Year 476 A.F.W, 78th of Yule, Mistwick, Shimori.
On a cloudy day, when some snow fell bitterly from the sky, two boys have been training for an hour already.
Morio's sword hit the wooden bat Jyuzou held while grinding his teeth in slight fear.
"AAAAA!" Morio yelled out and started swinging at the bat's middle point, as it snapped.
"MORIO!" Jyuzou yelled out, as Morio pushed him to the ground, pointing the dull weapon against his scared face. He breathed in and out, and as Jyuzou opened one eye, Morio smiled.
"I won again," Morio announced, brushing off the sweat from his forehead. "Better luck next time, Jyuzou!"
"How can you say that when you're not even... giving me a ch-chance?" Jyuzou shook his head, standing up. "...and you're using a sword against a wooden stick!"
"It's not the weapon you use, but the way you swing it." Morio turned around, wagging his finger. "I think this maxim was kinda different. The way you forge it..? You're not a forger, though... and the nearest forgery is in Magna..." Morio took out the map of Shimori, looking at it intensely, furrowing his zigzaggy eyebrows.
Jyuzou picked one of the halves of the broken bat and swung at the distracted Morio, hitting him in the stomach. "Pff! Jyozou... bastard..!" Morio flopped onto the snow, pushing his hand against the stomach.
As Jyuzou giggled triumphantly, Morio grabbed his leg, dragging him into the battle.
The two got into a small brawl, grabbing at each other's faces or limbs. They rolled down the hill, without really noticing.
"WAIT, STOP!!!" Jyuzou screamed out, jumping up and stepping to the side. He pushed Morio away, as he spun around and then held him by the arm. "Morio! You almost stepped on the flowers again!"
"Me?" Morio asked. "You'd be responsible too! Shouldn't have hit me..." Morio rubbed his stomach.
"No! I wouldn't ever hurt a flower! Mmm..." Jyuzou shook his head. "It's all your stupidity!" he pouted, crossing his arms.
Morio breathed out, grabbing the sword that lay next to his feet, and looking at its stone finish. He closed his eyes for a moment, as Jyuzou crouched taking out two books once more. He smiled, scribbling something with the charcoal.
"It's the same flower as last Yule. What are you writing down this time? Why?"
"Because, Morio." Jyuzou raised his voice. "If you weren't so... i-ignorant..."
Jyuzou struggled with the word 'ignorant'.
"...you'd know that there are two variants of Callothia flowers! One which grows under the piny leaves, and one which b-bask in the sun!" he smirked, taking a seed out of the red crown. "This variant, sunny, to be precise." he pointed up as if Morio didn't know that there wasn't any tree above them. "...has these tasty, sweet seeds." he wrote something down in his journal, looking back at the other book. He made a sour face for a moment, sighing. "I'm dumb."
Morio put the sword into a sheath that he sewed onto his pants a while ago. "Pff. Why?" Morio asked, looking down at the flower and picking up the seed. He put it on the inside of his mouth.
"Those are Stem flowers, one of the two that grow in Shimori's Yule... they're so similar to the second variant of Callothia, but their seeds are actually poisonous..."
Morio spat it out, stuffing snow into his mouth, panicking.
"They're used for curing the flu! Agh! What an awful mistake!!!" He put the book over his head, frowning. "Where's the seed..? You didn't eat it, did you?"
Morio shook his head, his cheeks full as if he was a Lignorian squirrel, hiding Malva nuts. He swallowed the snow and smiled awkwardly.
"I need to work on my research!!! More reading, more time!!!" he screeched out, before walking off, scribbling something. He stopped for a moment, as his eyes widened. "You're leaving tomorrow, right?"
Morio glanced at Jyuzou. "Yeah. This will be... the last ceremony in quite a while, eh?" he asked. "...and another one without Bancho."
Jyuzou turned to the side, grinding his teeth. "Can you... see some of those Stem flowers for me? Maybe mark them on your map..?" he asked, smiling.
Morio frowned. "You're not... coming with me..?"
"I never said I wanted to be a D-Demonear," Jyuzou answered.
"I know, I know." Morio nodded. "I'll be fine though, don't worry," he added. "After that... I'm not scared of anything. Not anymore." he admitted, looking into Jyuzou's eyes, squinting, trying to make them out from beneath his shining glasses.
When he finally managed to see just a glimpse of his sad eyes, Jyuzou turned around and walked away. "You'll be okay."
Suddenly, someone's cheers could be heard around town, followed by a horse's footsteps, stepping around the shallow snow. They were heavy but fast.
Morio opened his mouth slightly, before running up some of the stairs and past the well, spotting a familiar figure atop a jet-black stallion.
