Colette's heart had been hurting lately. Maybe because she knew that what she was doing was wrong But even as her heart pounded fiercely, nearly journeying into her throat, she kept following, holding onto Lloyd's hand as he helped her up the steep hill. The sun was in the other side of the sky, still burning bright and heating up her hair. To her right was a blanket of dead leaves that had strayed from the man-made path, and overarching oaks that she would only see from her bedroom window.

"Sure, you don't want to go back?" Lloyd asked her, though still gripping her fingers tight. It was long past their view, but somewhere behind them was the village gate, where the guards continued to be distracted, trying to shoo away a whining green-furred dog while a pair of children had slipped out the side, as quiet as they had ever been.

"No, I'm okay," she told him. Her heart was still beating, and her legs were aching from the strain. The hill was steep, and she kept fearing that she would fall. Though she wore boots, the same kind that she would wear when traveling the long stretch to the temple, she wondered if the rough terrain here would ruin them. And if her grandmother would notice. "I want to keep going!"

Lloyd smiled widely. His hair was messy after that tussle with a particularly angry squirrel, but he continued to lead her along. "Having Noishe here would make things easier, huh…"

She giggled at that, boots crunching against a few leaves that crossed her path. "Do you always walk through here for school? It seems really tough!"

"Eh, it's no big deal." Lloyd tried to shrug it off, but she caught the proud glint in his eyes. "I got used to it a lot anyway."

"Well, now I know why you fall asleep in class. This is already making me tired!" She took one step a bit too wide and nearly upended herself into the foliage beside her.

"Whoa, I got you." Lloyd's tone was reassuring, still holding onto her hand tight.

"Thanks," she breathed out. "I'm afraid I'll fall right off this hill…"

"You won't. The most you'll do is fall on your butt! Happens with me all the time." He shrugged again. "We're almost there anyway. This is what you wanted to see, right?"

Colette sighed in relief when they reached an even level of the land. The air tasted crisp against her tongue, bringing the scent of moss and pine. It wasn't the highest hill there was, but the forest still stretched out before her. In the distance were the cliffs, the winding road that led them here, and the brief hint of a chimney, a thin trail of smoke that snaked its way to the sky. Both loosened their grip. Colette brought both hands before her, mouth slightly parted as she continued to gaze.

She was opposite the village, with its small homes and humble crops. She was opposite the temple that overlooked an ocean that no one had any hope of traveling across – not with monsters lurking in the waters. She was here with something new and vast, where she could see birds travel from each tree and only imagine what was beyond the cliffs. It was not like she would have never seen such sights. The Chosen would travel the world eventually, but that was not for another five years. She would've had to wait until the end, when she wouldn't even have much time to –

"I think Noishe must have left the village by now," Lloyd said as he stood next to her. He had his arms crossed as he looked out over the same view, though minus the wonder that Colette was experiencing. "Argh, if he ran into that same squirrel, we probably aren't seeing him anytime soon though."

"Do you like it here?" she asked him suddenly. She brought her hands down, felt the wind pull at her hair gently, and brush against her neck. It was cleaner here. And quieter. No kids to yell out into the air, no grocer to sell his stock.

"I like Iselia, yeah! I mean, maybe the Professor could ease up a little bit, but-"

"No, I- I'm sorry." She suddenly felt ashamed for asking, but barreled through her nervousness, knowing Lloyd would only ask her. "Do you like it here?" She gestured to the landscape around them both, so overwhelming, so full of green. The world was dying and overrun with monsters, yet right here she felt everything was in sync. The priests had told her that she would need to save the world from destruction, but she had never really known just what the world even was.

Lloyd looked confused, head turning to see what she meant. The dirt, the trees, the view before them. "Um, I guess I like it okay?" He scratched behind his ear. "I already see it every day pretty much. And it gets really boring, since there's no one else that lives here besides my dad and Noishe. At least in Iselia, I can see you."

Colette looked out at the view again, her heart hurting, her heart tearing. "Did it use to mean something to you?"

Lloyd took a moment to be silent. It was unlike him, this boy whose voice could be heard from across the village, trying to find a hiding Genis as they played their games.

Something about the forest here reminded her of something. Maybe it was the scent of it, that scent he would bring with him when he made it to Iselia each morning.

Lloyd raised his eyes to the sky. It was still bright, the clouds drifting in slow-motion, like the mists over the sea when she would stay late at the temple. "It… it still means something to me. At least at night." He was remembering something, reminded of something, too. He left the skies to be back on the world with Colette, his eyes a little brighter. "You wanna keep going?"

By now, her grandmother would notice she had never made it to her lessons. But she immediately reached for Lloyd's hand, prompting him to move and take her further away. In a sense, she could understand why Lloyd felt the way he did. They made their way on the path, and sometimes the sights seemed to repeat. The undulating waves of the hills, and how the tips of the trees below them would sway like an ocean's waves. Dirk's home, which barely peeked through, broke the monotony, whenever she remembered to look back.

