari think of grandparents they couldn’t remember. That bothered them more than they wanted to admit.

“I didn’t realize people could be so picky about bread,” Ari muttered, leaning on their elbow against the front counter. Yuki had bribed Ari with an orange roll when they had tried to leave twenty minutes ago, and Ari realized that they had too much of a sweet tooth to refuse. So, they let Hina have her fun, and they told themself it was probably a good thing to get to know the locals instead of just their names.

“People’s favorites are important,” Yuki said from her seat behind the counter. “The right recipe can spark new love, brighten up a bad day, or bring back old memories.”

Ari looked askance at her. “You really think so?” They wondered if everyone in town already knew about their amnesia. 

“Of course, dear.” Yuki smiled knowingly. 

Randolph came up to her and put an arm behind her shoulders. “It’s just about finding the right one,” he said, looking at her like a coconspirator.

Hina jumped up. “My favorite bread is a choco cornet!” She looked at Ari. “What’s your favorite?”

“I dunno,” Ari said, glancing at the last bit of their orange roll. “I don’t know if I ever really thought about having a favorite bread before.”

“You have to have a favorite,” Hina insisted.

Ari half-frowned, trying to think of a good-enough answer. “There’s too many to decide from. Can I just say cake? That counts, doesn’t it?”

“Cake isn’t bread!” Hina protested. “Cake is cake!”

Ari laughed, and it got a chuckle out of Yuki and Randolph, too.

“Poundcake is a type of quick bread, though,” Randolph said, “and that counts.”

Hina looked scandalized. “What?!”

It was pretty funny blowing her mind, but Ari finished their orange roll not long after that. Yuki sent the two of them off with a little orange cranberry loaf drizzled with icing. Ari assumed Yuki was just being extra generous because she was worried about Hina’s family.

Sunset was falling when Ari and Hina stepped outside. Most of the roads were nearly empty. While Ari wondered if they should go report their progress to Captain Livia or drop Hina off back at the bathhouse first, they noticed a group of people entering town through the eastern gate. “Hm?”

“Uncle Kumo!” Hina took off running.

Ari followed at a jog. The tallest of the group was a buff were-animal man with purple fur wearing hakama and half of a kimono. Ari thought for a second it had been ripped, but the empty sleeve was folded over his belt. His downcast expression lit up as soon as he recognized Hina.

“Hey, kiddo!” Hina’s uncle knelt down and caught her in a big hug.

“Where’s Mommy?” Hina looked at the other people with him as he stood and picked her up. There was another tall man with a ginger beard and an average-sized man with an armored visor. Both of them were wearing leather aprons and holding battle hammers. The last person was a small guy with a paperboy cap, a bright red jacket, and some kind of gold baton? It was hard to tell at this distance.

Hina’s uncle hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry.” The rest of the men looked away. 

“She’s still missing?!”

“We looked for as long as we could today,” he said. “The field rangers wouldn’t let us stay out past dark again.”

“But what about Mommy?”

Her uncle petted her hair and rested his chin on her head. “I know, kiddo.” After a moment, the boy in the paperboy cap tapped his arm and pointed at Ari, who had stopped at an awkward distance away. “Oh, hey! You’re back on your feet.” He looked wryly apologetic. “I owe you big time for helpin’ out my niece. It’s Ari, right? I’m Murakumo.”

Ari nodded at him. “It was nothing. Nice to meet you.”

Murakumo glanced at the others with him before he looked back at Ari. “Have you and Hina had dinner yet?”

“No, but the bakers spoiled us.” Ari held up a little paper bag, which held the orange cranberry loaf. 

Murakumo huffed a laugh. “Course they did. C’mon.” He hitched Hina higher on his hip and nodded towards the bathhouse. “I’ll feed you guys at my place.”

“Um, thanks.” Ari followed a couple steps behind the rest of the group.

The boy in the paperboy cap noticed them lagging, and hung back to walk side by side with them. “Hi! I’m Cecil, by the way. They said you have amnesia?”

Ari resisted the urge to be sarcastic. “Yeah. The doctor here doesn’t know if or when I’ll get my memories back.”

“Oh man,” Cecil said, looking sympathetic. “That sounds serious. Maybe I can help? I’m a detective in training.”

“You are?” Ari tried not to look too skeptical.

“Yeah! That’s why I was out in Whispering Woods with everybody else.” Cecil’s expression fell. “It’s harder than I thought to find clues out there. I’m more used to solving mysteries here in town.”

“How many mysteries can a tiny place like this have?”

“Oh, a lot! If you know what you’re looking for, I mean.” Cecil winked. “And you’re a walking mystery yourself.” He gestured at them.

“I guess.” Ari shrugged. “Who’re those two?” They nodded at the rest of their companions.

“That’s my big brother, Martin,” Cecil said, pointing at the average-sized guy, “and that’s Master Darroch. They’re blacksmiths, but they know their way around monsters too. They go mining for their own ore up in the lava caves — the place is packed with them.”

“So they were acting like your bodyguards?” 

“No, I can take care of myself.” Cecil held up the baton, which Ari realized was an aquamarine rod. “Murakumo doesn’t need anybody to defend him, either. We all just wanted to help with the search.”

“Huh.” Ari paused. Lowering their voice, they asked, “Do you really think they’ll find Hina’s mother?”

Cecil’s expression became conflicted. “Well… Statistically speaking, her chances aren’t good anymore. The first twenty-four hours are the most important, and we’ve passed that window.” He straightened his back. “I want to believe she’s still out there, though. Were-animals are tougher than humans.”

“Are you all going to keep searching tomorrow, then?”

“Murakumo and I will, but Martin and Darroch are going back to their smithy. It’s not good for business to keep it closed for multiple days.”

“Is there anyone else in town who’ll help search?”

“Not really,” Cecil said. “My teacher, Terry — he says he’s useless in the woods. Everyone else has responsibilities here.”

“So it’s just the rangers from Fenarva, then?”

“And some field rangers they called in.”

“I see…” Ari half-frowned.

“Will you join us?” Cecil asked. “I couldn’t help but notice the uniform — Captain Livia hired you, didn’t she?”

Ari looked surprised, but then again, it was kind of obvious. “Oh, yeah. She did. I don’t know about that, though. I guess?” Captain Livia hadn’t said anything about having Ari join the search, but if they were a ranger now, they imagined they’d have to help.

“We need all the help we can get. If you have to stay, though, I don’t blame you. I heard you were really beat up when you got here.”

Ari scoffed, but shook their head with a smile. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“I hope you feel better soon.” Cecil noticed that they were getting near the bathhouse. “I meant what I said, too, about helping you with your amnesia. Terry’s also a professional private investigator. If I can’t help you, he definitely can.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” The idea was nice, even if Ari wasn’t sure how Cecil expected to help. He couldn’t just dig around in their brain for answers. Was he just thinking of going to Fenarva and asking around? That couldn’t be very efficient.

Priscilla and Lucy welcomed them when they came into the bathhouse. Murakumo told everyone to get comfy in the inn’s dining room. Hina refused to let go of him, so he let her come with him to the kitchen. Ari used the time to get to know everyone better. All of them had grown up in Rigbarth, except for Priscilla. But still, she had been born here, and she had only moved away for a couple years before she came back. And except for Darroch, they were all about Ari’s age — twenty-something, more or less.

It made Ari feel a weird sort of nostalgia — or jealousy, really — watching how the girls and boys teased each other and talked. The four of them had the sort of familiarity that was only possible after knowing somebody their whole life. Ari wondered if it was because they were missing friends they didn’t remember. They didn’t know which would be worse: forgetting people who had been important to them, or realizing they hadn’t had friends like this at all.

Ari didn’t talk much even after Murakumo brought out dinner. It would’ve been easier if Hina had been up to talking, but she had withdrawn into despondency. Not even Murakumo had been able to cheer her up. She pushed around her food on her plate, tail curled on her lap, and didn’t look up.

The sight twisted Ari’s stomach with guilt like the ghost of the hornet’s stinger. If they hadn’t gotten so beat up, would they have been able to find her mother? 

Everyone bid each other goodnight once dinner was done. Hina gave Ari a quick hug, catching them by surprise, before she went back inside with her uncle. Cecil offered to walk Ari back to the Silo — what they called the SEED outpost, apparently — since he and his brother lived just up the road. Ari turned him down, though, saying they had to go check something with Simone. They just wanted some time alone.

It was darker in Rigbarth after nightfall than Ari expected, the roads all hard to see. A few windows glowed in the sparse buildings, but otherwise only moonlight frosted the grass and rooftops. Winter’s dying breath was still in the air, even as the flowers on the big tree in the park looked like they were blooming silver.

Ari shoved their hands into their pockets and sighed while they walked in the general direction of the clinic. The past day and a half almost didn’t feel real. Who just forgot their entire life? And why was everyone being so fucking nice? It was uncanny and weird, but also… it wasn’t entirely bad? Ari wouldn’t mind to be proven wrong, but it was hard to fully enjoy it when they kept expecting some sort of catch.

Maybe their ranger work would be the catch. It couldn’t be an easy job — otherwise there wouldn’t have been an open position, right? Captain Livia mentioned Ari wasn’t the only town ranger, but the other one was attending some sort of yearly conference in the capital.

As much as Ari wanted to keep wallowing in self-pity, their thoughts kept returning to Hina. She had looked so small at the dinner table. Ari might’ve lost whatever life they had, but she might’ve lost her mother for good. And Hina never talked about a father, either. Was Murakumo and her grandparents the only family she had left?

Ari couldn’t let that happen. Turning abruptly back towards the Silo, they began making a mental list of everything they’d need to start searching.

Chapter Text

A new shield was strapped to Ari’s arm when they arrived at the bathhouse with Cecil. Ari had bought it from Martin just a few minutes ago, since Captain Livia had informed Ari earlier that morning that rangers were responsible for their own weapons and supplies. Their new uniform did come with some fancy dimensional storage bags, though, which Ari felt was pretty fair. It let them carry everything they had had before in their old bag, plus extra supplies like rations and a map, and they didn’t feel the weight at all. Plus, the uniform also included a unique enchanted item called a spell seal bracelet. Livia explained it could freeze monsters or people in place, make magic handcuffs, and temporarily bind monsters to their will. That last part interested Ari the most, despite that it seemed kind of mean. Livia said that was just the way SEED rangers worked.

Murakumo came outside with Hina hanging onto the end of his kimono, which was half-undone again. He looked heartened to see Ari. “You’re joining us today?”

“Yeah.” Ari rested their hand on their sword. “I promised Hina I would help.” They glanced at her, giving her a quick smile. Though she looked anxious, Hina gave them a tiny smile in return.

“All right!” Murakumo held up his fist. “Let’s get going.” He knelt down to address Hina. “We’ll be back before you know it. Okay, kiddo?”

Hina pressed her face into his chest. “Come back safe.”

“I will,” Murakumo promised. He tousled her hair before he stood back up and joined Cecil and Ari. “Do you think you can take us to where Hina and Misasagi got separated?” he asked as they began walking. “Hina said it was about halfway, but you were actually there, so…”

Ari looked towards the eastern gate. “I think so.” They remembered that part of the woods better than the latter half, anyway. “Your sister’s name is Misasagi? What does she look like, by the way?”

“She has blue hair, and she has this same mark on her forehead.” Murakumo pointed towards a red, downward V-shape just above his eyebrows. “She’s also a twin-tail were-fox.”

Ari tilted their head. “Is that special?”

“You bet! She inherited our family’s blessing.” When Ari still looked confused, Murakumo said, “You know, from our ancestors?”

“Am I supposed to know who they are?” Ari asked. “Sorry, I don’t know if this is an amnesia thing or not.”

“No,” Cecil said, “it’s a cultural story. Right?”

“It’s more than a story.” Murakumo puffed out his chest. “Were-animals really are the descendants of kitsune and tanuki kami. I think they’re also called forest gods here? But anyway, they protect wild places, and they have a lot of awesome powers. Their blood runs stronger in some families, so some people get their powers.”

“Huh.” The idea was interesting, even if Ari didn’t fully buy the story. “What powers does she have?”

“Well, she’s pretty good at using fire magic, and she’s a lot stronger than me, too.”

