A few days later, Ezi stands before the Well of Life, gazing into its water. He nods slowly, not exactly fond of the new orders he's just been given. His left hand fiddles and tugs on his hair.

He had been enjoying the time off recovering since that fight with the Fox Spirit. As much as he enjoys anything, at least. He turns and walks down the steps, leaving the Well of Life behind him. His robes dragging on the stone. He already has his spear on his back, having anticipated being called back into action today. He hadn't expected an assignment like this, though. He hops across the steppingstones, having done it enough times that even he doesn't stumble. Mother's voice echoes up from the Well to speak, but Ezi simply keeps going, walking out, not feeling social enough to speak further with his creator.

He closes the shabby wooden door behind him as he leaves the brick building. One would never guess at the beauty within the walls from its pathetic exterior.

A few lesser Spirits mill about, though all the higher ones seem to be on assignments. The mid Spirits as well. It must be nice to be a low rank. The weak ones have far fewer responsibilities and are not tracked as extensively.

Ezi and Cyn don't even register on the hierarchy of Elementals. He bites his bottom lip, then begins walking towards the forest. Dreading seeking the Shadow, knowing that she's supposed to sleep as he's awake and vice versa. He's already woken her up once this week, and she may really cut his head off this time. Well, at least Cyn no longer accidentally changes the time to night whenever she wakes up. That had been awkward at first.

A few lesser Spirits run out of his way as Ezi strolls along towards his friend.

Eventually, he arrives outside her cave, hesitating. He holds the thick vines veiling the entrance, still feeling weak after his most recent battle. Would I really be okay in the dark right now? he wonders.

Thankfully, it seems he doesn't have to go inside. He hears Cyn wake up and smiles, unable to believe his luck.

"Cyn? It's me. Can you come out now?" he calls, too soft to be picked up by human ears. But Cyn can hear, and she shifts around in response.

Ezi takes a few steps back as the Shadow pushes her veil of vines to the side, black eye squinting. Even scowling, Cyn certainly is pretty. Her deep purple hair covers the left side of her face, coming down to her knees in the back. Her olive skin matches the bark of the trees around them. Her robes show off her curves. Ezi has always felt some jealously over her appearance. In comparison, he feels too short, too pale, too frail. He desperately wishes he looked more like Cyn.

"Ezi, stop zoning out. Why are you here?" She tries to sound harsh, but can't quite manage that tone with him.

"Sorry, but we're going on an assignment. Right now."

"What!? But I just finished one! Why am I-?"

"Don't worry, it's only a patrol." He holds his hands up in surrender, unsure if he should be glad he guessed correctly as to how this would go or not. He watches as black smoke emanates off his friend, her tail lashing.

"That's even worse! Anyone can go on a patrol! Why does she need the two most powerful Elementals to - Arg, Mother pisses me off sometimes!"

Ezi glances around, whispering. "Hey, be quiet. She frustrates all of us, but you shouldn't say it aloud."

Cyn groans dramatically. An assignment seems to be the last thing she wants, but neither of them dare go against orders. No Elemental does. "You just said it out loud, too, Ezi."

"Oh, no!" Ezi replies, faking a laugh.

Cyn rolls her eye and keeps speaking. "Where are we going?"

"Krazde mountain range. Come on, Mother showed me an image of exactly where."

He turns and starts heading for the small clearing near Cyn's cave, the Shadow Spirit muttering to herself. Like always, he brings forth that mental image, the same as Mother had shown him in the surface of the Well, and the portal opens.

On the other side, the two find themselves in another forest. Unlike the one in their realm, this forest is coniferous, pine needles making the ground soft and squishy to walk along. Ezi runs his fingers through his hair before turning to the sound of Cyn kicking a pinecone. She then steps on a second one and cackles.

Ezi can't help but smile at her, making Cyn scowl when she happens to glance his way and notice. "C'mon, Glow Boy, lead on."

"As you wish," he replies, turning and doing as Cyn asked. She falls in pace with him.

Several minutes pass, Cyn looking sleepy and more than just a little frustrated that she's awake right now. Ezi awkwardly pulls on his hair as he leads the way along the path Mother has set out for them.

More time passes.

Ezi has no idea what to say to his friend, the silence stretching. He sighs in relief when she finally breaks the heavy quiet herself.

"What the hell!? This is so stupid! Mother had you wake me up for this? Walking?"

"Hey, this is my first task since getting my arm ripped off. Maybe she wants you to protect me in case anything happens." He tries to sound reasonable.

Cyn flashes him a worried look. "How is it feeling, anyway?" She reaches out, gently touching his left arm.

Ezi flinches in surprise but doesn't mind the contact. It's Cyn after all. "A little weak but otherwise fine."

Cyn shakes her head. "I'll never stop being horrified by your healing capabilities."

Ezi scoffs. "As if I'm the horrifying one."

"Hey, watch your mouth or I'll cut it off!"

"See? This is what I'm talking about," he says warmly.

This finally coaxes a grin out of Cyn. "Yeah, I know! But seriously, anyone could've gone with you. Hell, we all know who you want with you." She snickers.

"Maybe Mother sent someone I can't stand with me instead, as punishment. I did mess up, after all."

Cyn lightly slaps Ezi's arm with her tail, cackling. Her quiet laughter stops soon enough, her head perking up. Black claws grow out of her nails.

Ezi whispers to her, "Do you sense something?"

"Shh!" She stops walking, closing her eye to listen. Ezi stops as well, dimming his glow to hide better. Unfortunately, it makes it harder for him to see. But he trusts Cyn's senses more than his own anyway.

He can't sense auras at all like Cyn - and the rest of the Elemenetals - can. But he can hear something. "What's that sound?"

"I not totally sure, but..." Cyn whispers. "Kinda sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

"No."

Cyn shoots him a confused look, then goes toward the direction of the noise. A high-pitched, awful sound that Ezi wants nothing to do with.

"Cyn, don't. We don't know what it is," Ezi calls softly.

"All the more reason to check it out! Besides, I'm pretty sure it's..." She trails off and Ezi is left to follow along behind her.

Cyn pushes some bushes out of the way, discovering the source of the racket. From his position, Ezi can only see her tail lashing and hear her growling softly, but he imagines she must be scowling. If not snarling.

Ezi walks up, curiously peeking through the bushes as well. And he spots the source of Cyn's foul mood. "A human? Looks like a young one," he murmurs. He only stays like that a moment before taking off his spear and stabbing it into the ground, casually walking towards the human.

"Ezi! What are you doing?" Cyn hisses.

When he gets to the human child, Ezi squats down to peer at her. The human is sitting with her arms around her legs, water running down her fair cheeks. She has mousey brown hair partially hidden by a black toque and dirty clothes. That awful sound she's making is even louder, more piercing this close. "What is she doing, Cyn? Why is her face leaking?"

"She's crying, Ezi." Cyn walks closer, giving Ezi a strange look. "You don't remember?"

He's about to answer but gets distracted by the human girl lifting her head up. Her deep green eyes lock with Ezi's, and he feels a chill down his back when she speaks.

"Who... Who are you?"