{-Llewel-}

“Lead the way; just, uh, keep in mind that I’m not that good of a dancer.”

“Neither am I, if I’m being honest. But I’m sure it’ll be fine as long as we’re together.”

They danced together for the rest of the night, though the context was still lost on him… that feeling, though, was one not so easily forgotten. So many different meanings were attached to it that he didn’t quite understand yet. He hoped he would soon, though. These memories kept coming back so it was only a matter of time before he remembered all of it. Maybe he’d finally grasp the full meaning of what that feeling was.

Unfortunately, all things needed to come to an end eventually. He woke up to find that it had long since become daytime and Myr already left. Figuring he’d probably wasted enough time as it was, he made sure he was ready and followed the sound of his sister’s voice.

“You know, I was a little concerned for you at first,” Cahacu remarked with a smile, “but it sounds like you got this all figured out. I’ll be sure to tell Duuzlo and Fininri that they don’t need to worry, too; honestly they’ve probably been waiting for me to say that since you came to Anthalas. With those two players with you, I’m confident that you won’t run into a lot of problems.”

Myr noticed Llewel standing near the stairs. “Oh, you’re awake now!” She walked up to him and asked much quieter, “You were… dreaming about her, weren’t you? You mentioned her while you were talking in your sleep…”

Llewel just nodded. The feeling he’d cherished just moments before was now fleeting, replaced by the dull emptiness he was only just starting to notice. “Where’s Zetai and Reynneak? Did they have something they needed to do in the real world?”

“They were for a while. But now they’re out making sure we have everything for Kyirius,” she responded with a shrug. “They’re probably going to be back soon, they’ve been out for a while already…”

Yullun, who’d previously been watering some flowers, looked at them and said, “I know you’ve got players with you, but that shouldn’t mean you should get careless. Make sure to take care of yourselves out there.”

“We will,” Myr promised.

“I hope you’re able to find her,” Cahacu said. “They’ve gone this long without doing anything to her, but the situation’s changed a lot in such a short span of time. It’s probably for the better just to check up on her. There’s not really any other way to make sure whether what Zuradu said was true or not.” She paused. “That said, though, check in with Relenri every now and again when you get to Kyirius City. I’m going to keep in close touch with her in case I hear anything about Casrane, and I’m going to ask at least Fininri to do the same. When you get stuck, she might just be the perfect person to get a new lead.”

Llewel managed a small smile too. “Thank you all for putting in this effort to help us. You know what you’d be getting into if they realize what you’re doing, but you’re still risking it for us.”

“Don’t mention it. Remember you’ve all helped us out more than we could ever imagine; it’s only fair that we do whatever we can to return the favor.” She paused. “But really, it’s probably best if you don’t mention it. If they realize what we’re doing then, well, things could go from bad to worse pretty quickly… Make sure your player friends know that, too. They’ve seemed pretty understanding with the whole thing, it may already be a no-brainer for them.”

“I’ll make sure they know.”

The door to the inn burst open. “Who’s ready to beat up some ghosts?!”

“From the looks of the quests, it looks like there’s a lot less ghost-fighting than you think there is…”

“And whose brother played the entire game? Me. You’ve never been to Kyirius before.”

“Well, technically, neither have you…”

Zetai ended the whole conversation by smacking Reynneak. She went up to where the others were. “We’re pretty sure we have everything we’ll need for the trip. We’ve completed practically every quest in Anthalas, so it’s about time we get moving.”

Reynneak took to another subject, glancing at Llewel. “It looks like you just woke up. You’ve been sleeping in a lot lately—both of you kind of are, actually—are you sure you’re ready to get moving soon?”

“You don’t have to worry about it,” Myr assured him.

“We’d both say something if there was something wrong.” Llewel kept his smile so they knew he was being honest. “It was just a dream.”

“Wait, game characters dream..?” There’d been many things they were able to clear up in the month that they’ve known each other; how the NPCs had the same needs as the players did in the real world and everything else that was important to keep in mind when adventuring together. There were, though, still some things that had been put aside for another time. Zetai without fail always brought attention to them.

“They’ve got memories like we do,” Reynneak pointed out casually. “I don’t really get why that’s surprising.”

“Well, to be fair, we didn’t always,” Myr said. “This whole memory thing is kind of new to us too…”

Cahacu couldn’t help but join in. “Wait until you start dreaming of your ex trying to hook up with you again. Things may start out pleasant, but dreams always like to remind you that it’s got the power to create literal nightmare fuel. Brains are cruel, never forget that.”

“Well, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover and plenty of time left,” Zetai continued from her earlier point. “If we head out now, we’ll be able to make some good progress before we have to leave again.”

Myr bounded towards the door. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get going! I’m ready for a change of scenery.”

Llewel was about to follow her before getting reminded of something of his own. “Zetai, you mentioned yesterday that you were finally able to find some information on Casrane, right? What did you find out?”

She stopped and so did Reynneak. He should’ve known right from that moment that she was hoping that she didn’t have to say anything. “So, about that—”

The door once again opened, keeping her from having to explain anything any further. The look of relief on her face was hard to ignore.

“Well, hello there! Welcome to the Anthalas City Inn, what can I do for you today?” Cahacu greeted with a signature grin. “It’s been a while since I’ve last seen you, Tinath. It’s… been a while since anyone’s seen you, actually. Or at least, they all stopped talking about you and I figured they’d finally convinced you to stop.”

Tinath smiled at Cahacu. “It’s good to see you, too. I guess I’ve just been wandering around so much lately that I haven’t thought of checking in anywhere.”

Myr’s face lit up. “Hi! I didn’t think we’d ever get to see you again! Is it just me or did you get taller..?” Not even Llewel’s reminding glare could bring the hint of wistfulness out of her tone.

That was when Tinath noticed they were all there, though really the hawk only turned its head to see Llewel and Myr. “Thank goodness you’re actually all here. I was worried I was going to have to search the entire plains for you.”

Zetai blinked. “Who are you, again?”

“I’m the person who helped you and that group of travelers out,” Tinath replied. Her hawk cawed as if to shame them for not remembering. “But I guess I shouldn’t expect you to remember that, since we didn’t really interact with each other outside of fighting off those monsters.”

“What are you here for? Do you want to join us?” Myr asked excitedly. “We were about to head to Kyirius! I bet we’d all feel a lot more confident to have someone as strong as you around while we travel…”

“Didn’t we talk about one of us speaking for all of us..?” Then Zetai paused, stepped closer to Llewel, and whispered, “Wait, is she—”

His nod and sigh was enough of an answer.

Now with possibly more understanding than she truly wanted, Zetai turned her attention to Tinath. “I don’t know about the whole confident-with-you-there part—I mean you can’t be any stronger than we are anymore—but I’d still like to know what you were looking for us for.”

Tinath thought of the best way to explain it. “Do you remember the last time you offered that and I said I was looking for somebody? I think you’re going to be my best chance at trying to find her.”

“And who is she?” Reynneak prompted.

She gave a brief glance to everyone in the room before finally saying, “Cassidy Mair.”