Ari’s eyebrows rose. Considering the size of Murakumo’s muscles, they wondered just how absolutely jacked Misasagi was.

Murakumo laughed at their face. Then his expression turned bittersweet. “Yeah, that's why I don’t get why we haven’t found her yet.” He gestured out past the gate, which they were quickly nearing. “There’s nothin’ out there that should’ve gotten the better of her. It’s all goblins and scrawny orcs.”

Cecil nodded in agreement. “There’s definitely something else afoot besides monsters.”

“You think?”

“Well, here are the facts,” Cecil said, holding out his hand. “Misasagi is a capable fighter under normal circumstances. If she only faced the goblins Hina described, she should have been able to stand her ground. If she really had been overwhelmed somehow, you and Hina would have found her — but you didn’t.” He pointed at Ari. “Goblins also aren’t known for taking victims — they just take people’s belongings. Weapons, food, anything they can repurpose. But you found their things exactly where they had fallen. Right?”

Ari frowned as they remembered it. Even the box of wagashi had been untouched. “I guess. So, what then?”

“What then indeed!” Cecil looked pleased to dig deeper into the mystery. “I have a couple of theories, but honestly, I don’t have enough evidence yet for any of them. Since you’re taking us to the scene of the crime, it should be easier to find some clues.”

Ari raised an eyebrow. “It’s a crime, now?”

“There's strong evidence to think so,” Cecil said. “The biggest coincidence is that Misasagi went missing around the same time you reported waking up by a spell circle. How close were you to it, by the way? Were you inside the circle?”

“I mean… technically? I was kind of on the edge of it, I think. Like maybe I tripped over it?” It was a struggle to remember, and Ari didn’t like the implication that they were somehow partially responsible. “I don’t think I made it, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“Oh, no, not at all!” Cecil said hastily, holding up his hands. “I just wanted to check, in case it was possible that someone set you up.”

Ari froze. “What?”

“Well, if someone took Misasagi, that same someone might have made that spell circle.” Cecil paused next to Ari. Murakumo’s ears tilted towards them. “Whoever made it is probably a really accomplished mage. Magic that wipes out memories is really strong.”

“Simone doesn’t know if that spell circle really was what erased my memories, though,” Ari insisted despite their uncertainty. Thinking about the idea that someone intentionally fucked up Ari’s life made them feel sick. They didn’t have the stomach to keep lingering on it, either, so they continued walking and picked up their pace.

“Psssht!” Cecil cut the air with his hand and followed them. “Simone knows potions, but she’s not a spellcaster. Memory loss is a really common accident when you start working with big spells. You know some magic, too, right?”

“Sort of?” Ari remembered their spellbook, the one they weren’t even certain was really theirs. Hina must have told everyone about it. “I can’t remember everything I might’ve known, though.”

“Then here’s a refresher! Circles need runes to power their spells,” Cecil said. “It doesn’t matter where they come from. You can put your own runes into them, or take runes from magic crystals or from just whatever’s ambiently in the air. But when a person loses too many runes…”

“They can lose their memories. I got that.”

“Exactly!” Cecil pointed at them. “It can do that, or cripple you or even kill you.” He looked back into the woods. “You’re probably really lucky it didn’t drain you completely.”

Ari nodded mutely. Would they have died if Hina’s voice hadn’t woken them up?

“That’s why I want to know more about what this spell circle was doing out there,” Cecil said. “If it’s a teleportation circle, whoever took Misasagi might be using it to get in and out of Whispering Woods.”

Frowning, Ari said, “That can’t be it. The circle was behind me and Hina when we got back to the road. These people would have had to go past us to get back to it.”

“Really? Hmm…” Cecil held his chin. “That puts a wrench in that theory, then.”

“Is there even a motive?” 

“Eh…” Cecil waggled his hand in a ‘sort-of’ gesture. 

Ari looked sidelong at Murakumo, but his lips were pressed thin. His gaze was focused on the woods. “Who’d want to take Misasagi?”

Murakumo sighed heavily, then said, “Our family has some enemies, but if they were going to kidnap someone, I’m the easier target.”

“Seriously?” Ari said, baffled. Didn’t Hina’s family just own bathhouses? For that matter, wouldn’t Hina be the easiest person to kidnap?

“I don’t really want to get into it, if that’s okay with you,” Murakumo said. “I’ve already sent my folks a message. If it is those guys, my folks will figure it out, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on.”

“And that’s why we haven’t come to any conclusions yet,” Cecil said. 

“Right…” Ari unconsciously tensed as their group exited the town. There was a stretch of open grass, and then the road branched three ways into the woods. They spotted a fluffy white something up ahead — a sheep? No, it was on its hind legs. Had to be a wooly, then. Ari couldn’t remember if they were dangerous.

Pointing at it, Ari asked, “Should we be worried about that?”

Cecil and Murakumo followed their finger. The two of them looked confused before Murakumo realized Ari was talking about the wooly. “Ha! Nah, those things are friendly as can be.” A second one stepped out of the trees. “We don’t normally see too many of them this close to the road, though.”

Something about that raised a red flag in their mind, but Ari couldn’t tell what. It was only when they got closer that Ari noticed that the woolies were pacing around, glaring at them — daring them to try crossing their turf. “Why the fuck…?”

“Baaa!” The wooly nearest to them charged.

“Shit!” Ari drew their sword and blocked its headbutt with their shield. Cecil yelped with surprise and scrambled backwards. Murakumo sidestepped it and drew a battle axe from his own dimensional storage bag. When it raised its paw to strike them, Ari hit it first. “These ones aren’t friendly!”

“No shit!” Murakumo swung his axe at the second wooly. It flew backwards, bounced on it butt, then hopped back up.

Cecil aimed his aquamarine rod and cast Water Laser. Its fur soaked up the blast. Bleating at him, it shook its head, shaking off the water.

Ari slashed again at the first wooly. Its fur was surprisingly thick, and their sword wasn’t sharp enough to cut it. When it headbutted their shield again, Ari twisted their wrist and stabbed it in the stomach instead. The wooly seized up, then burst into runelight.

When Ari turned back to Murakumo and Cecil, they had managed to kill their monster, too, but a third one was coming out of the trees. Just behind it, something flashed, and a fourth wooly appeared.

“Dammit.” Ari ran towards the trees. “There’s a gate back here. Take care of these woolies while I close it.”

“Right!” Murakumo snarled. “Come here, you furballs!”

One of the woolies tried to intercept Ari, but they trapped it in a burst of green light from their spell seal bracelet and continued towards the gate. The swirling mass of runes had been hidden behind thick shrubbery. With a battle cry, Ari hacked into it. Magic ricocheted off their sword. Ari squinted against the bright flares. It felt like chopping through a ball of mud, dispersing it.

Ari stumbled when the gate collapsed in on itself. They turned back and saw Murakumo bring down his axe over one of the woolies’ heads, crushing it. The remaining wooly kept running away from Cecil’s Water Laser blasts.

“I got it!” Ari cut off the pesky wooly’s escape and shield-bashed it. Stunned, the wooly wavered on its feet. Ari’s sword found its heart, and it vanished. A few clumps of wooly fur were all that remained.

Murakumo set down his axe on its head and rested his hands on the pommel, catching his breath. “Those things… They’ve never done anything like that before.”

“The plot thickens!” Cecil exclaimed. “Ari, was there anything strange about the gate?”

“I don’t know.” Ari sheathed their sword and glanced back into the woods, half-expecting to see another wooly try to get the jump on them. “Didn’t seem like it. Those woolies didn’t sound right, though.” They knelt down to pick up the wooly fur while they gathered their thoughts. “It was like they were possessed.” 

“Huh?” Cecil looked confused. He glanced at Murakumo, but he looked equally unsure what to make of Ari’s response. “What was different?”

“They were saying this was their turf, but it’s not like them to be territorial.” Ari gestured vaguely around the road, then started picking dirt out of the fur clump. “Especially here. They should know better than to take over a crossroads like this. It’s like they were trying to start trouble…”

Cecil blinked. “They said that?” He glanced at Murakumo again, as if checking to make sure he had heard the same thing. He shrugged at him, at a loss.

“Well, yeah,” Ari started, but then they realized that wasn’t what Cecil meant. He had heard the monsters just fine. It was that he didn’t understand them. “Oh.” Ari swore under their breath. They looked away and held the back of their head. It felt like they had just revealed something really bad, but they couldn’t remember why it was supposed to be secret. Was it not normal to be able to understand monsters? Were they some sort of freak?

“Ari?” Cecil looked concerned.

“Are you okay, dude?” Murakumo asked.

“Just… thought I remembered something,” Ari said, waving them off. They put the wooly fur into their bag with a half-formed thought of trying to spin it into yarn later. “But yeah, it was just the way they were baahing, you know? Normally it’s softer?”

“I guess it did sort of sound like they were roaring at us,” Murakumo said, though he and Cecil didn’t look fully convinced.

“We should keep going.” Ari turned towards the south and started marching ahead. “I don’t know what made those woolies act weird, but the other monsters around here are probably going to be like that, too.”

“You think so?” Murakumo asked.

“I mean, better to assume so than not, right?”

Murakumo looked more troubled by the idea.

“Are the three of us going to be enough?” Cecil asked. “Those woolies were pretty tough.”

Ari paused. They didn’t think the woolies had been that hard to beat, but their sword and shield had worked better than Murakumo’s axe or Cecil’s magic. 

“There’s no one else we can bring,” Murakumo said. “Martin and Darroch aren’t gonna change their minds just if we ask, right?”

Cecil frowned. “No… But maybe we could get Ryker?”

“Will he be awake?”

“Good point…”

Ari looked from Cecil to Murakumo. “Who’s Ryker?”

“He’s Palmo’s apprentice,” Murakumo said. “One of the carpenters in town.”

“He’s also partially nocturnal,” Cecil added. “But he’s fast, so he’s the one we had sent to get help in Fenarva yesterday. He spent basically the whole day as our messenger, relaying between us and the rangers.”

“Huh.” Ari added him to their mental list of townsfolk they still needed to meet.

Murakumo turned back to Ari. “You’re the ranger, so you should decide. But I want to keep going. No monsters are gonna scare me away from my sister.”

Ari thought that Murakumo was putting too much stock in their opinion, considering that they had only been a ranger for barely a day, but they supposed it didn’t change much. “I want to keep going, too. If we run into anything we can’t fight, we can always just turn around and see if Ryker will join us.”

“That seems like a good idea to me,” Cecil said.

“Okay.” Ari continued ahead. “Did either of you bring any other weapons?”

Cecil hunched his shoulders. “No. I only know water magic.”

“I can use my claws in a pinch,” Murakumo said.

Ari hummed in response, thinking that wasn’t very good. “Tell me if either of you start flagging, okay? It’ll be hard enough to watch our surroundings if we get too tired.”

“Aren’t you the one who was just in the clinic yesterday?” Cecil teased.

Ari smiled and rolled their eyes. “I got better.” They stretched their sword arm, mentally cataloging their old injuries. There was still a little bit of an ache, but nothing that would impede them.

“That’s good,” Murakumo said with a laugh. “I’d feel real bad if we dragged you out here when you were still supposed to be resting.”

“Yeah.” Ari still would’ve dragged themself out here anyway, but there was no reason to say that. 

Chapter Text

“So this was the place?” Cecil asked as Ari stopped in the middle of the road. It was midmorning, and a cool breeze sprinkled petals from the flowering trees. A rabbit darted deeper into the woods.

“Yeah.” Ari recognized the arrangement of the trees. Stepping to a spot off to the side, they said, “I sat here while Hina and I took a break.”

Murakumo nodded, then lifted his nose and sniffed the air. “If there was a scent, it’s gone cold.”

Cecil took out a magnifying glass and began looking at seemingly random patches of the ground. “The tracks are all mixed up here. Too much traffic.” He frowned somewhat. “I guess that’s our fault, though.”

“The rangers also came through here a lot,” Murakumo agreed.

“Yeah.” Cecil looked into the woods on either side of the road. He walked up to a tree and touched a dark spot. His fingers came away with soot. “Fire damage. Can’t believe I didn’t notice that before.” He dusted it off on his shorts. “Probably from Misasagi’s fight.” Cecil glanced towards Ari. “Which way did Hina run?”