People cheered, raising their fists and voices into the air.
Morio ran to the side, as the horse stopped, and Bancho looked over at the young boy.
Morio put his hands on his knees. "...and here I thought you weren't going to make it..!" he raised his voice, smirking.
"I think I was clear with what I told you, young Morio," Bancho announced, taking off the hood from his cloak. "I was going to be gone for most of Yule, but I wouldn't miss out on its last ceremony. No, not anymore." he smiled, as Morio almost exploded with excitement, and launched himself towards Bancho, grabbing onto his leg.
"Where have you been?!" Morio yelled, laughing, as the old man lifted him up, sitting him at the front. Morio put his hand over Pearl's silky hair.
Pearl was the name of the trusty horse that Bancho took everywhere he went, be it a small trip to Wendigo or a long-distance one, even to the deep and dark forests of Orawood. Despite its dark fur, it was named after one of the brightest crystals to be found, since Bancho believed that everyone and everything can shine.
Pearl was a calm horse, and the younger often played around with its tail, sat on its back or kindly asked it (yelled out) to take them to their house. It seemed to enjoy their company as well.
"All around Shimori. I didn't leave its premises." Bancho replied.
"What for?"
"Business," he added. "...and searching for answers, as per usual."
"But... 70 days? I really thought you weren't going to come back..." Morio continued, glancing at him, as they rode through the town, amongst the cheers of every Morian who stepped out of their huts.
"...and why would you care for such an old guy? Ehehe. You start losing track of time as you age, Morio. For you, this year has been long, but to me, it was really nothing special. A blink of an eye, I'd say." he answered, gazing forwards. "Feels like my age is finally getting to me. But that won't change the fact that I always keep my promises."
"Are you kidding?" Morio raised his voice. "Mistwick isn't the same without you!"
"Huh..." Bancho sighed. "You're training all day, how would you notice something like that?"
"I mean it, Mr Bancho!" Morio said. "Mistwick isn't as bright and joyous when you're not here. Feels like there's not a person to talk to..."
"Jyuzou, Mrs Victoria?"
"Well, obviously! I can't train with them, though." Morio continued. "Jyuzou's a sly yuk after all!"
"Boy, oh boy," Bancho said, before looking at the stone sword hidden in Morio's sheath. "Seems as if... Morio's slowly moving on." he thought, and then spotted the smile painted on his face. Bancho sighed, brushing through his beard, which grew a bit longer since last year.
"Well, we're here," Bancho said, jumping off the horse and standing in the doorway to his tree house. "You don't mind giving me a little break, do you? I have to get ready in a few hours."
Morio nodded, leaping onto the snow. "I wish I could spend more time with you, though."
"Hm? You'll have the next few days. I'm not planning on going anywhere..."
"Did you forget, Mr Bancho?" Morio asked, a bit worried. "I set out for the Demonear exam tomorrow."
Bancho's eyes widened, as he looked at the door for a moment. "Right... how could I have forgotten..?" he rubbed his forehead. "I'm sorry, Morio. As I said, I couldn't keep track of the time that well."
Morio frowned, nodding slowly again.
"You should go back and get some rest for the ceremony as well. I'm planning something bigger this time."
"Oh?" Morio suddenly lit up.
"There it is." thought Bancho, as he turned the triangular doorknob and stepped inside, closing it. "Ever since Gloria fell into a coma, it's been harder and harder to make Morio smile. I'm sure his young and brave heart hasn't given up. There are moments of doubt but deep inside... he's still just a child." He walked up the stairs, giving up halfway through and sitting down, burying himself in the thick cloak. "But... already? Shimori's hasn't been this dangerous in years..." he peaked through the window, seeing the white-haired boy, strolling through the paths.
Morio, now with some excitement, hopped around town, making his way back towards Victoria's apartment. He hummed a song, then sang some of its lyrics.
"Down the mountain, up the river's flow... lies a purple land filled with snow... where cold is warm and trees are home... where people sing and seeds are thrown..." he continued with the melody, before stopping suddenly. He spotted an open Jile-wood log, with a yellowish tint to its heartwood. He squinted his eyes in disgust. Morio still hates the colour yellow.
He looked back at the log, shaking his head. He found himself on the familiar road that for the past year always led him to the same house.
Morio trailed the path, and opened a door, seeing a woman dressed in darker colours, wiping a wet cloth over Gloria's face. She glanced at Morio for a moment, before leaving through another door. Morio smiled at her and then sat down on the same chair as he always did. Old and creaking, but still doing its job.
