“Aero! Where are you?!” Kiso yelled out.

He was standing on his porch, still clad in his starred pajamas. Aero went missing when he woke up that late afternoon. So, naturally, he went out from the comfort of his bed and searched for his husky pup.

Kiso frowned. It had been a habit of Aero to go out of their cabin and go to the Enchanted Forest. He would venture out when Kiso was asleep and would come back covered with fairy glitters or mud.

But it was the Elysionth season now.

An entire month was dedicated to unpredictable weather, season, and every other circumstance. Kiso worried that Aero would get caught amongst the weeds or fall into quicksand.

“Aero! Come back!” Kiso yelled again, cupping his hand to his mouth while the other was holding a can of Aero’s favorite food. “I have Captain Huskies!”

Kiso’s lips went thin when even the sound of Aero’s quick footsteps couldn’t even be heard by him. He sighed deeply and hunched his back.

That little pupper is so spoiled sometimes. Should I get a leash?

Kiso shook his head with a chuckle. No matter how naughty Aero got, he would always be caved in by the puppy’s eyes. Kiso was even holding a can of the most expensive dog food in his hand. That can could feed him for two days but he spent his money on it just for Aero.

Having decided that the puppy wouldn’t come to him simply by him yelling for him, Kiso put on his pair of slippers and ventured out into the woods himself.

The 5’2, sleepy white-haired man in his early 20’s was forced to grab his puppy in the afternoon. It was a hassle but it was also a routine for him.

He passed by a pristine mansion and walked along the gated lawn. The mansion was a sight to behold for a first-timer but since Kiso had lived in the same area as Arkin for more than a decade, he just gave the security cameras that were following his movements a middle finger.

He knew that Arkin was watching behind the cameras and it satisfied him to a degree that the man would scowl every time he flipped him off. Kiso was still mad at Arkin when the man destroyed his tricycle when they were kids.

Arkin was someone that not even a person could say normal. Except for Kiso apparently. Arkin was the town’s or even the country’s beloved superhero. He had the looks, the powers, the charisma, and even the built. Everything about him just screamed "powerful".

He was, after all, an actual superhero.

Arkin could fly, shoot lasers from his eyes, super strength, psychokinesis, teleportation, and so much more that not even the researchers could identify all of them.

Well, having a superhero as a neighbor was a normal thing for Kiso.

Even a nosy one at that.

So, it wasn’t a surprise to Kiso when the owner of the mansion himself flew out of his home and greeted Kiso at the gate. He flashed his signature heroic smile to which Kiso ignored by not acknowledging his existence.

“A beautiful day, isn’t it, Kiso?” He asked, grinning.

Kiso ignored him and trudged forward. Arkin didn’t take the hint—per usual—and followed Kiso by hovering beside him.

“I saw Aero passing by here an hour ago. Are you perhaps, trying to find him?”

“…”

“I can help you if you want. It’ll take literally 10 seconds. You can wait at my home while I get—”

“No thanks.” Kiso abruptly replied before clicking his tongue upon noticing his dirtied pants.

“Wow! That’s the first sentence you said to me since last week! I’m honored!” Arkin exclaimed, truly appreciating that Kiso was talking to him despite trying every day.

Kiso pegged the man as a pushover due to this type of thing that he always did. He didn’t know as to why someone as busy and renowned as Arkin would even try to strike up a conversation with him. Kiso was a nobody. Arkin was a national hero.

“Are you sure you don’t want my help? He’s on top of the tallest tree, you know?” Arkin pointed out, having used his clairvoyance skill to locate where Aero was. His eyes were glowing pink as he stared out at the forest.

God knows what he does with that skill…I better close my curtains from now on…

“Don’t you worry!” Arkin said. “I’ve never used my powers for such revolting things. You have my promise.”

“Don’t read my thoughts.” Kiso deadpanned.

“Sorry…I’ll stop using it on you from now on,” Arkin said.