“This way.” Ari pointed southwest.

“I see…” Cecil nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, he took out a little notebook and sketched out a drawing of the area. “I wish we brought Hina.”

“Even with the monsters?” Murakumo’s ears folded back uneasily. “She might’ve been okay against one of those woolies, but there were a lot of them.”

“I know, I know,” Cecil said, waving off his concern. “But she would’ve been able to tell us more about which direction the attack came from. Like this—” He waved towards the south, at a gap between the trees, which made Ari notice some trampled shrubbery. “Was that here before?” Cecil asked. “Or did something pass through here yesterday?” He turned back to Ari. “Do you know?”

“I literally didn’t see that until you pointed it out,” Ari said, annoyed. At least they could tell themself Cecil just had an unfair advantage. Not everybody was a detective in training.

Murakumo knelt and examined the damaged plants. “It’s not a deer trail, I can tell you that much. Whatever came through here was big.”

“Bigger than goblins?” Ari asked.

Murakumo frowned. Cecil said, “Definitely, unless they all decided to tie themselves together like some sort of rat king.”

The image made Ari grimace. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”

Cecil laughed. “Okay, fair.” He snapped his notebook shut. “But whatever crashed through there might be our culprit.” Tapping his notebook against his chin, he added, “What interests me the most is that there isn’t more damage over there.” He gestured towards what looked like normal trees on the other side. “That suggests it came from the road and then turned off into the woods.”

Murakumo looked at the trampled path. “Do we wanna follow its trail?” 

“I think so,” Cecil said, “but I’d like to find the spell circle first. Ari, can you take us there?”

“Sure.” Ari shrugged. They were starting to feel more like a guide dog than a ranger. Yet the further they got from the road, the less certain Ari felt about even that role. They hadn’t really had much time to make a mental note after they had first woken up, after all.

“How big was this circle?” Murakumo asked, pushing aside a tree branch that Ari and Cecil hadn’t even needed to duck for. “Is it table-sized, more like a room…?”

“I guess a table?” Ari tried to remember any of the runes that had been along its perimeter, in case they couldn’t find it. “Maybe more like a big table. It wasn’t—” Something glinted in the corner of Ari’s vision. They raised their shield barely in time to deflect an arrow. “Shit!” They drew their sword. “Goblins!”

The little green fuckers screeched a battle cry as more arrows rained down. Cecil threw a wave of water over them, snapping the arrows’ shafts. One arrow slipped through, nicking his temple. It knocked off his cap. Goblins with billhooks and scavenged swords charged out from behind bushes and trees. Murakumo lifted his axe, taking a defensive stance.

“Cecil, get the archers!” Ari ran to meet two goblins halfway. Snarling with wild eyes, the monsters looked more rabid than lucid as they called for their blood. How did these things manage to sneak up on them?

“On it!” Cecil said, firing a Water Laser at a goblin perched in a tree. It fell backwards with a scream. “Watch my back!”

Murakumo chopped down a goblin and swung again, missing the second. “There’s too many of them!” He blocked the edge of a goblin’s sword with the handle of his axe. 

“Just hang on!” Green light flashed as Ari trapped another archer in a spell seal. Ari’s sword moved faster than they could think. Its tip slipped between gaps in the goblins’ armor as blades clanged against Ari’s shield. It served as a bludgeon just as often as it knocked back blades and arrows.

Kinslayer , the goblins growled. That confused Ari, but not enough to linger on it.

“Let’s—argh!” Murakumo roared in pain. Ari spun around to see blood dripping down his arm.

Shouts and steel striking steel rung through the air. First blood, they cheered. Murakumo’s wound whipped up a frenzy among the goblins’ ranks. Their raised voices sounded like a squealing abomination made of pigs and frogs. Blood for blood!

“Ari!” Cecil struggled to push back the swarming monsters with Water Lasers. 

“I’m coming!” Ari broke a goblin’s nose with the butt of their sword. Five more remained, unless there was a gate nearby. Ari hoped there wasn’t, or if there was, that they’d find it quickly enough to stop reinforcements from coming back. Murakumo struggled to keep fighting with just one hand. He used his axe to block more attacks than deliver them. The goblins kept saying kinslayer like a curse, a call for revenge. Why? They had attacked them first! But — wait, did they mistake Murakumo for Misasagi?

Ari didn’t have time to ask. Throwing themself between Murakumo and the goblins, Ari yelled wordlessly. They swung the edge of their shield into a goblin’s neck and stabbed another one in the gut. Further enraged, goblins spat at Ari, calling them a little shitstain.

“Fuck off!” Ari shouted at them. “He’s not who you want!” 

One of the goblins faltered. Ari wondered if it had actually understood them, but then Cecil nailed it with a Water Laser. Another goblin leapt at him. Falling down, Cecil barely raised his aquamarine rod in time to stop a slash at his face.

Murakumo roared and yanked the goblin off of Cecil by the back of its armor. It screamed indignantly and swung its sword madly, grazing Murakumo’s chest. “Ah!” He threw the goblin into the bushes and pressed his hand over the wound.

“Dammit!” Ari trapped the fifth goblin in a spell seal. The one Murakumo threw got back up and ran at them. “Would you just give up?” While the bound goblin struggled to escape and Cecil got back onto his feet, Ari marched up to the goblin charging at them. “I have better things to do than send you fuckers back home!” It swung blindly, only for Ari to parry its sword and kick out its knee. Ari cut its screeching cry short with their blade in its neck.

The blood on their sword evaporated as the goblin disappeared into runelight. Ari turned back to the trapped goblin with a fierce glare. “It’s just you now, asshole.” They pointed their sword at it, and the goblin bared its teeth at them in return, even as confusion replaced the cloud of rage in its eyes. “We can make this quick, or we can find out how many cuts it takes to send you crying back to your friends.”

“You’re threatening the goblin?” Cecil’s expression was a mix of bewilderment and morbid fascination. Murakumo looked shocked and disturbed.

Ari reached into their bag and pulled out a recovery potion instead of answering. “Murakumo, take this.”

“Um, okay…” Murakumo took it and looked at Cecil uneasily. He looked back at Ari. “Is this necessary?” he asked, glancing at the goblin. His pity made the goblin grind its teeth.

Ari ignored them. Better to deal with their reactions later than lose this chance to get some damn answers. “I know you fought another were-animal two days ago,” they said to the goblin. “She looks like him.” They gestured at Murakumo. “Tell me what happened.”

The goblin growled and spat at Ari.

“I already know that!” Ari retorted. “But something else happened and now she’s missing.” The goblin turned its billhook towards its own neck. “Don’t you fucking dare!” Ari grabbed its wrist before it could off itself. “What is wrong with all of you? First the woolies were acting insane, now it’s you and your pals.”

Fighting against Ari’s grip, the goblin ground out an answer through its teeth.

“You… what?” Ari gaped at it.

“Ari, what is it saying?” Cecil asked. Murakumo stared at them all in disbelief. 

“It’s saying they got ‘rage sickness,’ I think.” Ari turned back to the goblin, hoping it would elaborate, but the goblin just repeated itself and seethed and called Ari stupid. “How am I the stupid one if you don’t even know why either?”

The goblin insisted again that Ari was just stupid. Ari groaned. “This is going nowhere.”

“Can people catch rage sickness?” Murakumo asked, already paling at the idea.

“Oh… Shit.” Ari realized the implications just as the spell seal failed. Seizing their distraction, the goblin jumped at Ari with its billhook, only for Cecil to shoot it. The goblin tumbled under the blast of water, hit a tree, and burst into runelight.

“Aw, man!” Cecil swore. “I didn’t mean to hit it that hard.” Looking around, he asked, “Is there another one we can question?”

Ari checked, too. The woods had gone quiet. “If there were any more, they probably ran off.”

“Fiddlesticks.” Cecil pouted for a moment before he turned back to Ari. “Okay, so—”

“I don’t know how to explain,” Ari interrupted, sheathing their sword with a loud click. “I don’t remember why or how I understand them.” They turned away from him, trying to get their bearings again. “It actually kind of freaks me out, so let’s just pretend that was a totally normal interrogation and move on now, all right?”

“Are you sure?” Cecil’s curiosity became concern. Murakumo looked equally worried. “This might be a huge breakthrough — not just for this, but for your past, too.”

“I just…” Ari pinched between their eyes and sighed. “Please… just let it go. I just want to find Misasagi and go home.”

“But—”

Murakumo put his hand on Cecil’s shoulder. “Give them some space.” He exchanged his axe for a first aid kit. Working quickly so the potion wouldn’t wear off before he finished, he began to clean off the blood from his partially healed wounds and bandage them. “We need to talk about this rage sickness thing. If Misasagi caught it somehow…”

Cecil frowned. “Right.” He wiped his temple and looked surprised to see blood. “Do you think it’s like a berserker rage?” he asked while he took out a handkerchief from his pocket to clean the side of his face. “There are stories about warriors who use special potions to get stronger.”

“It didn’t sound like that,” Ari said. “Not like something they wanted to happen, anyway.”

“I see…” Cecil paced, balling up his handkerchief and resting his chin on his fist. “So, a strange illness is infecting the monsters…” He looked back up. “Do you think we could catch another monster and bring it to Simone?”

Ari looked skeptical. “Does she have a veterinary degree?”

“Well, no, I don’t think so, but she has more relevant experience than any of us,” Cecil said. “Unless you think you do?” He looked more hopeful as he looked at Ari.

Ari scowled and shook their head. “What part of ‘total amnesia’ are you not getting?”

Cecil hunched his shoulders. “I was just asking…”

“Guys, I think we’re all getting pretty tired and ahead of ourselves,” Murakumo said, glancing at Ari with a disappointed look. Ari pretended not to notice. “If those goblins attacked Misasagi, I don’t think she would have made it out of a fight like that unscratched.”

“There were a lot of them,” Cecil agreed. “Let’s keep moving, then.” He picked up his hat, dusted it off, and put it back on. “Ari? How much farther is the spell circle from here?”

Ari tossed up their hands. “I don’t know. I just remember it was in this direction.”

“Was it far from the road?” Cecil asked.

“Not really? It didn’t take us that long to get back, at least.”

“Okay then.” Cecil nodded, then tapped his aquamarine rod on his hand. “Let’s spread out and look for a couple more minutes. If we can’t find the spell circle, we’ll head back to the road and follow the trail of the big monster. Sound good?”

“We shouldn’t spread out too much, but yeah,” Murakumo said.

“Nobody should touch it either,” Ari muttered. One amnesiatic was bad enough. They didn’t fancy the idea of going for a second round, either. Given how bad their amnesia was already, they’d probably forget how to tie their own shoes.

All in agreement, the three of them dispersed, but stayed within sight of each other. Ari’s thoughts wandered despite their best efforts. That goblin hadn’t said anything about another monster interrupting their fight with Misasagi. Really, it just sounded like she had kicked their asses hard enough to start a blood feud. Did that mean it was just a coincidence that something big had passed through the area?

“Hey, guys!” Murakumo called. “Do you think this was it?”

“What is it?” Cecil hurried over.

While Ari caught up with them, Murakumo pointed to a spot covered in a fine, silvery powder. It was in a roughly circular shape, but it looked like someone or some people had scuffed it all up with their boots. 

“It’s a cover up!” Cecil exclaimed, taking out his magnifying glass. 

Ari frowned as Cecil examined the dust and scuff marks. “Or the rangers found it first. They’d have to destroy it so nothing else ends up in it, right?”

“Oh, yeah…” Cecil looked disappointed and a little embarrassed. “But what if it wasn’t them?”

“Then that means someone else must’ve come back here while you guys were all out searching for Misasagi.” Ari glanced at Murakumo. “Did you see anyone?”

Looking unsettled, Murakumo shook his head. “No, but we weren’t in this area yesterday.”

Cecil scooped a bit of the dust onto a piece of paper and folded it up. Tucking it into his notebook, he stood and dusted off his knees. “We can ask Captain Livia about it when we get back. She’ll know if it was the rangers, and if it wasn’t, she’ll need to know anyway.”