He put his hands together and murmured something under his nose. "Shin... are you there..?" he stopped his normal prayer and reached out from his heart. "It's been a year since my mama fell asleep. I don't know if I'm ready to leave without a few words of courage from her. Without the same tea, she'd always make me. Without her tucking me into bed... I don't know if I'm just ready to leave without her. Please... if there's something you could do to wake her up, or... slow down time so I still have some to think all this through..."
"Morio?" Bancho stepped inside. "I wanted to ask you something-" he stopped, seeing tears rolling down Morio's cheeks. "Oh, um."
"Come in, it's fine..." Morio sobbed, wiping off the tears from his face.
Bancho sat on the other side, putting his hand over Morio's. "I'm sure that she will wake up one day."
"Mmh... me too." Morio nodded. "She... will..." he covered his face.
"Hey. There's no giving up hope now." Bancho pushed away Morio's hand. Morio gazed back at Bancho. "That scar across your nose from that day. As long as it's there, I'm sure that Gloria will have all the energy to stand up and make a fuss about it," he smirked. "She always had something to complain about. She'd be so mad that something like that left you with this... wound."
Morio laughed a bit, snorting. "Yeah... she would."
Bancho moved back. "She's strong, and a Demonear, above all else. They're known to not give up as easily as one would think," he stated. "I'm sure that power runs in you as well, Morio."
Morio looked at the emblem attached to the necklace that was given to him.
Bancho clapped his knees and stood up. "...and about that question. Can you go get the Jile-wood for the ceremony?"
"Huh..?" Morio turned his head. "I'm not the youngest anymore. I can't."
Morians from the age of 7 gather the Jile-wood in groups of two. At least 100 of the small Jile-wood logs are needed for the ceremonies.
"I'm asking you to do it, though, aren't I?" Bancho continued. "Like you always did. You should ask Jyuzou to join you as well. I've seen a glimpse of that boy and he seems a bit moody. Might be a way to cheer him up."
Victoria added ingredients to a soup she was making, cut some of them up, mashed seeds into little bits and stirred them while they boiled. "Jyuzou, Morio!" she raised her voice. "The food's almost ready!"
"Morio isn't home," Jyuzou yelled out.
"Huh." Victoria turned around, sitting up on the table. "Can you go find him for me? I don't want it to go cold."
Jyuzou sighed, put down the red book and looked at its cover and title. 'Wonder Flora.' written and signed by Martin Baron. He looked at the scribbles in his journal, barely detailing the things he found around Mistwick. "Shimori is still full of different plants and flowers that I didn't see." he thought, fixing his glasses. Jyuzou stepped out of the room he shared with Morio and moved towards the door, lazily putting on his usual purple coat. As he reached for the doorknob, Morio flung the door open.
"Jyuzou! I got an idea!" Morio yelled out.
"Huh?" Victoria stuck her head out. "Save it for later, then! You have to eat dinner!"
"What idea?" Jyuzou asked.
"We'll go get the Jile-wood today! Mr Bancho personally asked us to! Come on, it will be fun!" Morio jumped up. "As we did... once... last year!"
"Um... I..." Jyuzou scratched his head.
"Did you not hear me, Morio?" Victoria squinted her eyes, crossing her arms.
"Ah, sorry! Of course, Mrs Victoria! We will eat first! Come on, Jyuzou!" Morio pushed him towards the round table.
"Morio..." Jyuzou whispered, sitting down. "Aren't the younger ones supposed to take care of that?"
"It's a different case now..! Let's just do it... come on, come on!" Morio shook his head, as Victoria put down two wooden bowls in front of the boys and one on the other side of the table. She sat down and breathed out, stretching her arms.
"Why are you excited about physical work? It's a hassle, nothing else." Jyuzou asked.
"Why do you have to be so negative? It'll be fun! We can compete and see who gets more!"
"I'm not playing your stupid games!"
"So much work..." she muttered, digging in.
Morio and Jyuzou began eating in relative silence. After a while, through halfway of Morio's meal, he turned to Jyuzou, tapping his elbow twice. Jyuzou ground his teeth, annoyed.
"What?!" he uttered, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Please..!" Morio said, with some of the soup still in his mouth, and stuffing in more with a spoon.
"No! I'm tired, and I still have to find an actual Callothia today!" Jyuzou stated.
"It will be fun..!"
"Grow up already, won't you? Why didn't you change?" Jyuzou asked, and Morio's expression immediately shifted, from a prominent smile to a rather confused frown.
"Jyuzou..." Victoria said, putting both of her hands on the table.
"Why are you the same as last year? I mean, you're setting out for a Demonear test tomorrow, and yet you're nothing but a foolish child!"
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