Jyuzou raised his voice. "If you weren't so i-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 is the sunny one, to be precise." he pointed up as if Morio didn't know that there was no tree above them.

Most of the riverside here found itself barren. Spare for a few bushes plastered here and there, the only thing Morio could focus on where the few Morians on the other side, chucking a few seeds into the stream, while others threw their long, specifically crafted for this occasion, spears to catch the few fish flying by.

"Unlike the one you almost ruined last Yule, it has a tasty, sweet seed at its top." 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. Figured that out just today?" he crouched, picking up the said seed and stuffing it inside his mouth,

"These are Stem flowers. One of the two that grow in Shimori's Yule." he put one book down. "They're similar to the second variant of Callothia, but their leaves have these little spikes, and its seed, in comparison, is poisonous. They're used for curing the flu," he sighed. "Almost shouted eureka there..." he muttered.

Morio spat something out, jumping mouth-first into a clear pile of snow.

"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 were full as if he were a Lignorian squirrel. He swallowed the snow and smiled awkwardly.

"No more distractions, then! I need to work so something like his doesn't happen again!" he screeched, before walking off, scribbling something. He stopped for a moment, as his eyes widened. "W-We will settle this tomorrow," he added.

"Eh?" Morio tilted his head. "First time I've seen you be the one declaring a rematch! Fine by my rules!"

"Hm." Jyuzou breathed out. "It's not that, idiot. You're leaving soon, aren't you?"

"Ah." Morio blinked a few times, turning to the bush he just stood in front of, before glancing back at Jyuzou.

"It's for my p-pride as a Morian. You're not going to Magna until I win!"

"Heh, then you'll have to keep chasing me until the ends of Errarion!" Morio raised his sword, triumphantly. "So, you've decided, eh?"

"I never said I wanted to be a D-Demonear," Jyuzou answered. "Idiot."

"I know, I know." Morio nodded. "I'll be fine though, don't worry," he added. "I'm not scared of anything, at least, not anymore!" he admitted, looking into Jyuzou's eyes, squinting, trying to make them out from beneath his shining glasses.

What he met was with a rather frustrated expression. It didn't speak of sadness, but Morio could never really read the other Morian.

Jyuzou shook his head before his eyes found themselves glued to the hill they just rolled off.

Cheers could be heard around town, followed by a horse's footsteps, stepping around the shallow snow. They were heavy but fast.

"What's with that commotion?" Morio asked, sticking the sword back into its sheath.

"D-Didn't Mr Bancho say that he wouldn't make it for this Shin Ceremony?" Jyuzou quickly asked.

"Yeah." Morio nodded. "Wait. Really? REALLY?!" he gasped, as both shocked expressions mutually met each other, at the very same moment.

The two jolted up the wooden stairs leading right back to the main part of Mistwick and moving past the well in the centre, a few of these fortress-like houses and glimpsing right at the other huts, resting on a hill, there he was, on his jet-black horse, raising a hand which greeted all the people either clapping or raising their voices.

Morio ran to the side, pushing through the people despite Jyuzou's warnings, and the horse eventually stopped, with the figure atop turning.

The young Morian breathed in and out, before looking up. "...and here I thought you weren't going to make it!" he raised his voice, smirking.

"There was a small change in the plan," Bancho announced, taking off the hood from his cloak. "I was going to come back at the beginning of Herbes, but I thought it'd be too much of a waste to miss the last ceremony of this year's Yule." he smiled, as Morio grinned.

"You sly bastard, Mr Bancho!" The Morian raised his voice, before almost jumping up on the horse's side. Bancho laughed, and some adults wondered if such name-calling was appropriate between a senior and that child.

Jyuzou stared from afar, a bit shocked, and a little jealous as well. He cleared his throat, before bumping into Victoria, who also waved in the man's direction.

"Where have you been?!" Morio asked, his hand reaching out towards the strands of Pearl's silky hair.

Pearl was the name of the trusty horse that Bancho took everywhere he went, whether it was a short trip to Wendigo or a long-distance journey to the deep, dark forests of Orawood. Despite its dark fur, Pearl was named after one of the brightest crystals, as Bancho believed that everyone and everything could shine.

She was a calm stallion, and the younger often played around with her tail, sat on her back or kindly asked (yelled out) to take them to their house. She 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 seventy days? I thought you weren't going to come back for a moment there!" Morio continued, glancing at him, as they rode through the town, amongst the cheers of many other Morians.

They moved past the mentioned hamlet, a few of the frozen fields for the season, a bigger structure atop a mountain stretching towards the Camp Forest, and yet again, right past the river.