“Is that all we can do?” Ari asked.

“As far as this trail of clues is concerned,” Cecil said, but he didn’t look very upset. If anything, he seemed to be holding back his excitement.

Ari rolled their eyes. At least somebody was getting a kick out of this fiasco. 

Chapter Text

Lunch was a muted affair of sandwiches and onigiri, courtesy of Murakumo. Ari finished first and patrolled around the area. They couldn’t get rid of the thought that there were more goblins somewhere, just waiting for them to drop their guard. On their third pass, they found a gate not far from where they had been ambushed.

“Hey, assholes!” Ari called into the woods. “I found your door!” They pointed their sword at it. “Any of you going to stop me before I crush it?”

Birds and rustling leaves answered. After another moment, Murakumo called, “Everything okay over there?”

Ari glowered at the gate. “Yeah, but the goblins aren’t coming back out!”

Cecil said something Ari couldn’t hear from this distance. They saw Murakumo shake his head, and he called back to Ari, “Just close it, if you can. I don’t want them following us.”

The idea aggravated Ari since they still wanted to ask them more questions, but they saw the sense in it. Maybe the goblins were too busy treating their ‘rage sickness’ back in the Forest of Beginnings to bother fighting them again. 

When Ari returned, Cecil and Murakumo had already put away their leftovers and risen to meet them.

“Onward, then?” Cecil asked.

Ari shrugged. “Lead the way.”

Cecil chuckled. “Okay.” He pointed his aquamarine rod towards the trail of destruction. “Let’s go!”

Ari followed in the rear behind Murakumo and Cecil. The woods grew thicker as they ventured farther from the road. Branches overhead crowded closer together, shrouding the sky. Murakumo’s ears twitched and turned at various sounds — bushes rustling, leaves scuttling, a crow cawing. Ari wondered what else his ears picked up and what he could smell. It felt unfair that between Murakumo’s were-animal senses and Cecil’s sharp eyes, Ari had nothing else to offer in the search for Misasagi.

Then again, neither of them could talk to monsters. But was the information Ari got from the goblins that useful? Ari didn’t know.

Eventually, the three of them came across a swathe of burned ground. “What happened here?” Ari asked as Cecil darted ahead. It looked like several massive fireballs had blasted through the area, as if the Legendary Golem had painted the earth with a giant brush.

“Misasagi must have gotten into another fight,” Cecil said. “But the burn marks are way bigger now.”

Murakumo followed cautiously while Ari wandered around the perimeter. “This doesn’t look like her work,” he said. “She’s never made fireballs this big before.”

Ari stopped at the edge of a blast. It was a surprisingly clean line between the green and burned plants. The fire had instantly incinerated everything in its path before dissipating. “We’re lucky whoever did this didn’t cause a forest fire.”

Cecil looked at Murakumo. “Are you sure Misasagi couldn’t do this?”

“I mean…” Murakumo looked around helplessly. “Maybe, if she really went all out, but destroying everything like this? It’s not like her.”

Ari glanced at Cecil, wondering if he was thinking the same thing as them. The monsters hadn’t been like their usual selves either.

“If it wasn’t Misasagi, it was probably whoever made that spell circle,” Cecil said. “There aren’t any monsters in the Whispering Woods that use fire magic.”

“Hm.” Ari held their hand over the blackened earth, but it wasn’t hot. “How fresh are these burns?” It seemed unlikely, but Ari hoped they’d run into this spellcaster. They’d like to give them a kick in the nads before they’d have to drag them to Livia. 

Cecil took a minute to examine another burned patch. “I’d say less than twelve hours old?” He pointed to some flower petals that had landed in one section. “If it was longer, more unburned debris would have fallen here.”

Ari’s eyebrows rose as they glanced up at the trees. “Huh.” They hadn’t even thought of using leaves and petals to gauge time.

“The question now is which way to keep going,” Cecil said, mostly to himself. He continued walking around the area. After a minute, he asked, “Murakumo, can you smell Misasagi anywhere around here?”

“No, there’s too much soot,” Murakumo said. “Everywhere just smells like a stove.”

“Maybe we could spread out again?” Ari moved towards the middle of the burned area. Even knowing which way they had come from, it was hard to differentiate between normal broken branches from storms or whatever and the trampled path they had been following. It looked to them like whatever they were tracking might have just doubled back over this area a couple of different times. 

“That might work,” Cecil said. “Though I am concerned about goblins surprising us again. I don’t know how long their gate will stay closed.”

Murakumo nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t even hear them at all.”

“What if you two stayed together and I searched on my own?” Ari asked. “You’d have each other at least.”

“Well, sure,” Murakumo conceded uncertainly, “but what about you?” 

“I’ll be fine.” Ari gestured towards their seal bracelet and then their sword. “I’m better armed, and for whatever it’s worth, I am a ranger now.”

Murakumo still looked worried, but Cecil said, “All right then. Let say, meet back in half an hour or so? If either of us finds anything, we can come back early.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Once Murakumo reluctantly agreed, Ari turned and headed in the opposite direction. Their companions’ footsteps slowly grew quieter behind them, eventually fading entirely into the sounds of the wood. 

Part of Ari was glad to continue the search alone. There was nothing wrong in particular about Cecil and Murakumo’s company, but Ari couldn’t shake the negative thoughts buzzing around in their brain. It was easier to be surly alone than to try and mask it.

Ari half-searched, half-ruminated. They kept going back over what that goblin had said. Or rather, what Ari thought they heard behind its growling and spitting. It was weird. Ari wouldn’t have been able to say what each noise meant or speak it themself, but some sort of translation happened. Ari had initially thought it was saying Misasagi kicked their asses, but that wasn’t quite right. They called her kinslayer. And the goblins didn’t just seem mad that she beat them all — it sounded like they were more mad about how she did it, like it was unfair. Was it just because she was a twin-tail were-fox? If they didn’t normally fight people with magic, that’d make sense. But they didn’t seem that mad at Cecil for using water magic… Maybe they just didn’t like fire specifically?

Ari groaned, kicking a bush in their way. If they had just managed to interrogate more than one of them, it would’ve been so much easier.

After a while, Ari noticed the sound of lapping water. They turned their head and spied a pond with boat-sized lily pads. Half a dozen pink ribbitees hopped across them and along the reeds on the mossy shore. The monsters looked surprisingly cute, actually, like bouncy stuffed animals. Their gate floated near the center of the lily pads. 

Ari glanced back over their shoulder, then back at the monsters. Six would be a lot to manage on their own, especially if more came out of that gate. But one of those ribbitees might have seen Misasagi.

Frowning, Ari knew that they should go back for Cecil and Murakumo, but going back to fetch them would take a lot of time. Besides… the ribbitees looked more playful than hostile. A pair of them were even splashing each other on the edge of the pond. Maybe Ari could ask them nicely?

It was worth a shot. 

Moving towards them at a pace Ari hoped wasn’t fast enough to be mistaken for aggression, they raised their hand in greeting. It took another moment for one of the ribbitees to spot them and get its kin’s attention. When they began gathering in Ari’s direction, seeming excited to see a newcomer, Ari called, “Hello! I was wondering if one of you guys could help me?”

Squeaky, giggling croaking echoed Ari’s question amongst the ribbitees. The one nearest to Ari beckoned them to play with them. The others spun their lily pad parasols and twirled, chanting the same thing like a playground song.

“I’m sorry, but I’m kind of busy right now.” Ari stopped. The ribbitees spread out in a rough semi-circle around Ari, and their eyes with cross-shaped pupils stared unblinkingly at them. “I’m looking for a were-fox woman. Blue hair, two tails?”

All of the ribbitees began croaking and bouncing, answering with a discordant chorus of tittering frog song. Nope! — Maybe — Who cares? — Play with us! — Meanie fox no fun — Let’s play!

Ari’s hand moved towards the hilt of their sword. “Which one of you said something about a fox?”

The ribbitees drew closer, closing the circle. It was like they hadn’t heard Ari’s question at all. Their ribbiting filled Ari’s ears while their increasingly insistent goading made it harder for Ari to hear their own thoughts.

“Hey!” Ari drew their sword. Before they could shout a warning for the ribbitees to back off, one behind Ari shot them with a Water Laser. “Ah!” The blast knocked Ari off their feet, throwing them towards the pond.

Laughter surrounded Ari as they struggled to get back to their feet. “Stop!” A spray of Water Lasers kept pushing Ari back farther and farther, bruising their sides. “This isn’t fun!” Their shield wasn’t large enough to block the torrent. “You fucking psychopaths!” Ari tried to throw a spell seal, but the ribbitees jumped over it.

Ari managed to stand. As another blast came at them, Ari stepped back only to find water beneath their heel. They stumbled backwards with a yelp, arms flailing, as they fell into the pond. Brackish water filled their nose and mouth. Their shield arm got stuck. Dropping their sword, Ari panicked. Broken reeds jabbed into their back and legs. Their lungs begged for air.

Choking, Ari got their head above water, only to take a Water Laser to the face. They fell back under. Through the churning water, Ari dully heard the ribbitees laughing, singing something about drowning bugs. Ari surfaced again. They barely covered their face in time to catch a breath without more water getting forced up their nose. Coughing, Ari gasped, “Please, stop.”

The ribbitees answered with a Water Laser directly into Ari’s ear.

“Fuck!” The onslaught knocked Ari over again. Were they seriously going to drown here? Ari tried kicking off into the deeper part of the pond, but the water dragged on their shield. They wrestled with it, losing precious seconds of oxygen, before giving up and slipping it off. They came back up to breathe, gulping air, before diving again. Water churned above them.

Ari kicked blindly, running into one of the thick stems of the boat-sized lily pads. Their head butted into its bottom side when they tried to rise for another breath. They frantically kicked away from the stem to get around its base. 

When Ari finally surfaced, they heard an explosion and the ribbitees crying out. Ari mentally cursed, still coughing too much to actually speak, and clung onto the edge of the lily pad to keep their head above water. Wiping their wet hair out of their eyes, Ari turned towards the commotion. They froze, then rubbed their eyes again. “What in the ever-loving fuck?”

A blue nine-tailed fox the size of two horses yowled, summoning massive fireballs on either side of her shoulders. The fireballs flew into the ribbitees, incinerating all of the ones in their paths. A couple ribbitees fired back with their Water Lasers, but the nine-tailed fox leapt aside with a grace that didn’t match her giant size.

While Ari gaped at the fight, the air crackled beside them. Ari looked up and found they had swum right up next to the ribbitees’ gate. One leapt out in a burst of light. It hopped from one foot to the other on the lily pad, taunting the nine-tailed fox. She turned towards it with a snarl. Fire ignited on either side of her shoulders.

“Shit.” Ari threw themself back under only a moment before the fireballs launched. Water boiled above them, and Ari kicked harder to escape the heat until they hit the pond’s muddy bottom. Everything went quiet. Ari felt their heartbeat in their throat.

As soon as Ari ran out of breath, they launched themself back to the surface. They wiped their eyes and found their fingers covered with black, sludgy ash. The charred remains of the lily pad were steaming. The gate had disappeared, and there were no more singing ribbitees.

The nine-tailed fox stood at the edge of the pond. She stared at Ari.

Ari gulped and continued to tread water. “H-hey! You’re not gonna kill me, are you?”

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t answer.

“Um, okay then…” Ari hesitated. Then they noticed the red arrow on her forehead. “Oh, fuck.”

Before Ari could say anything else, the nine-tailed fox’s ears rose. She looked behind her just as Ari noticed Murakumo and Cecil running towards them. Cecil raised his aquamarine rod. The nine-tailed fox stiffened and Murakumo faltered the moment their eyes met.

“Misa…?” Murakumo looked horrified as he gaped at her.

None of them moved. Ari began swimming back to shore, trying not to splash too loudly. Murakumo took a step forward. The nine-tailed fox’s fur bristled. Cecil looked anxiously between the two of them, keeping an eye on Ari.

Murakumo took another cautious step forward. “Is that really you, sis?”

The nine-tailed fox skipped back and growled, baring her teeth. Murakumo and Cecil scrambled backwards. As the nine-tailed fox moved frantically back and forth, Ari hurried to cross the remaining distance. All of her tails lowered and her ears folded flat against her skull. She pawed the ground and howled into the woods. Give her back!

