In the cool night air, Aiko walks slowly and with a slight swing in her step next to Sebarius who wheels himself over the rocky road, often struggling with the little bumps his wheels get into.

After moving away from the still escalating brawl in the bar, Sebarius asks, "So...Ms. Aiko, I am sorry to be so blunt, but...what did you do to get yourself incarcerated into that artifact?"

Aiko stops in her tracks and looks up to the starlit sky, seemingly enjoying the cool breeze coming from the distant mountains for a second or two before replying without looking down, "Actually, I have no idea."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"Really, I don't know. I woke up when Crystal stumbled into my...I guess you'd call it 'resting place'. Anyway, she picked up my prison and after a little negotiating, she agreed to be my 'vessel'. But whatever happened before that, I don't know. I only knew my name and that Crystal needed my help at the time."

"...a poison dart, I reckon?"

"How do you know?"

"For one, I examined the traps in that mansion very thoroughly and poison darts were in the arsenal. The nasty and painful stuff too. I have found no record or rumor of 'people miraculously being healed after entering the mansion' either, so she was very likely not 'already dying' when entering, which means that she only could have missed a trap."

"Very sound logic, but I'm pretty sure there were some other traps too, not just poison darts."

"Yes, but once you're impaled and crushed, there's very little life energy left to bond with."

All of a sudden, a slow clapping noise from the other side of the street makes Sebarius hurl around and his heart skips a beat when all of a sudden, Crystal is standing right next to him, her cloak in pristine condition.

"Very good, Doctor Sebarius. Really astounding."

"Thank you kindly, though it would appear that I have yet much to learn. How in the world did you get out of there unscathed? I mean, they were all over you, you couldn't have just 'walked out' like we did, could you?"

Crystal throws Sebarius a playful wink and replies, "I am sorry, but that's a little trade secret I'm not going to share. Maybe you'll figure it out yourself, seeing how you're such a smart cookie."

They keep walking in silence for a few more steps before Sebarius lets out a deep sigh and says, "I have so many questions, but I don't even know where to start..."

"Yeah, kinda bites that Aiko doesn't remember a thing from her past."

"...that's the reason why you're visiting the ruins, isn't it? You're looking for clues on what happened to her, aren't you?"

"You are a smart one!" Crystal exclaims with a smirk and then adds, "So yeah, she's been having small flashbacks when we visited places related to the old world, so we're hoping to maybe figure out the truth. In a sense, we're just the same as you."

"Then why don't you just drop the Zeaphyr Fox act and register as adventurers for the scholar society? You wouldn't have to be constantly on the run from the law and you'd have the support of the brightest minds. I mean, the fact that she can read the ancient script alone would make sure you'd never go hungry. And with your skills—"

Crystal and Aiko stop both at the same time and Sebarius stops briefly after noticing.

"Did...I say something wrong?" he carefully asks.

"You claim to have seen us, right?", Crystal asks.

"Yes, back in that one ruin with the guardian machine."

"And...didn't anything at that scene strike you as...odd, maybe? Out of place?"

"You mean except the fact that you actually managed to take that beast down like it was nothing?"

Crystal puts her palm on her face and mutters, "Well, I guess it has been a rather stressful—"

"So what's it like having animal ears and a tail? Does it really help the balance?"

Crystal yanks her hand away and stares at Sebarius who was now extending a detailled pencil drawing of the scene towards her.

"You are right, it was a stressful situation. Which is why it left a lasting imprint in my mind. I drew this two days after the incident, but of course people thought I had been hallucinating. After all, animal people don't exist. But I know what I've seen. I assume she was born with them and you've got them as part of the bonding?"

"Oh for the love of..."

"Please tell no tall tales and fantastical stories of encounters with the Zeaphyr Fox. I must say, appearing as something that 'cannot be real' is a very good way to discredit potential witnesses."

Aiko snerks at Sebarius commentary, while Crystal steps behind the wheelchair and pushes it forwards with great strength, but not quite so fast that Sebarius would have fallen out.

After they've entered a secluded area, Crystal removes her hood, her black ears perking up furiously and eventually she asks, "Who in the world are you really, Mr. Sebarius?!"

Sebarius leans back in his chair and replies with a broad smile on his face, "Why, just a humble scholar with a mission. And I am delighted to officially meet you, Ms. Zeaphyr Fox'."