SilyaBeeodess

It became overwhelmingly clear to Ferris soon enough that her new associate was not good at all at spotting crayfish, or traversing the wilderness, or much of anything that involved basic survival skills. While he may have been able to ride through the village just fine, he struggled to keep his balance the moment they began to navigate through steeper terrain. He shuffled by the streambank like a toddler on his first exploration outdoors, overlooking the signs of the crustaceans that seemed so obvious to herself. She almost found it miraculous that he knew how to tether his horse. Thankfully, all of that was moot compared to Gael's affinity for spellcasting. Ferris would've preferred it if some of his spells were more fit for combat, but he had a degree of talent for each of the seven forms and understood temporal magic on a modest level. It was enough that she mostly double-checked his readings as they followed the water further uphill. She would've ranked him almost right at

The domain Ferris traveled to was close to the heart of the Two Kingdoms, meaning that the road there crossed through particularly hard terrain. She hadn’t been to the cliffs of Mt. Ebott in years, but, as always, it was a tremendous sight. The fraction of mountain forest she rode through was an old one. Pine and yew trees stood with a quiet dignity, keeping secret the countless stories woven under their heavy branches and awaiting countless more to pass beneath them still. The heights of Mt. Ebott towered overhead. Blanketed by a verdant summer, it truly seemed like Earth and Heaven met. In contrast, the small village of Ewick was so indistinct that the surrounding woodland appeared to be trying to gradually absorb it. Ferris had done a little research before coming: There wasn’t much to say except that the village had been established long ago in attempt to maintain some footing in the area back when there had been a functioning mine nearby. However, that was also near the tail end

I wasn’t expecting us to be sent back to the desert so soon after the incident at the Underground Lake… Even if we’ve been moving in a different direction, it feels strange. In my mind, I can see us following the same paths we took before. I still taste the sand from after we fell through the earth. I can still feel the wounds on my body from our fight with Mesprit and a frustrating sting in my chest from our defeat from Grovyle… Ri and I have been training heavily since that loss, so maybe that’s why Wigglytuff sent us out on a mission: To force us to think of anything else. It’s impossible though, especially out here. We’ve done what we can to relax some, sure—but how can we, knowing when the world is at stake and another Time Gear was swiped away right out from under us? “I think I found it,” Ri exclaims just ahead of me. I’ve been so deep in thought that I’ve managed to fall several steps behind him, and I pick up the pace now to race over to his side. He stands over a

A faint sound of erupting rock echoed across the abandoned pathway without a single spectator to hear it. The area was due for reconstruction, but plans were still being drawn up, so no one had been sent to begin the work just yet. For a short time, that made the location an ideal spot to let off some steam. “Nice shot!” “Your turn.” A row of crumbly, fist-sized stones sat lined atop a metal beam. One of them had already been blasted apart by a swift orb of water, which was reformed and called back to Lapis’ hand some several meters away where she relaxed on a partial rooftop. Andi stood next to her. The Andesine created an energy bullet no bigger than the tip of her finger, closed one eye, and took aim. While she was able to hit one of the stones, she only nicked it, leaving just over half of the rock remaining. Lapis placed a hand on one hip, teasing, “I thought you said you were going to practice.” She giggled, “Hey, we can’t all be naturals.” Finding chances to meet like this