Ari tripped, chilled by her voice in their head, as they trudged through the shallow edge of the pond. “Misasagi!” Ari shouted. “Hina’s safe! She’s in Rigbarth!”

The nine-tailed fox spun back towards Ari. Fangs bared, her eyes looked wild. Ari stopped and held out their hands. “You can stop fighting now! We’ll take you back to Hina!”

A flash of uncertainty crossed her face. After a second, Murakumo ran around to face her, even as Cecil called for him to wait. The nine-tailed fox’s head whipped towards him. Ari flinched. 

“Misa, it’s okay.” Murakumo paused, holding up his hands, before he walked towards her. She breathed hard as she stared at him. “You recognize me, don’t you?” He tried to smile reassuringly at her, but it was a weak thing. 

For a tense moment, Ari thought she might bolt off. But then the nine-tailed fox lowered her head, bowed down, and collapsed. 

“Misa!” Murakumo ran as runelight enveloped her. “No!” He fell onto his knees in front of her form. Then the light vanished. 

As Ari blinked back the spots in their eyes, they heard Murakumo exclaim, “Oh, thank the gods!” They saw him rush to scoop up a woman laying face down on the ground. He put his ear near her face. “She’s still breathing!” Murakumo laughed helplessly. “She’s okay!” He hugged Misasagi tightly.

Ari’s shoulders fell with relief. They splashed through the rest of the pond and ignored the mud in their boots as they hurried to rejoin Murakumo. Cecil reached them a minute later, still looking awestruck.

“She was a monster!” Cecil said, gawking. “How did she turn into a monster?!”

“I don’t know,” Murakumo said, rubbing his forehead against Misasagi’s, breathing in the scent of her hair. “I don’t care. She’s alive.”

Ari frowned as they looked more closely at Misasagi. It didn’t look like she was injured, but her body was still limp. “She’s unconscious. We need to bring her to Simone.”

That realization sobered Cecil. “Right. Murakumo, do you think you can carry her back to town?”

“Yeah.” He moved his arms to hold her more securely and stood up, resting her head against his shoulder. “Ari, are you okay? I heard you yelling before we got over here.”

“I mean, I guess?” Ari shrugged, then glanced back behind them. “I lost my sword and shield in the pond, though.” And their uniform’s hat, but that wasn’t as important. They also didn’t want to mention how their nose and throat were sore from nearly drowning, or the bruises across their body, or the fact that their ear was still kind of ringing and hurting from the blast to their head. They hoped it wouldn’t make their memory loss worse. 

“There shouldn’t be any more monsters back the way we came,” Cecil said. “If we hurry, the gates won’t have time to reopen.”

“We need to hurry anyway.” Murakumo looked back at Ari. “Do you have spare clothes you can change into?”

“No,” Ari said glumly. They hoped destroying all of their clothes wasn’t going to become a habit. “Just let me wring out my socks and dump out my boots.”

“I can do this, too.” Cecil waved his aquamarine rod at them.

Beads of water coalesced along the wrinkles of Ari’s clothes and down their hair, then rose like a faucet dripping into the air. A blob formed. When it reached the size of an orange, Cecil tossed it aside and it splashed onto the ground. Ari’s clothes were still damp, but they were no longer dripping. 

“Damn, that’s useful.” Ari looked down at themself. All of the pond scum and ash was still smeared all over them, but that could be washed out, probably.

Cecil looked smug. “It takes a lot of practice to manipulate water like that.”

“Can you fish my stuff out of the lake, too?”

Cecil deflated. “Well, that’s different. There’s a lot of water in that pond, you know.”

Ari smiled despite themself. “Okay, fine.” Maybe they could come back after all this was over and try to find them later. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

While they made their way back to Rigbarth, Cecil made Ari recount what happened with the ribbitees. He also speculated about whether Misasagi had come to save Ari or if she just had it out for those ribbitees, and what might have caused Misasagi to transform into a monster. Murakumo didn’t feel like speculating with him, mostly because he’d prefer to hear her answer that question herself, so he walked a bit ahead of him and Ari to stay out of the conversation. 

“It has to be connected to her kami ancestry somehow,” Cecil said. “So that has to mean monsters and kami are related, right?”

“I’m not a theologist,” Ari muttered. Their damp clothes were sticking to their skin, and their feet were beginning to feel extra gross even though they had done everything they could to shake out the muddy water in their boots.

“Okay, but you have to be connected somehow, too,” Cecil said. “Maybe you have some kami blood — that could explain why you understand the monsters.”

“By that logic, wouldn’t Misasagi be able to talk to them?” Ari gestured at her in Murakumo’s arms. “And wouldn’t I have gotten whatever that ‘rage sickness’ was?”

Cecil’s brows lowered in thought. “Right.” He looked over at Murakumo. “Hey, can Misasagi talk to monsters?”

“No,” Murakumo said. “I’ve never heard of anybody else who could, either. Whatever Ari’s deal is, it’s not the same thing.”

“Hrm…” Cecil tapped his aquamarine rod on his chin. “Curiouser and curiouser… Oh!” His expression lit up. “Ari, do you think you might be an Earthmate?”

“Huh?” Ari looked bewildered, the word feeling like a needle in their heart. “No way.” They faced the ground, pressing their lips together. They didn’t even fully remember what an Earthmate was. Still, whatever it was, something about it made them want to viscerally reject the idea. 

“But wouldn’t it make sense?” Cecil said. “There’s so many stories about them, and nobody really knows everything they can do anymore.”

Ari shook their head. “No.” They put their hands into their pockets, pulling them into fists.

“Why not?” Cecil pressed. “Wouldn’t that be cool? You might be one of the last ones in existence! If—”

“I’m not, okay!” Ari snapped. “I’m not special. Just shut up about it, please.” Their nails dug into their palms. They squeezed their eyes shut and took a deep breath, exhaling shakily. Why were they getting so worked up over this? They took another breath.

When Ari looked back up, Cecil and Murakumo were exchanging concerned glances. “I’m sorry,” Ari said tiredly. “I just… I don’t know why this freaks me out.” They rubbed their hand over their face. “It’s probably something I can’t remember, but… I don’t want to dig into it. And I don’t want either of you talking about it either. It…” They sighed. “It actually kind of bothers me. Everybody in town acted like they already knew me. But like... I don’t even know who I am. So…” They pushed their hand through their still-damp hair, tugging apart stuck strands. “I don’t know. Just forget about it.”

Ari hurried on ahead, already berating themself for blowing up. They were supposed to be worrying about Misasagi. And why should it matter anyway if people talked about them? It wasn’t like they had been saying anything bad. Well, maybe they would now. Could they transfer to the SEED outpost in Fenarva? Ari didn’t really want to leave, but—

“Hey, Ari,” Murakumo called. “Hold up, okay?”

Internally wincing, Ari slowed down and glanced back over their shoulder. Despite that he was still carrying his sister, Murakumo hardly even seemed winded. Cecil hung back, looking pensive. Ari faced their feet again and mumbled, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Murakumo said. “I just don’t want you runnin’ off into more trouble without us.”

Right, that would be a hassle, wouldn’t it? If Ari went and let another group of monsters fuck them up, Murakumo didn’t have another pair of arms to carry them. Ari didn’t even have their weapon anymore. Maybe they should get out their spellbook? They weren’t really confident enough in their spellcasting to use that in combat, though.

Murakumo huffed a tired sort of laugh. When Ari looked confused at him, he said, “Don’t look so down, dude. We don’t blame you for letting those ribbitees get the better of you. As for the other stuff, well…” He readjusted his hold on Misasagi, hitching her up higher. “Cecil and I don’t really get any of it, but if you don’t either, that just makes three of us. Right?”

“I mean… I guess?” Ari picked at another strand of their scum-glued hair. 

“That means you don’t have to worry about any of this stuff by yourself,” Murakumo said. “So even if you just need a break, don’t forget that I owe you, okay? You saved my niece and you just helped me get back my sister. I’m not going to forget that any time soon. You got that?”

Despite themself, Ari couldn’t help but manage a small smile. “Okay.” They fidgeted with their hands, feeling embarrassed. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

There was a bit of an awkward silence as they continued walking. Cecil piped up first, asking what they should do for dinner. Murakumo said he could cook again, but Cecil pointed out that he had already cooked for everyone last night, and didn’t he deserve a break, too? All of them could go to Lackadaisy instead, which was apparently the restaurant that had been closed yesterday. Murakumo was undecided about the idea.

While they went back and forth, Ari noticed a shadow pass over them. They looked up and recoiled at the sight of butter-yellow scales blocking out the sky. “Holy shit!” A dragon half the size of Rigbarth was circling above them.

Murakumo and Cecil looked up at the same time, shock filling their expressions. Ari rifled through their bag. The dragon angled down towards the road. Cecil noticed Ari flipping open their spellbook and exclaimed, “We can’t fight a dragon!” 

“I can damn well try if I have to!” Ari retorted. After everything it took just to find Misasagi, they weren’t about to let all of them get eaten.

“No, look!” Cecil put his hand over Ari’s spellbook and pointed towards the dragon, whose wing-gusts were buffeting them as she landed. The tops of the trees on either side of the road brushed the bottom of her stomach. Boulder-like spines jutted out along her shoulder blades and sides. “That’s a farm dragon! They’re guardians of the Earth.”

Tucking in her green wings, careful not to lean too hard against the trees pressed up against her belly, the dragon roared a hello. Her head was nearly as big as the Silo, and her turquoise eyes were the size of its double-doors. She looked directly at Ari. Did you pick a fight with the pond, too?

“Uh-umm… What?” Ari’s legs went weak, staring at the dragon in disbelief. Her voice was nearly as clear as a human’s. 

The dragon tilted her head. You’re all muddy. In the way her nostrils flared, Ari heard a bit of mirth in her tone.

Ari blinked. Then a chuckle broke out of them, and before they knew it, they had doubled over laughing. A gods-damned dragon was teasing them! What was their life coming to? After a few seconds, Ari straightened and shook their head. “Gods… Yeah, I guess! I didn’t mean to, though.” 

Cecil was practically vibrating with excitement. “What is it saying?”

“She’s making fun of me because the ribbitees dunked me in the pond,” Ari said.

The dragon made a low trilling noise, disagreeing. Ari didn’t quite understand the last bit, so she lifted one of her claws and pointed at them. It’s because you’re a plucky little creature.

“Hey!” Ari scowled, even though they couldn’t refute it. Cecil looked about ready to die from curiosity, while Murakumo just looked confused and awed. With a sigh, Ari translated, then faced the dragon again. “Is that all you came down here to say?”

No. The dragon lowered her head until her snout was nearly within arm’s reach. Her breath was the smell of rain on loam. She looked at Misasagi. I’ve been watching this one. She blinked slowly at Ari. I’m glad you found her. 

“Oh.” Ari shuffled in place awkwardly. “Um, you’re welcome?” A moment later, they remembered they still needed to translate, and quickly muttered it.

Murakumo looked extra surprised, then flustered, then managed to pull back together his composure. “Oh, Great Farm Dragon,” he said, bowing awkwardly so Misasagi wouldn’t tip out of his arms. “Thank you.”

The dragon didn’t make a sound, but as her head rose again, Ari heard her laugh in the way her scales shimmered. It is a long journey for two legs to get back to your town. She extended her claw, palm side up. I can take you there instead.

Ari’s eyes widened. “Really?” They felt more than heard her warm affirmation, and Ari grinned. “That’d be awesome!” They looked at Murakumo and Cecil. “She said she’d give us a ride.”

Cecil looked flabbergasted and ecstatic all at once. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah!” When the dragon lowered one of her claws to help them onto her back, Ari translated her instructions and helped Murakumo bring up Misasagi.

Once all of them were on the dragon’s back, Ari realized with a start that they were standing on grass and dirt, not scales. “Wait, what?” There were even some trees sheltered between the boulder-like spines.

Cecil ran around in a circle. “This is the best day of my life!”

Murakumo laughed at both of them and sat down by a tree near the dragon’s shoulder, settling Misasagi onto his lap.

