The long journey through the cool, coniferous forest was slowly taking its toll on little Azai. Eiri and Azai had decided to form camp at sunset, they making a good deal of progress down the path since the interaction with the broken branch. Azai slumps down tiredly against one of the pine trees, as Eiri was close by, picking up fallen boughs of pine to create a small overhead shelter for them.

“Gaaahhh…” Azai moaned out weakly, running his hands over his legs. “I never knew that walking that long could hurt my legs so much.” Azai gave a rather pathetic, meek groan of pain as he continued to rub his aching legs and thighs.

“You know-” Eiri faintly looked over to Azai, continuing to pick up some long branches for shelter for the two, utilizing what's left of the crimson sunset over the teal forest for light. “-you can always go home. Your mother would appreciate that a lot, but you would have to pay for all the training from the mentor out of pocket, even if you don’t take it.”

“No way!” Azai piped up, starting to stand up again, before wincing and rubbing his legs. “Ack...I just…” Azai paused, before sitting back down onto the cold, pine needle covered mulch. “I just need some time to get used to adventuring, my legs will build up some strength over time.”

Eiri sighed softly as she placed the pine boughs down onto some clear ground, before coming over next to Azai and kneeling down next to him. “Just don’t be so hard on your body, okay? We all have limits to what we can do, but over time we can raise those limits, and surpass them, alright?” Eiri gave a sweet smile to Azai, rustling his hair a little bit.

Azai quickly grew a little flustered, but could not deny what Eiri said to be very good advice. “Wow...y..yeah, you’re probably right...but stop rustling my hair!” Azai threw his arms up to block Eiri’s rustling, she giving a soft giggle before resuming her work. “I’m not a little kid anymore, I’m gonna do my best to make my mark on the world!” He said rather triumphantly.

“Well-” Eiri grabbed a large branch and begun to dig into the ground with it, creating a piece of foundation for the small shelter. “-when you’re done taking a break, you can help me by gathering some branches so we can start a fire. You can probably start one on your own, can’t you?” Eiri struck the branch into the dug earth, wiggling it around to make sure it’s stable within the ground.

“I..I think I can.” Azai looked away. He had read some books on surviving on the wilderness, and have packed them into his bag, but hasn’t yet applied the principles yet. “I-I mean, you can count on me!” Azai gave a weak smile as he pointed to himself, his aching legs gradually recovering as he rest against the cool ground.

Some time had passed as Eiri continued to work the ground, pulling a bit of rope from her small satchel and tying the pine boughs against the branches, Azai gently rubbing his legs before standing up. “Y’know what, I’m just...kinda curious as to why you care so much about my mom.” Azai began to circle the perimeter, picking up some tinder and sticks as he goes.

“Well, it’s...kind of hard to explain. I really just want to make sure she’s happy and knows you’re safe overall.” Eiri tied down the next layer of the pine boughs down against the branches.

“Huh, alright, I guess, that makes sense.” Azai soon had a nice bundle of dry and slightly damp kindling, before placing it down onto a relatively clean clearing for a fire to be set up. “Though, sometimes I feel like you really, really care about some stuff that my mom says, almost like you’re my big sister something.” Azai stands up straight and stretches his back a little bit.

“To be honest...” Eiri paused a little bit, before looking down a little bashfully, stopping her work for a moment. “When I was little, I used to have a..” Eiri gave a fake cough before meekly continuing her sentence, her voice trailing off into a series of mumbles.

Azai perks up, turning his head over to Eiri. “What did you say?” walking over and leaning towards Eiri. Eiri’s face was flushed pink with bashfulness, mumbling her words a little louder, but still were indecipherable. Azai starting to prod Eiri’s shoulder “C’mon, tell me! Wait...Don’t tell me you’re secretly my sis-”

“I-I-I used to have a pretty big crush on your mom, okay?” Eiri stammered and quietly shouted out towards Azai, interrupting his sentence. Azai’s eyes widened, being taken aback over Eiri’s confession.

“You…” Azai scoffed, initially in a state of shock. “You seriously have a crush on my mom?” Azai steps back several paces, his back pressed against tree, before gradually being dragged to the ground by gravity.

“Ye-yes, I did.” Eiri resumed work on the small shelter, Azai left in a state of shock for several minutes, before suddenly bursting out into laughter, Eiri jumping a little bit when Azai began laughing.

“Oh my gods, this explains so much, like why you’re such a sourpuss!” Azai cackled teasingly towards Eiri, clutching his stomach and rolling around laughing over the ground, hardly getting any air into his lungs between his laughs.

“Sh...shut up! I was little, and your mom just happened to look...very stunning back then, okay? I’m sure you have some weird crushes too!” Eiri stood up as she finished tying up the next layer, standing up over Azai.

“Pphffft, yeah, okay, and I had a crush on your dad.” Azai snarkily remarked, his voice laced with sarcasm, before continuing his fit of laughter. Eiri only getting more infuriated towards Azai. “Ye...Pffhtt, yeahaha-no, your crush on my mom pretty much takes the cake on that one.” Azai wipes his eyes of the tears that formed during his laughing fit. Eiri dropped the rest of the pine boughs onto the ground.

A bitter rage began to grow inside of Eiri, getting ready to yell at Azai. Yet, she could feel her soul reel back; this isn’t right. Azai is just a kid, and kids can be a little insufferable at times. Eiri closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before staring at Azai. “Look, could we just…Drop the subject? I know, I’m sure it’s real funny, but we still need to get the fire started, and I much rather be warm and cranky than cold and cranky.”

Azai gave a snooty scoff, standing up, barely hiding a few chuckles under his breath before waving Eiri off with the back of his hand, walking away from the campsite. “Yeah, alright mom, I’ll get some firewood for you.” Azai’s silhouette soon began to disappear into the trees.

Eiri grumbles and returns to her work, kneeling back down next to the nigh completed pine bough shelter. “Jerkass kid’s gonna be the bane of my existence at this rate.” Eiri muttered before angrily tying down the final layers of the pine boughs. The crimson light of the sunset fading with each passing moment, submerging the forest in dim twilight.