The giggles of a child caught Azhar’s attention. Her eyes drifted from the road, her feet pulling her into the wintered rice field. The young girl twirled in the field, her blue and purple dress fluttering in a warm breeze. The girl waved her on.

  “Come on!” She exclaimed, another giggle escaping her. Azhar couldn’t possibly disappoint the child.

  She smiled. “Wait for me,” and followed her across the field. “Where are we going?”

  The little girl smiled back. “To—”

  “Azhar.” A male voice startled her. Her arm pulled back and she turned to a bronze tanned man, his black hair pulled back with two braids into a bun. His green eyes studied her, awaiting an answer.

  She recognized him. Who was he?

  Oh, yeah, she traveled with him now.

  “Taiga?”

  He nodded. That’s right, he knew about her. He was a safe person. “Where are you going?”

  “I was following the girl.” Azhar turned back towards the child, but lost where she’d gone.

  Taiga's eyes flitted over her, scanned the area, then returned to her. Those greens were gentle, inviting. She remembered, he was a safe person. “There’s no girl, Azhar.”

  Her mind blanked, and she turned back towards the field. A giggle rustled the trees.

  What was she looking for again?

  She turned back to the man. Ah, Taiga. Right. He’s safe. Beyond him, three people awaited them on the road.

  Who?

  Oh, she knew the blond one. Ellio. His face cried. Yeah. She needed to make him happy. That’s right. And the others were Mouse and Jule.

  “Let’s get out of the field and go back to the road, alright?” Taiga tugged her gently, and she let him guide her around burned stocks and dried mud.

  “Where are we going?” She couldn’t remember. She talked with an old lady. She’d lived on a boat when she was younger, and told Azhar tales of sirens.

  “Back to Winolin. We finished the boar hunting mission. We should get to the guildhall by mid afternoon.” Taiga recounted the events easily, which Azhar appreciated. She remembered a little now. Jule was covered in mud and Ellio woke up early to feed Ghost and Sweet Bun.

  And then Sweet Bun begged for food when Taiga got up, and he fed her thinking she hadn’t eaten yet. She remembered. For now, anyway. Her boots hit the road and a breeze swept over them. Her headscarf caught on the wind, pulling forward and she grabbed it in her fingertips to keep it from flying off.

  Taiga tensed in the chill, popping his collar and letting go of her hand. “Let’s get back to Winolin quickly. The cold is picking up, and I want to get in before the weather shifts.”

  “We should get in before then.” Ellio studied the sky as they began walking down the road again. Azhar followed suit, spotting darkening clouds on the horizon. “Looks like a storm tonight.”

  “Yessssssss,” Jule laughed, “the best time to read is upon ussssss!”

  “Why do you have to do that?” Mouse eyed her uneasily.

  Jule narrowed her eyes, a smile spreading across her face. “Do whaaaaaaat?”

  “That!” Mouse hopped a few steps away and beside Taiga. “You talk like a ghost!”

  Jule blinked at him. “I’ve never heard of ghosts talking like thiiiiiiiiisssssss.”

  “Ghosts don’t exist.” Ellio placated, stepping in front of Mouse’s glare.

  “I agree.” Taiga knocked an arm against Mouse, making him drop his glare. “There’s no ghosts.”

  Mouse mumbled something to Taiga, which he laughed to, and they continued on. Azhar couldn’t catch what they spoke about, and she drifted behind them. Sweet Bun rode up beside her, between she and the edge of the road. The linlao eyed her occasionally, and Azhar wondered if it was to make sure she didn’t wander again.

  Azhar reached a hand to the linlao, ruffling a few feathers beneath her chin. She’d thought the linlao and horse were emergency food supplies. But she suspected that was incorrect, since they were named and well cared for.

  Why did she think they would be food?

  She didn’t know. Or maybe she didn’t remember. Did Taiga say they were? Probably not, but she couldn’t be sure. She shrugged the confusion away. Sweet Bun was a good companion. If Taiga decided to eat her, maybe if Azhar remembered, she’d protect her. Yeah, it was a good idea.

  Her hand dropped to her side, Sweet Bun eyeing it. What was she doing?

  Ellio dropped back, turning to her. “Doing alright?”

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  What was alright? Azhar nodded, assuming that was the answer he wanted. Anything for what Ellio wanted. “You worried about me?” She smiled, leaning towards him and swishing her skirts around her.

  Ellio flinched a bit, looking away. “I mean, you’re traveling with us now, right? I worry about everyone?”

  “Hmmm?” She took several steps closer to him, finding his cheeks reddening a little.

  “Hey, just because Taiga accepted you, doesn’t mean you’re part of the group.” Jule snipped, stepping closer to Ellio to keep Azhar from stepping between them. “You know, we have a lot of sensitive information, and an important mission we’re on that can’t be divulged to any random person that comes along.”

  Azhar suspected some snootiness to Jule’s tone, which she brushed off. “Taiga,” she waited until he turned his attention towards her before continuing, “do I need to know so I can stay in the group?”

  He paused, halting his walk. “Ah, yeah, it’s fine. We’re trying to stop a magical imbalance from corrupting the Guardian Spirits.”

  Jule’s jaw dropped. “You can’t just tell her! It took ages before you told us!”

  Taiga shrugged and resumed walking. “What can I say? You’re not as trustworthy.”