While Ari stared and absorbed the impossible greenery around them, the ground shook — or the dragon, really — and it occurred to Ari that they should probably sit down. But then the entire sky tilted, and the ground somehow seemed to remain firm. The dissonance between the sight and what their legs felt gave Ari a terrible sense of vertigo.

The dragon roared as the clouds flew behind her. Close your eyes until the dizziness passes, little one. 

“Okay.” Ari squeezed them shut and swallowed back their nausea. After a moment, they spared another glance at Cecil, who had gone to the far side of the field on the dragon’s back, then Ari made their way towards her neck. They rested their hand on one of the boulder-spines and watched how her head bobbed with the beat of her wings. Ari struggled to wrap their brain around how it was possible that they were moving despite barely feeling a breeze. 

My magic protects everything on my back, she said, as if she had heard Ari’s thoughts. Was she able to read them the same way they understood her? Ari wasn’t sure if they wanted to know.

“Is that why you’re called a farm dragon?” Ari asked, trying to distract themself. “Because you have a literal farm field?” They looked back behind them, but they didn’t see any crops growing. Just weeds and wildflowers.

Yes, but my fields haven’t been tended to in a long time. That is the other reason why I landed. A strange, comforting feeling brushed over Ari’s shoulders, like laying on a bed of overgrown grass. You have the Earth’s blessing. 

Ari’s eyebrows rose. “Her blessing?” they said, both surprised and making sure they didn’t misunderstand. It was weird listening to her in the air. On the ground, they heard her voice the same way they listened to monsters, which was mostly through body language and some vocal cries. Now that they couldn’t see her face, Ari heard the dragon’s voice almost entirely through the wind in their hair and the tiny vibrations in the grass beneath their feet. 

Yes. It is why you are able to understand me.

“And monsters?” When she rumbled yes, Ari frowned. “Does that mean you’ve been watching me, too?” They pressed their fingers against the boulder-spine. “Do you know where I came from? I woke up in this forest with amnesia, and I have no idea why I came here.”

I’m sorry, but I don’t know. I didn’t see who laid that spell circle. I do know that it drained the runes in this land and corrupted what remained.

“Corrupted?” Ari’s frown deepened, wondering if they had heard her correctly. “The goblins were calling it ‘rage sickness.’”

Unbalanced runes make monsters go mad. I think that is why the were-animal woman transformed. The blood of her ancestors awakened and compelled her to do something about it. Yet because she is untrained, it overwhelmed her.

“Can she learn how to control it?” Ari asked. “Actually, wait — do you know other people like me?”

I knew many several generations ago, but they have since passed.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

It is all right, little one. We are nearing your town. I want to ask something of you before we part — will you plant seeds on my back?

“Like any kind of seeds?” 

Any that might grow into something useful for you. I can restore a little bit of the runes to the forest, but I can’t do it without a thriving field. 

Ari took a moment to consider it, but really, it wasn’t much of a question. Someone had to fix the forest, and for all Ari knew, it was their fault it was fucked up. The least they could do was plant some seeds. “I guess I can do that, but I don’t have any seeds with me. I’ll have to get some first.”

That is fine. Place an anchor for Return anywhere on my back. That way you won’t have to wait for me to land again. 

“It’ll work on you? Neat.” That surprised Ari, but at least it would be convenient. The last anchor they placed was at the Silo, since Livia had suggested it before Ari left. 

Close your eyes again. I’m about to land.

“Okay.” Ari turned back to warn the others, then jumped when they saw Cecil standing behind them. “Holy shit. When did you come back over here?”

Cecil laughed sheepishly. “Just a bit ago. What do you need seeds for?”

Ari shook their head, vaguely exasperated, but they told themself that they should have expected this. “She needs them to fix the forest. Apparently that spell circle did a lot of damage to the balance of runes down there.”

“Really? That’s interesting.” Cecil looked thoughtful. “I can’t think of too many immediate suspects who’d want to do something like that. Insurgents against the king regent, maybe, but we’re awfully far from the capitol for that. Maybe some bitter renegades from Sechs?”

Ari looked skeptically at him. “Wasn’t the war like, decades ago?” The bit about insurgents sounded less unreasonable, but Ari didn’t remember nearly enough about politics to know why anyone would be mad at the king regent.

Cecil shrugged. “Terry says old grudges don’t die easily. With the way some people act there, you’d think we were still at war.”

“Huh.” The thought made Ari sadder than they expected, and they didn’t want to dwell on it. They glanced over the side of the dragon, but instantly regretted it and squeezed their eyes shut.

“Are we landing already?” Cecil leaned over the boulder-spines to watch the ground rise up to meet them.

Ari peeked at him through the corner of their eye. “How can you stand that?”

“Huh? Oh.” Cecil laughed. “My parents have a ship.” His voice grew quieter, almost wistful. “They used to take me and my brother on little trips up and down the coast during the off season.”

“Why’d they stop?”

“Well, they went on a big trip four years ago, and we haven’t heard from them since then. But hey!” Cecil said with forced brightfulness. “You know I love mysteries. When I figure out where they went, it’ll be the pinnacle of my career.” 

Ari opened their eyes, surprised and sorry all at once. Before they could think of something to say, the ground shook again, and the dragon told them they could climb down.

“Looks like we made it. People are already coming to check out the dragon.” Cecil smiled at Ari, then waved for them to follow him to Murakumo. “Come on. This is gonna be a great story.”

Chapter Text

Almost every resident and visitor of Rigbarth was gathering at the east gate. Exclamations of awe and murmured concerns followed fingers pointed at the dragon looming over their town. Simone shouldered her way to the front of the crowd.

“Hello! We’re back!” Cecil waved at everyone while Murakumo put Misasagi over his shoulder and began climbing down. 

As Murakumo was halfway to the ground, Hina burst past everyone. “Mommy!”

“Hang on, kiddo,” Murakumo called with a smile. “We’ll be down in a sec.” 

A round of cheers went through the crowd, and already, Martin was shouting, “How on Earth did you guys get a ride on a dragon?”

Cecil just laughed, and Lucy yelled, “Seriously!? You have a lot of explaining to do!”

“Is Misasagi okay?” Priscilla called, following close behind Hina and Simone. 

“Mommy!” Hina began pulling on Murakumo’s pants, trying to make him lower Misasagi. “Let me see her!”

“Save the tearful reunion for the clinic!” Simone said. “Lucy, Priscilla, please take them now. I’ll be with you shortly.” While Simone waited for Ari and Cecil to climb down, she regarded the dragon with wary respect. 

Though Lucy looked concerned to leave everyone else with the dragon, she steeled her expression and said, “Okay. C’mon, guys.” 

Priscilla held out her hand, and Hina reluctantly took it. They hurried to follow Lucy and Murakumo.

Ari shrunk back from the remaining villagers’ gazes when they reached the ground, resting their hand on the dragon’s leg. Her scales radiated a comforting presence. Cecil finally made it down and ran over to his brother and friends. They embraced him and ruffled his hair, knocking off his paperboy cap.

The dragon stepped back. It is time for me to leave.

“Already?” Ari looked up at her, abruptly feeling forlorn.

The dragon tapped Ari’s chest with the back of one of her claws, gently nudging them towards the people of Rigbarth. You belong with them, but I won’t be far. She stood straighter, lifting her head. Return to me when you have seeds.

Ari tightened their jaw and nodded. “Okay. I’ll try to get them soon.” They turned back to the town and noticed Simone had walked up beside them.

“Did you make a deal with this farm dragon?” Simone narrowed her eye at Ari, looking surprisingly serious.

“Um. I guess?” Ari hoped it wasn’t a bad thing. “She just wants me to grow stuff on her back.”

Simone’s expression softened. “I see.” She regarded them for another moment with a thoughtful look, then she turned back to the dragon. “Great Farm Dragon, as Mayor of Rigbarth, I thank you for bringing back our people safely.” She bowed lightly. “I wish you and Ari an amicable and prosperous partnership.”

The dragon blinked slowly at Simone, accepting her blessing with an amused thanks. Then she raised her wings and launched into the air. A gust blew over them as she flew higher and higher. Eventually, the dragon went high enough to become a silhouette in the sky, gliding over the town.

“Wow.” Ari shielded their eyes as they stared at the dragon. It was a marvel how something so big could stay aloft so easily.

Simone chuckled. “You have no idea just how special it is to gain a farm dragon’s favor, do you?”

“Huh?” Ari looked back at Simone. “Are they that picky about who can plant seeds on them?”

“Yes. The stories about them say that only Earthmates are allowed to tend their fields.”

“Oh.” Ari frowned, feeling that painful twinge again. “You don’t think I’m one, do you?”

“I don’t know enough about them to give you a definitive answer,” Simone said, but the way she faintly smiled said she was just trying to give them the benefit of doubt. “I think it would be worth your while to look into it, especially considering your circumstances.”

“Right…” Ari sighed.

“Let’s get going.” Simone nodded towards the people receding back into town. “I need to examine Misasagi first, but it looks like you had a time of it out there, too. We also still need to review the results of your blood tests.”

Ari winced slightly, though they knew they should have seen this coming. “Okay.”

***

The rest of the afternoon passed between bouts of anxiety and boredom. Hina pounced on Ari with a bone-crushing hug, repeatedly thanking them. Misasagi was malnourished and in shock, but Simone assured Ari and her family that she would be okay after some rest. Ari’s blood tests had all come back normal, and their injuries from the ribbitees were nothing time and a soak at the bathhouse wouldn’t fix.

Before Ari could do just that, Hina jumped up and gave them another hug. “Come back soon, okay? We’re gonna have dinner together again.”

Ari laughed and patted her back. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Yay!” Hina pulled back. “That means you’re gonna stay here forever, right?”

“I mean,” Ari started, but when they saw how Hina’s face fell, they quickly amended, “Don’t worry — I’ll stick around.”

Hina cheered again. After Ari assured her once more that they’d see her later, Hina curled up on the chair next to her mother’s bed. Ari used Return to get back to the Silo and get a change of clothes to take to the bathhouse.

It felt surreal coming back to their new room. Their bed was still unmade, just the way they had left it, and the other bed had yesterday’s clothes strewn on top of it. Those were the only signs that Ari had moved in, since they had transferred all of their personal belongings to the dimensional storage bags on their waist. They didn’t count the set of blue and pink uniforms that they had stuffed into the wardrobe as really theirs yet.

Ari sat down on the edge of their bed and sighed heavily, just to take a moment and breathe. Were they really going to live here long-term? What was going to happen to their old life? The magnitude of their promise to the farm dragon was also catching up to them now. They wished they hadn’t been so public about the whole thing. 

Eventually, Ari pushed themself up and stuck a set of clean clothes into their bag. As they headed back out, they heard an unfamiliar voice call to Livia that Ari was sneaking off. “Huh?” Ari glanced over their shoulder at the stairs to the lobby, wondering who had heard them. 

Livia called up to Ari a moment later, “Ari, do you have a minute before you go?”

“Uh, sure!” Ari looked longingly at the door to outside, but made themself go down into the lobby. “What do you need?” They were more confused to realize that there was no one downstairs but the weird mailbox with a wig. Walking into Livia’s office, they saw she was alone.

“We need to file a report about what happened in Whispering Woods,” Livia said. “You can tell me about it, or you can write it out and let me review it later if that’s easier.”

“Oh, um…” Neither of those options sounded good. Still, the thought of stressing more over it later was worse than just getting it over with.

Summarizing everything that happened was still awkward, though. Real rangers probably didn’t ramble so much, right? But Livia didn’t seem to mind, and she just asked Ari to keep going when they floundered. They considered leaving out how they talked to the monsters, but they figured not saying it would probably get them in trouble, so they reluctantly tried to explain that, too. It surprised Ari that Livia only seemed moderately bemused by it.

“So, yeah…” Ari finished lamely. “I didn’t catch the farm dragon’s name, but I guess we have some sort of official partnership now. I just thought I was doing her a favor.”

Livia looked amused. “If you don’t want it to be a serious commitment, I’m sure you two can work something out.” Her expression grew more severe. “What she said about the runes getting corrupted, though… That is concerning.”

“What’s going to happen to the forest if the farm dragon can’t fix things?”