Kiso didn’t react much but he was grateful that Arkin was saying that. As much as he hated the man, Arkin was someone that never uttered lies, especially to him. If Arkin said that he wasn’t going to read Kiso’s thoughts, he wasn’t going to until the day that he died.

“But…are you sure you don’t want my help?” Arkin asked, frowning as he looked down at Kiso. The white-haired man was so much shorter than his towering 6’2 height. Plus, he was levitating off the ground.

“I can deal with it myself,” Kiso assured, getting really annoyed at Arkin now. To get rid of him, Kiso fished inside his pockets and pulled out a canned corn. It was the last of his stock and he really wanted to eat it. In the end, he shoved it at Arkin’s chest and walked away. “Here.”

Confused, Arkin just stared at Kiso until he disappeared into the Enchanted Forest. The can in his hand was cold despite it being inside Kiso’s pocket for a very long time. He didn’t even question why there was even a can inside his pajama pants in the first place.

Kiso was just really…random.

*

The Enchanted Forest was monstrous in size. It was the biggest and deepest forest in the town of Lake Lakepo. Anyone who ventured inside the forest would find themselves lost unless they formed a good relationship with the trees or the fairies living in there.

Luckily for Kiso, he was already familiar with almost everyone inside the forest. A few fairies that were flying here and there greeted Kiso by flying around him a couple of times, coating him in fairy dust.

“Hey, you guys,” Kiso said, smiling and dusting off the glitters. The fairies replied by the sound of chimes. Kiso couldn’t understand what it meant but he knew that they were happy to see him. “Have you seen Aero? I’m trying to find him.”

The fairies replied by forming a glittered arrow pointing deep into the forest. Kiso gratefully thanked them before venturing further into the forest. Beams of lights pierced through the forests’ leaves, illuminating Kiso’s path.

Since it was Elysionth season, a few seconds after his walk, Kiso was faced with a literal winter. He looked behind him and it seemed that it was spring season that he just walked through.

His breath created smoke and his cheeks flushed bright red. He wasn’t particularly cold though. It was a thing that his body did. He was never cold, hot, or even felt pain.

His mother once told him that he had the body of a God and he laughed at her joke.

Even a God could feel pain…

So, why wasn’t he?

Kiso pondered at the thought a few moments longer before he stared at the falling snow around him. He was mesmerized at what Elysionth season could do. It was unpredictable and dangerous. Kiso never heard of the news that didn’t mention a few deaths due to this season. It was dangerous to even walk a few minutes to the store and back.

But sometimes, the Elysionth season could bring along this type of scenery to Kiso. It was rather…comforting and beautiful. The snow fell from the sky and landed on his shoulders. Some fell on his hair but since it was the same color, one could not distinguish between them.

As Kiso walked along the chilly, snow-coated forest, he put his palm flat and tried to capture the snowflakes onto his hand.

If only Aero was here…

The thought of his puppy brought Kiso out of his reverie and he hurried his footsteps deeper into the forest.

“Aero!” he yelled. “Aero, where are you?!”

Kiso was deeper in now and noticed that the snowy path ended and it began with a new one. This time, Kiso couldn’t shake off his goosebumps when walking through this type of season.

It wasn’t even a season, to begin with.

The people called it: Cursed Gigantification.

As the name suggested, every non-living thing that couldn’t breathe would be five times the size of its original. Everything around Kiso was so huge that he couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

The trees were extremely tall and big that not even one source of light could pass through. It was dark and windy at the same time. Vines and roots were big enough to rival Kiso’s small cabin. He had to jump carefully over the roots to continue his journey.

He didn’t care about his dirtied clothes now. All that he thought about was Aero’s safety and whereabouts. He remembered Arkin saying that Aero was on top of the tallest tree in the forest and that made his heart beat fast.

Aero… Please be safe…

Kiso ran further into the forest but it didn’t seem like the Cursed Gigantification would stop any minute now. It was more like it was getting thicker and bigger.

“Aero! Aero!” Kiso yelled out until his throat hurt.