"You start losing track of time as you age, Morio. This year, especially concerning everything, must've been a slog. For me, though? A blink of an eye, I'd say." he answered, gazing forward. "That won't change the fact that I always keep my promises, though. Either way, you guys seemed to have lived on well without my presence."

"Are you kidding?" Morio raised his voice. "Mistwick isn't the same without you!"

"Really?" he chuckled.

"I mean it, Mr Bancho!" Morio said. "Feels like there's not a person to talk to sometimes!"

"Jyuzou, Mrs Victoria?"

"Well! I can't train with them, though." Morio continued. "Jyuzou's a sly yuk after all!"

"Boy, oh boy," Bancho said, before turning to the stone sword hidden in Morio's sheath, and then to his smile.

Something spoke to the old Morian. Despite the wounds and the weight of everything that happened now a whole year ago, Morio has seemed to smile the same way he did back then.

Bancho too, beamed, brushing through his beard, which had grown 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!"

"I'm not planning on going anywhere."

"Did you forget, Mr Bancho?" Morio asked, a bit worried. "I set out for the Demonear exam next week!

Bancho's eyes widened, as he stared at the door, squinting his eyes. "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.

"Well, no time to cry over spilt glaska. Let's make it big tonight, then."

"Oh?" Morio suddenly lit up. "You mean, the ceremony?"

"Yeah." Bancho nodded. "Learned a new song from an old friend. Quite the heartthrob!"

Morio opened his mouth and raised his eyebrows, jumping up two times.

Bancho turned the triangular doorknob and stepped inside, closing it. He waited for a few seconds, peeking out the window, seeing as Morio ran through the snow, and fell over a few times, before breathing heavily and continuing his stroll, albeit a bit slower.

Then, he thought about all of it again.

Ever since Gloria fell into a coma, it's been harder and harder to make Morio smile. He was sure that his young and brave heart hadn't given up, but deep inside, within a few reasonable doubts, Morio was just a child. How much of that could've been attributed to his young age? And... was he trying to push away any of those other feelings?

He walked up the stairs, giving up halfway through and sitting down, burying himself in the thick cloak. He breathed out, before almost falling asleep, right there and then.

Morio hopped around town, making his way back towards Victoria's hut, placed smack-dab in the middle of the hamlet area, which was, unlike the mostly monotone wooden style of the rest of Mistwick, composed of red roofs, similar to those found in Magna.

Strangely enough, such a distinction came from one story in the Rightforth Passages, which was a book of reported stories about Shin's appearance, according to various Morians. The crimson was supposed to symbolize not blood, but the thick red fruits which would grow at the beginning of Dear, providing an alternative food source for the Morians. Lots of the huts, and much like Victoria's, had a small garden area, where the said plant always appeared.

As for Morio, he hummed a song and 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 a few jile-wood twigs, with a yellowish tint to its heartwood. He squinted his eyes in disgust, moving back a little, stumbling into a sign.

He stared at it for a second, before glimpsing up at the uphill road ahead of him. He found himself on the familiar path that always led him to the same house.

Morio followed the wooden logs at the sides, 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 on a chair, similar to the one he'd find at home. Old and creaking, but still doing its job.

He put his hands together and murmured something under his nose. "Shin... are you there?" he uttered a prayer. "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." he stopped for a moment. "I don't know if I'm 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."

He gulped, wiping a tear from from his face.

"Morio?" Bancho stepped inside. "I wanted to ask you something-" he stopped, spotting Morio's expression. "Oh, um."

"Ah." Morio shook his head. "It's fine, Mr B-Bancho!" he raised his voice, smiling for a moment.

Bancho sat on the other side, putting his hand over Morio's. "I'm sure that she will wake up one day."

Morio slowly nodded, breathing out.

"Hey. There's no giving up hope now." Bancho pushed away Morio's hand. The Morian gazed back at him. "That scar across your nose from that day. As long as it's there, I'm sure 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. The words from that night echoed in.

"You can always come home, Morio. When the real world gets too scary, or... if something doesn't go your way. Home will always be here, and I'll be there too."

Home was where she was, where Mistwick was, and there he'd be, leaving all his memories behind. Somehow, he managed to smile, even through those bad thoughts.

Home would always be there to come back to.

Bancho glanced, right as Morio stuffed the emblem back in, looking back at him.

"Bah. I was supposed to collect the jile-wood for the ceremony." Morio uttered, standing up.

Bancho clapped his knees, moving around. "Like you always did. You should ask Jyuzou to join you as well, he seems a bit moody. Might be a way to cheer him up."

"Heck yeah," Morio muttered, clenching a fist. "Maybe he'll win this competition, then!"