“Well, she's correct that the monsters will be more of a problem,” Livia said. “But if things get worse, the forest may suffer as well. Animals might have more stillborn offspring, plants won’t grow right, that sort of thing.”

Ari’s eyebrows rose in alarm. “Seriously?”

“That’s more of a worse-case scenario.” Livia leaned back in her seat. “Still, I’m glad you’re helping the farm dragon do something about it. Even if it’ll take the two of you years to restore the lost runes, it’s something.”

“It’s still not great, though.”

“It isn’t.” Livia smiled wryly. “But there is a way to help speed things along.”

“Really?” Ari felt a bit more hopeful.

“Yes. Do you remember what I told you about your spell seal, about how you can subjugate monsters with it?” When Ari nodded, Livia continued, “Because you can understand them, you can negotiate partnerships instead. In the old days, Earthmates befriended many monsters to help them take care of farm dragons.”

The idea shocked Ari. As they considered it, they grew hesitant. “But… I’m not an Earthmate.”

“Why do you think that?” Livia seemed genuinely concerned by their disbelief. 

“Well… I don’t know.” Ari wasn’t sure how to explain it. “I just… it makes me feel weird? Like it’s a bad thing.”

“Is that so…” Livia looked pensive. “I won’t lie, things haven’t been great for Earthmates for a long time now. But being one isn’t inherently a bad thing, Ari.” She rested her hands on her desk. “Whatever happened to make you think that, I’m sorry it happened.”

Ari nodded mutely, shifting their weight from one foot to the other. They wondered if this was maybe the first good thing for them to have completely forgotten. 

“You don’t have to tell anyone if you don't want to. Honestly, I’d actually recommend you keep this between us. It’ll only invite trouble.”

“Okay… So Earthmates aren’t bad, but it’s still bad if people know I’m one?” Ari asked. 

“That’s right. People have abused Earthmates’ gifts or scapegoated them for all sorts of the world’s problems. The less you get involved in that, the better.”

Ari nodded. It didn’t make them feel any better, but at least it sort of explained why they’d feel so scared. 

“I have everything I need now to write the report, so you can go ahead and relax,” Livia said. “I’ll have more work for you tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ari hoped whatever came next would be easier.

Chapter Text

Ari was laying against the edge of the bath with a towel over their eyes when they heard cautious footsteps approaching behind them. They sighed, sinking a little deeper.

“Hey, Ari?” Priscilla called. 

“Yeah?” Ari lifted the corner of the towel over their eyes and tipped back their head to look at the bashful girl. She had her hands clasped in front of her skirt, as if she felt bad about disturbing their quiet time. Ari realized then that she must’ve read their exhaustion as a sour mood, so they tried to lighten their expression into something more friendly. “Something up?”

“No, everything’s fine, but Simone wanted me to tell you that we’re celebrating Misasagi’s return at Lackadaisy.” 

Ari jerked upright and swore under their breath. Hina had mentioned there’d be another group dinner, but they’d forgotten. “Where’s that?” 

“It’s my sister Elsje’s restaurant,” Priscilla said. “The building shaped like a boat?”

“Oh, that place.” Ari began drying off their hair. They remembered meeting Elsje and her were-animal waitress, Fuuka, during Ari’s efforts to introduce themself to all of the residents. Hina had barely understood any of Fuuka’s broken Andonean, but somehow Ari had been able to understand her just fine. They frowned at the memory. The way they heard Fuuka had been just like when they talked to monsters. 

Priscilla smiled ruefully, misinterpreting Ari’s expression. “I know Elsje doesn’t seem very professional, but I promise she’s a good cook. Simone and Livia arranged everything with her, so we don’t have to worry about a thing. They’re splitting the tab between SEED and the town.”

“Oh? That’s nice of them.” 

“Well, we all did a lot to help.” Priscilla stepped back. “Lucy and I will be in the lobby. We can head over together as soon as you’re done.”

“Wait, are people going over there now?” Ari mentally cursed and reached for the body towel they had set next to the bath. 

“Oh, you don’t have to rush!” 

“No, I’ve been soaking long enough anyway.” Ari wrapped their towel around their waist as they got out. “I’ll be just a minute.”

“Okay…” Priscilla still looked a bit sorry, but she smiled and ducked out of the room. 

Ari’s hair was still damp when they joined Priscilla and Lucy. They found two tables had been pushed together when they arrived, and they were pleasantly surprised to see that Misasagi herself was awake and seated between her brother and daughter. She still looked a bit pale, but she was smiling. Cecil sat beside Murakumo, and Martin sat on the end. On the other side, Darroch was telling a story in a booming voice, and a guy in a hood Ari didn’t recognize was sneaking a piece of bread into his sleeve.

“Ryker,” Lucy called as she went to sit next to him, “there’s enough food that you don’t have to hide some for later.”

Martin looked surprised and then vaguely annoyed at Ryker. “Seriously?”

Ryker smirked. “Why don’t you both just mind your own business?” 

Lucy shook her head and muttered, “Honestly…”

Priscilla patted her shoulder and smiled to mollify Martin. “Don’t mind him.” She looked back at Ari and gestured towards the empty seat on the end between her and Hina. “Come on and sit.”

“Oh, right.” Feeling sheepish, Ari felt better when they saw how excited Hina was to see them. “Hey. Sorry I took so long. I didn’t know you guys would be here already.” They slid into their seat as Fuuka dropped off menus for the newcomers and platters of gyoza and truffle fries with ketchup. 

“It’s okay,” Hina said. “What are you going to get?”

“I don’t know.” Ari picked up the menu, but there was an overwhelming variety of Andonean and Eastern options. While they tried to decide, Hina offered suggestions, and everyone else chimed in with their choices or the options they were debating between. It seemed like everybody was pretty familiar with the restaurant’s food. Ari felt even more lost. What did they even like? They couldn’t remember.

When Fuuka came back around, Ari ended up picking the day’s special: grilled fish with fried rice and stir-fried vegetables. While everyone waited for their entrees, Ari nibbled on fries and listened to the conversations around them. Mostly there was talk about what to do for Heinz’ upcoming birthday. The crystal shop owner apparently loved standup comedy, so Priscilla thought they should all write cards with the funniest jokes they could think of. From there, they took turns sharing their best, worst jokes.

“I got one!” Cecil called from the other side of the table. “What did the detective say when he stumbled over a pretzel left by his suspect?”

“That one’s obvious!” Ryker said.

“No, wait a minute,” Priscilla laughed and waved to shush him, “let him finish. What did he say?”

Cecil grinned. “He said, ‘Well, that’s a twist I wasn’t expecting!’”

Despite themself, Ari laughed and nearly snorted on their water. “That one’s really dumb,” they said into their glass. 

Hina bounced in her seat. “You got Ari to laugh!”

“I did?” Cecil looked delighted and raised his fists. “Yes!”

Ari blushed and tried to fight back their embarrassed smile with a scowl. “It’s not that hard.”

Lucy looked amused. “So you say, but it’s the first time I’ve heard it.”

“Same!” Priscilla said as Ari reddened further. “Don’t worry, it’s a good laugh.”

Ari didn’t know whether to hide under the table or be glad they were all happy. They grumbled without any heat, “I should’ve just let those ribbitees drown me…”

Ryker laughed. “You could sic your dragon on them — that’d make them stop.”

“No, they couldn’t,” Martin said, annoyed. “Farm dragons aren’t dangerous.”

“We all saw how big that thing was!” Ryker held out his hand. “She could totally squish us, just like that. ” He hit his palm on the table.

Exasperated, Lucy said, “Maybe she’d squish you , but the rest of us have nothing to worry about. Right, Ari?”

“I mean, she’s not really my dragon,” Ari said, feeling weird as everyone stared at them. They picked up their water glass and focused on the ice so they wouldn’t have to look at anyone. “She’s more like a person than a monster. I don’t think she’d do anything like that even if I asked.” 

“Wait, you mean farm dragons actually talk?” Ryker looked surprised. “I thought that was just stories.”

“Err, well…” Ari looked more awkward.

“That’s right!” Cecil said, glancing at Ari with a conspiratorial wink. “She talked to me and Murakumo, too.”

Murakumo looked surprised to be put on the spot. “Uh…” Cecil subtly waved at him to back him up, and he laughed. “Oh yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and glanced at his sister. 

Ari smiled with secret relief. So what if they'd had to translate for the farm dragon? They did technically talk to each other. “The farm dragon told us that she had been watching over Misasagi.”

“Really?” Lucy said, amazed. The rest of the table watched the exchange in suspense. 

“Yeah,” Ari said. “She was glad we helped her get home.” 

Misasagi chuckled as if she was already in on the joke. “As am I. It is a shame I didn’t get to thank her personally, though.”

“Wow!” Priscilla looked equally excited. “I wish we could’ve talked to her, too… Do you think she’ll visit us again?”

“Who knows?” Ari shrugged. “But I’m going to see her again soon.” After a beat, they added less certainly, “Maybe I can pass on anything you’d like to say?”

“Oh, would you?” Priscilla said, practically jumping from her seat. “The earth farm dragon has been watching over our town for so long — there’s so many things I’d like to ask her. I can write it as a letter, if you’d like?”

“I don’t know if she can read, but I can read it to her either way,” Ari said, already warming more to the idea than they expected. 

“Thank you!” Priscilla cheered, and Lucy laughed at her enthusiasm. 

Hina raised her hand. “I wanna write the farm dragon a letter, too!”

Everyone laughed, and Misasagi leaned over to give her daughter a one-armed hug. “Of course. We can write it together.”

“Yay!”

Ryker looked bemused for a moment before he shook his head with a grin. “If you’re all writing one, maybe I should, too.” He looked at Hina. “Maybe the farm dragon knows where we can find some hidden bandit’s treasure.”

“Ooo, yeah!”

That sprung a play-argument about the actual likelihood of finding any treasure. While they debated the merits of burying gold versus stashing it in a cave, Fuuka and Elsje came out with everyone’s dinners. 

When Ari’s plate landed in front of them, they salivated at how perfect it looked. Everyone else was already digging in. As Ari picked up their fork, they realized that maybe they were lucky to be here after all.

* * *

It was late when everyone finished eating. Hina had nearly nodded off towards the end of dessert, so Murakumo scooped her up and let her sleep in his arms. There were hugs goodbye, and Priscilla promised she’d drop off her letter as soon as possible. 

“Don’t be a stranger, okay?” Cecil said to Ari as he headed out with his brother. “Martin and I are your neighbors now. Also, if you ever want me or Terry to help with your case, his house is just down the road towards the ocean.”

“Thanks,” Ari said. “I’ll remember that.” They both waved goodbye, then Ari looked back over their shoulder. Murakumo was talking to Darroch, still holding Hina. Misasagi caught Ari’s attention, and she walked over to greet them.

“Hello,” Misasagi said. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you earlier. I owe you my life.”

Ari looked away, embarrassed. “Oh, I didn’t do much. Honestly, you’re the one who saved me. Those ribbitees were awful.”

Misasagi chuckled demurely. “So they were. But please don’t undersell yourself.” Her expression grew more somber, thoughtful. “When I was in that form… It was like something had possessed me. I recognized Murakumo, but I was barely able to hear him. There were so many voices in that forest… I don’t know if I was hearing spirits or something else.” She shook her head. “Yet when you called my name, I heard you. Your voice cleared my mind.”

Ari’s eyebrows rose. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Misasagi glanced back at her brother and daughter, her expression soft, before she faced Ari again. “Thank you for bringing me back to my family.” She reached into her pocket and withdrew a red and gold omamori. “As a token of our thanks, I would like you to have this.”

“A good luck charm?” Ari gingerly accepted it, running their thumb over the golden embroidery. 

Misasagi nodded. “Hina and I were going to give this to Kumo for New Year’s, but we all decided that we would prefer you to have it. It’s from the Inari Temple in Reniphia.”

“Oh. That’s where you and Hina are from, right?” Ari didn’t know anything about the temple, but it sounded like something from the Eastern continent. When Misasagi nodded, Ari closed their hand around the charm. Maybe they were imagining it, but they already felt a little safer. “I’ll take good care of it. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Misasagi turned back to her brother. “Kumo, are you ready to go home?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah!” Murakumo rejoined them. Hina stirred sleepily in his arms, nuzzling his chest. To Ari, he said, “Thanks for spending tonight with us. You’re always welcome at my place, you hear? Baths are on me.”