He was on the verge of tears and his palms were scraped all over with his knees visible. He had fallen from trying to climb one of the tree roots. It tore his pajama pants. Nevertheless, he still wasn’t planning on stopping as he was too scared for Aero’s safety.

As he desperately called out for the puppy, he heard a familiar sound from afar. Kiso’s head turned so fast that it could give him whiplash.

It was the sound of Aero’s meow.

He had heard a faint sound but it was enough for him to pick up his pace and ran toward the source. Up ahead, Kiso saw a colossal tree that was separated from the rest of the trees.

He remembered Arkin’s word. Aero was at the top of the tallest tree in the forest. It was the truth. As Kiso approached the colossal tree, he had to crane his head but even then, he still couldn’t see the top of the tree.

He cupped his mouth together before yelling.

“AERO! ARE YOU UP THERE?!”

Kiso was praying so hard that Aero was up there. Arkin wouldn’t lie. That man didn’t get any advantage by lying to Kiso like that. He knew that Arkin wanted Kiso to have a good impression of him. However, Kiso couldn’t do that no matter how much he wanted.

It was as if his brain was wired to hate Arkin and never to engage in a good relationship with that man.

Nevertheless, Kiso was almost into tears when he heard the familiar meowing coming from up the tree.

“Aero!” Kiso choked up. “You worried me so much, you little bugger! Come down this instance!”

Kiso couldn’t see that puppy at all. The big tree swayed and falling leaves were covering the earth. Kiso waited for a few seconds before he heard Aero’s response.

“Meow.” [No.]

“You!” Kiso began to get angry. “I was worried about and now you’re showing an attitude! No more Captain Huskies for…for…FOR 10 MINUTES! That’s my final decision! If you’re misbehaving once more, I..I…um…I make…make you…I’ll only make you eat three pieces of donuts! No, make that only four!”

“Meow.” [Okay.]

“Ugh! Such attitude!”

Kiso was frowning as he stared up at the tree. He sighed before leaning against it. He really didn’t want to dirty his clothes that day since he didn’t have to work. He was planning on having a lazy day while rebuilding the robot that he found in his father’s stash last week.

That robot toy accompanied him when he was a little kid before Aero arrived to replace the robot. It had that life-like look to it but after Aero came into his life, Kiso completely forgot about it.

After going through his late parents’ stuff, he discovered the robot in dust and it wasn’t working at all. He wanted to use this day to fix it after he woke up but Aero just had to ruin everything.

Kiso stared at his mudded legs and the dirt covering part of his pants. He sighed again before pushing off the tree.

“Guess I have to climb this thing myself,” he said to himself.

Knowing who Aero was, he was probably taking a nap on one of the branches. His carefree attitude was something that he got from Kiso so that white-haired man was to blame a little for this.

Kiso began to latch on the tree, slowly climbing up the tree. The rough bark and texture caused his pajama pants to rip on the knee. It also created a cut on Kiso’s flesh.

His constant clutching on the tree was also making his nails bleed but Kiso never once grimaced. He was fine and looked rather calm as he climbed up the tree. A little bit of sweat but that was the only sign that he was struggling to climb up.

He stopped at the first branch and sat down on it. He curiously looked down and saw that he was already high up. It was maybe around 50 meters. Kiso stared at the wound all over his body like an innocent kid. He rarely hurt himself and the bright red blood made him question the state of his body.

He licked one of his bleeding fingers and gasped at the taste.

“Hahah! Taste like crawnewy juice!”

After a few minutes of swinging his legs, he stood and looked up. Even Aero’s silhouette was not present in Kiso’s view.

“That pupper must’ve been high up there,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

The total height of the tree was around 975 meters tall. Aero’s current location was around 502 meters up while Kiso was still at 50 meters.

It was going to take a long time to get to his pet.

Kiso didn’t care though. He started to climb up, occasionally stopping at one of the branches. Sometimes, he even took a short nap because he felt like he could do it.

Not long after, Aero's black and white fur could be seen by him.