  “Whaaaaaat??” Jule ran forward, grabbing his arm. “I am the most trustworthy person I’ve ever met!”

  Taiga laughed, rocking his head back. “Oh, you think so, do you?”

  “I think she meant ‘least’.” Mouse stuck half a tongue out at her when she scowled at him.

  “Besides, it’s fine. See?” Taiga pointed back towards Azhar, who walked along.

  She rocked her head to the side. “See what?”

  Jule studied her, before releasing Taiga and waiting for Azhar to walk closer. “You’re not shocked by the magical imbalance? Or the Guardian Spirits corrupting?”

  Was she supposed to be? Was this imbalance thing not typical? And who were the Guardian Spirits? She couldn’t remember.

  Azhar shrugged. “Isn’t it fine as long as we’re fixing it?”

  Jule let out an exasperated laugh. “I see what you did there. Adding yourself into the ‘we’re fixing it’ bit.”

  “We’re also killing the Guardian Spirits that corrupt, if we can’t save them.” Taiga walked on, not even a glance back at them.

  “Oh my Gods… Taiga! Blasphemy of the highest order! And! You’re! Just screaming it to the world??” Jule ran back at him, gripping his shoulders and shaking him. Mouse swatted her off.

  “What’s blasphemous? Are they hard to kill?”

  Ellio and Jule froze, staring at her, she supposed, unacceptable reaction. Whatever reaction they expected though, she didn’t know.

  “Are… you serious?” Jule eyed her, eyebrows scrunched together. “Do you not know what the Guardian Spirits are?”

  Azhar blinked at them. Well, she didn’t. But all aside from Taiga’s face showed that this was, in fact, something she should know. She opened her mouth to say of course she—

  A browned leaf fluttered past her. Her eyes followed it. Voices echoed around her, but the leaf only floated to the ground. Delicate in its landing, the edges decomposed and thinned. How beautiful such a simple thing was.

  “Azhar?” Jule leaned down, blinking into her face.

  “Yes?” Did she need something from her? Azhar tried flashing a smile, but it only caused Jule to raise an eyebrow at her.

  “Are… you alright?” Ellio pulled Jule back, leaning over and studying Azhar, who had squatted down beside the leaf at some point. What should she say? Of course she was, why would he think otherwise? Did she do something?

  “Let’s get going.” Taiga shifted beneath his cloak. “I want to be in Winolin by mealtime.”

  Mouse laughed, “sick of those biscuits finally, huh?”

  The two began on, and after stealing a last glance at Azhar, Jule turned away and followed their lead. “The soil sample should be done by the time we return.”

  “Soil sample?” Azhar picked her brain, trying to place those words, but she couldn’t.

  Ellio walked beside her. “Ah, right… you wouldn’t know. We took some soil samples of the areas around a rip and near where a Guardian Spirit corrupted. We’re testing them to make sure nothing mixed in that may be causing a magical imbalance.”

  She knew none of what any of that meant, but she nodded. This Guardian Spirit thing seemed to be important to them. “This will help figure out the corruption issue?”

  Jule nodded. “Hopefully. I guess it doesn’t matter to you, since you somehow don’t know what Guardian Spirits are.” She narrowed her eyes to Azhar before putting her hands on her hips and sighing. “You know, you’re odd. Not in a bad way. But I suppose you don’t know much, do you.”

  Azhar considered what the safest response to her was. Taiga looked back at them. He was a safe person. Maybe she could relax a little. She shook her head. “I don’t.”

  “Hmmmmm,” Jule hummed, turning back towards the road and hopping a few steps forward. “Basically, magic needs to stay balanced to keep everything around us running properly. When the magics shift out of place, or too much of one spreads, this causes an imbalance. Which, in simple terms, means the continent of Anu is breaking. Follow?”

  Azhar nodded. Seeing her affirmation, Jule continued, “good. To keep the magics in check, some creatures like the Ganakri and Guardian Spirits, act as rebalancers. This means it’s very hard for them to corrupt. If the Guardians are corrupting. Something seriously wrong is going on.”

  Ellio continued, “these soil samples will hopefully point us at least in the right direction of what’s causing this magical imbalance. And, ideally, helps us figure out how to help the Guardians.”

  Mouse turned around, walking backwards and facing them. “We’ll be heading to Leryn Forest in spring. There’s a Guardian who lives there that I want to make sure is safe. And if…”

  “We’ll find a way to help them before we leave Winolin. A way to save the Guardians.” Taiga nudged Mouse.

  “Speaking of…” Jule swayed from side to side, dancing around a crack in the road. “I think we should visit Haasundra.”

  “Where’s that?” Mouse asked.

  “The port city to the south. Second biggest city in Lanria.” Taiga replied before looking back at them. “Why?”

  “Being the biggest port city in all of Anu, traders and foreigners travel through there all the time! They would have books, research, even cures that we don’t know about here. I’ll even take folklore at this point.”

  “We could go there and see if any merchants or sailors know about a magical imbalance, too.” Ellio mumbled, tapping his chin with the side of his finger. “It’s possible people across the ocean know how to handle the exact problems we’re facing now.”

  “It’s a good idea but…” Taiga started, shaking his head.

  “What?” Jule sped up, trying to understand.

  “It’ll snow any day, Jule,” Mouse spoke for him. “Taiga can’t go anywhere once the snow starts. He’ll freeze.”