Ari grinned. “Don’t tempt me too much. I’ll never get any work done.”

Murakumo laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He stepped towards the door. “See ya!”

Ari bade him and Misasagi goodnight, and they were the last to leave the restaurant.

Chapter Text

Ari wiped sweat off their brow and rested their hand on the butt of their hoe. Their first turnip harvest was resting in a pile by a bucket of water, waiting for the dirt clinging to them to be washed off. Ari wondered if the turnips they had planted in the Silo’s field would be the same size.

Good work today. Ari felt Emerald’s gaze on their back before they turned to face her. The farm dragon had consented to the new nickname after Ari insisted that she needed a name they could actually pronounce. Her draconic name embodied her element, earth, and it was a low, thumping noise that gave Ari the impression of a tiller churning soil. What are you going to do with your first harvest?

“I don’t know yet.” Ari shook off the dirt on their hoe before they put it into their bag. The turnips in the Silo’s field were meant to support the Silo — to feed rangers or to make money to cover operating costs — but everything Ari grew on Emerald was theirs. 

While Ari knelt down and began washing off the turnips, they said, “I got a recipe for pickled turnips, but still. There’s way more than I know what to do with here. And besides, if I just turn them into food, I’m better off eating the ones in the Silo’s field.” 

Perhaps, but these turnips will probably taste better.

Ari half-smiled as they held up one of the cleaned turnips. “Are you bragging?” It was pearly white and dense, so if Emerald was, she would’ve been well within her rights to do so. Then again, Ari did most of the work planting and watering and harvesting them.

Have you ever tasted fresh produce from a farm dragon?

“Well, no. I don’t think so, anyway. I guess I’ll try some, but I should probably just sell these.” The lot of them wouldn’t make very much, but every little bit would help. The new barns Ari had the town’s architect, Palmo, build on Emerald had cost them a lot more than they were expecting. Until the fodder they had planted grew tall enough to start harvesting, they couldn’t get any monster helpers to offset their rising expenses. 

Why not give some to your neighbors?

Ari cocked their head. “You think they’d want them?” Ari had nothing against turnips, but they weren’t exactly a glamorous gift. 

It is traditional to share your first bounty with your community. They adopted you, didn’t they?

“I guess so.” Ari considered it while they continued washing. 

It was still kind of weird when they thought about it too much, but Ari didn’t really feel so out of place anymore. They were the new ranger, and it was as simple as that. Ari had made friends with the Silo’s talking mailbox, Eliza. Priscilla helped Ari clear the Silo’s plot of land. Lucy and Cecil went on patrols with Ari, teaching them about the town’s history and what sort of things they needed to look out for. Martin and Darroch taught Ari the basics of forging their own weapons. They all agreed it was easier to just make a new sword than fish out their old one from the pond. Day by day, Ari learned a little more about how to live their new life.

You still miss your forgotten life, don’t you?

Ari paused. “Yeah.” They set aside the turnip they had been washing and shook off their hands. “I don’t know if ‘miss’ is the right word, though. I like what I have now. My old life might have been better, but it might not have been.” They shrugged. “It’s just… Not knowing, it’s like this itch I can’t scratch, or a splinter I can’t pull out. I was hoping that somebody would come looking for me, or someone in Fenarva would know me, but nobody does…” They shook their head. “And the more I try to think about why there’s nothing, I… It scares me.”

Pressing their hands into the ground of Emerald’s back, Ari asked in a broken voice, “What if it’s something really bad?” They pushed their fingers deeper into her soil. “What if I did this to myself on purpose?”

I can’t answer that question for you. The wind blew a little stronger, pushing Ari’s hair from their face. But whatever answers you find, I will listen and shelter you.

Ari pulled in their lips and swallowed hard against the lump in their throat. The small, bitter part of themself felt like they didn’t deserve her kindness, but the rest of themself was just glad to have the unconditional support. If it was weird that Ari felt more at ease with themself in the company of a dragon who could only talk to them through mysterious magic bullshit, well, they’d just have to live with that. 

Neither of them broke the comfortable silence while Ari finished washing the turnips. Ari let them dry for a bit in the sun while they went to lay beneath one of the trees behind Emerald’s neck. The tall grass was soft. They folded their arms beneath their head. Watching the clear sky and the leaves gently rustling above them, it was easy to pretend nothing else existed.

When Ari started to drift off, Emerald gave them a little mental nudge, reminding them that they still had other things to do.

Ari breathed a laugh. “Thanks.” With some effort, they made themself sit up and collect their turnips. Even if they only gave one to every single townsperson, there’d still be plenty leftover to sell. “I’ll see you later.” Ari raised their hand and cast Return.

* * *

It was the middle of the afternoon when Ari was almost finally done giving everyone turnips. The first couple exchanges had been the most awkward. Darroch misheard Ari and thought they were asking him if a turnip could be turned into a sword. Martin accepted his with a deadpan expression, so Ari had no idea if he actually liked it or not. 

Misasagi and Hina had been overjoyed to accept Ari’s gifts, since they realized that the turnips from Emerald’s back were sort of from her as well. Ari hadn’t thought of it like that, but they agreed and said they’d pass on their thanks to Emerald. Ari chatted with them a bit longer after that, making sure Misasagi was settling in alright with her new job as Rigbarth’s general store owner. 

Apparently, Misasagi had been thinking about moving to Rigbarth for a while, and the original plan had been for her to help Murakumo at the bathhouse and try things out. Yet after seeing how everyone in the town came to her aid — during the search and afterwards, since everyone was often checking in with her and her daughter — she decided it was the right choice. And since Terry had been looking to sell his store, it was a perfect fit.

At Ari’s next stop, the bakers had gushed over how sweet it was for Ari to think of them, and my, wasn’t Ari such a thoughtful young person? Yuki insisted on returning the kindness by giving Ari a strawberry kolache, and Randolph told Ari that if they started growing potatoes, the bakery would gladly take some to make them potato bread.

In the Great Tree Plaza, Lucy and Priscilla had been watching Julian while he looked for bugs. Priscilla was just as excited as Misasagi and Hina to get turnips. When Ari offered Julian some, he gagged, and Lucy scolded him for being rude. She accepted the turnips for her and her brother with a sheepish apology and thanks. Ari told her not to worry about it. They couldn’t really blame the kid for not wanting them. How many people really liked vegetables at his age?

Elsje hadn’t seemed to care one way or another about the turnips, but Fuuka thanked Ari profusely for the both of them. Customers always wanted fresh, local produce. The ship-shaped restaurant’s little garden on the roof — top deck? — couldn’t keep up with the demand. If Ari could start growing a big variety of things, it’d help their restaurant.

Ari had smiled to themself the whole rest of the way to the clinic, glad that they already had a buyer for anything else they grew from now on. Simone had accepted hers with gracious thanks, and praised Ari for sharing healthy vegetables. Everyone could do better to follow their example, she said, instead of giving sweets all the time. Ari laughed and said that if they could grow chocolate instead, they would have shared that.

Murakumo had welcomed Ari with a grin and said hey, you’re early today! Before he could get too far into hyping up some special soaps Ari might want to try, Ari held out the turnips for him and explained that they were actually going to come back later. He was pleasantly surprised that Ari already had their first harvest, and like Elsje and Fuuka, he told Ari that he’d also love to supply his kitchen with their produce. He promised that he’d use these turnips for himself, though.

Palmo had swept up his turnips enthusiastically, and said it was just the inspiration he needed for some project Ari didn’t understand. Ryker took his with a faux nonchalance. He didn’t know what he’d do with it, he said, but he’d figure out something. Ari took that to mean it’d end up in some prank, and they hoped that it wouldn’t become a problem for them later.

Heinz had subjected Ari to some truly terrible vegetable puns, including that it was ‘so nice for Ari to TURNIP for a visit,’ especially since it was his birthday. Ari grumbled and groaned, rolling their eyes, which only made Heinz laugh more. It was impossible for Ari to be actually mad, though. Heinz meant well, and he was the one who supplied Emerald’s favorite crystal treats. 

The long walk back over the river gave Ari plenty of time to steel their nerves for their final stop: Terry’s Detective Agency. Ari assumed they’d also find Cecil there. He hadn’t been anywhere else in town. While they turned down the road towards the ocean, they took a deep breath of the slightly salty breeze.

Ari stared at the flowers outside Terry’s house for a minute before they knocked on the door. They didn’t have to wait long.

“Ari, hi!” Cecil held open the door as he stepped back and gestured for them to come inside. “Terry was just saying that you’d probably come today.”

“Really?” Ari faltered as they stepped inside. 

Terry smiled furtively as he gestured for Ari to take one of the seats in front of his desk. “Yes. It’s been four days since you got seeds from my old general store. You’ve kept yourself busy while you waited for your crops to grow, but today’s the day they’d be due to harvest. Am I wrong?”

“I mean, no,” Ari said, confused. “But how did you know I’d come here?”

“Call it a hunch.” Terry shrugged with one shoulder. “Cecil, could you get us some coffee?”

“Yes, sir!”

Terry glanced back at Ari as Cecil hurried off into another room. “There’s tea, too, if you’d prefer.”

“Uh, no, coffee’s fine.”

Cecil returned with a steaming kettle, mugs, a tea tin, milk, sugar, and a pour over cup and filter. “This tea’s my favorite,” he said, setting out everything. “Terry hates the stuff, but he keeps it around just for me and our clients.” 

“You don’t have to tell everyone that,” Terry said, but he didn’t seem too bothered. After Cecil put a tea bag in his own mug and filled it up, Terry watched as he began slowly pouring water over the coffee. When he seemed fine with Cecil’s technique, Terry turned his attention back to Ari. “So, what brings you here today?”

“Um, two things, kind of.” Ari reached into their bag and pulled out the turnips for them. “I wanted to give you both some of the crops I grew on Emerald. I’ve given some to everyone else, too. You know, to thank everybody for being so nice since I got here.” 

“Oh?” Cecil glanced at them as he continued pouring slowly. “Neat!”

“It’s a thoughtful gesture.” Terry gathered up the turnips and set them aside. As he settled back into his seat, he said, “I’m guessing the other reason is business?”

Ari took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah. I want to figure out where I came from.” They fidgeted with their hands until they noticed Cecil handing them their mug. “I, well… The rangers in Fenarva weren’t able to find anything about me in their local records, and they haven’t gotten any missing persons reports that match me, so…”

“It’s time to broaden your search?” Cecil guessed as he prepared Terry’s cup. He filled half of it with milk before he began pouring any coffee into it. 

“Yeah.” Ari put three cubes of sugar into their coffee. “I don’t really have time to do that myself now that I got farming and ranger stuff to do. And it seems like the sort of thing you’d be better at, anyway.”

“That is a reasonable assumption.” Terry opened a drawer under his desk and took out a paperclipped sheaf of papers.

Ari’s hand tightened around their mug. It looked like an intimidatingly official contract, but it was probably standard procedure. If they could face feral monsters without flinching, what sort of coward would they be if they couldn’t handle a little paperwork? 

“This is mostly boilerplate legalese,” Terry said. “I’ll walk you through all of it.”

Cecil plopped into his seat off the side of Terry’s desk. “And as soon as it’s signed, we can get started!” He held out his tea as if he was toasting the occasion.

“That is, if you still want to do this after we discuss my rates.” Terry smiled thinly. 

“Right…” Ari took a breath, and then a sip of their coffee as they stared at the contract. No matter what it cost, this was their last option to find their past — to find out if there was anyone waiting for them. And if there was… Well, Ari would find out if the new life they were building would still fit.

That thought, more than anything else, was what made Ari hesitate the most. Could they stay in Rigbarth if they found what they lost? Would they even want to?

Either way, Ari needed to know. Whatever their future was going to be, they wanted it to be a choice. Not just something they stuck with out of convenience, not just biding their time. If there was someone looking for Ari, they wanted to be the one to find their own way back. 

Ari looked back up at Cecil, and then Terry. “Just tell me what you need.”