At a point, a snake hissed to her side. It stumbled out of a dense layer of leaves, seemingly surprised at its surroundings. Colette only moved back slightly, seeing the pattern on its scales – of black diamonds and corrugated dirt – for the first time. Lloyd made up for the rest, bringing her close to him as he reached for one of the wooden swords strapped to him. The snake didn't stay long, immediately delving back into the leaves, barely giving either of them a glance.

"…Was that poisonous?" she asked, feeling dumb. She felt like she should have been able to tell. The Professor must have explained it once.

"Uhh.." Lloyd himself was not having much luck. "I don't think so? I fought poisonous snakes and they looked different." A pause. "I think. Yeah."

Her heart was hurting again, but this time with something that made her fear, if only slightly. The Chosen was never allowed to leave the village because of this. A bad fall here, or an attack there. So many ways to die, all of them much too early. Her heart crushed within her as Lloyd took her hand again, away from the leaves where the snake must still be there. It was hiding, it was safe, and it didn't want to leave its home to go further than necessary. It was safe.

Something about this place made her want to fly.

They went down another steep slope, and Lloyd then decided to have them take a shortcut. It was through the brush, off the main path, and just down more uneven footing that made her less than steady legs even more so.

"I think you only met my dad once, right? He makes this cool thing called Dwarven Potluck Surprise! It's really good! And he hides stuff in it a lot, so it's like a treasure hunt with each meal!"

At this moment, he had let go of her hands, maneuvering his feet to go over a part of the slope that was ridged, lumpy, high enough to make Colette question. The soles of her shoes were too smooth. They'd slide over those ridges and throw her off.

"Colette?" Lloyd turned, seeing how she didn't follow him.

"I think… I don't know if I can do it." When she would travel the world, a protector would be with her. That's what her grandmother had told her. One to keep her safe until that time that she wouldn't be, not allowed to be. "I think I'm going to fall."

"Eh? It's only like, two feet." Lloyd still reached for her hand, his own shoes kicking up the fine grain of dirt into the air. "You're fine."

She wanted to fly, but she was afraid to fall. She only moved a step before she shook her head. "Can you hold my other hand, too? I'm sorry."

Lloyd was about to say something, but he only shook his head, and let her other hand find his own. "You dork. I already said you won't fall! You can't fall here! Not even you!" Holding both her hands now, Lloyd stepped backward, shoes balancing on those ridges before they could make it to flat land. "I mean, I might fall like this! I can't really see where I'm going, you know."

But still she kept a grip. Besides, the way he said it, mildly grumpy, mostly amused, got a laugh to sneak away from her mouth. Breaths left her as she stumbled awkwardly, going over the not at all high slope, yet still her heart squeezed when she saw a spot where she would have to make a tiny leap. Lloyd still held her as she did so, and she didn't even sway. Because the land was flat. Because the slope was not at all high or that unwieldy, like he promised. Because he held onto her. He still held onto her.

Lloyd's fingers slowly untwined, leaving a distance between their palms. "See? It was fine."

The world in the village was safer, warmer, and so much smaller when she stayed away from everything – until she was ready, and only when it was necessary. The world outside was overwhelming, but quiet, but loud like a hiss beneath the leaves. The world outside hurt her legs, and a sprained muscle is a detriment to one who needed to endure the trials in her unmarked perfection. Dirt stained her dress, her hair was damp, and she wondered if she was already feeling tired. She never moved this much, despite the training she had just started with her new chakrams, despite the hours she'd devote her time to reading, understanding angelic scrawls that was brought to mortals from up high.

She didn't mean to kiss him so soon. Everything has its time and place, and her time was only a few years from now. But she wouldn't get to see the outside with him like this for much after. She thought about what she would say to her grandmother. She got lost and wandered. Lloyd had found her, bringing her back to Dirk's home. Lloyd would be seen as a benefit, as someone to trust. Not someone that should be kept away from her.

Lloyd's eyes were still open when she pulled back. He looked to the side for a moment, then back to her. "Uh. Um."

She giggled, and her heart kept hurting. It felt alive. She felt alive. And she couldn't apologize for that this time. Lloyd did say she shouldn't need to so much anyway.

If they had been in the village still, Lloyd might have reacted differently, more embarrassed. But it was different out here, the feeling, everything. He hugged her soon afterwards, and whispered to her.

"Thanks for wanting to walk with me, Colette."

.

.

.

Her hands no longer felt the scrapes as she scrabbled over the rocks with the rest, and even her breath stayed the same, never tiring her as they would travel through the roads for a full day. But her heart was still hurting, and it was the one thing she clung to. That, and him.

She had her wings now. She could probably just fly over these rocks that were blocking their way. Genis almost fell over the side, and Raine was plunging her staff in the crevices to steady her own hold. Kratos lagged behind, only to watch out for any certain enemies that would try to sneak up on them.

Lloyd was next to her, holding out his hand. "Come on! We're almost there anyway."

They had continued sneaking out of Iselia long afterwards. Eventually, her grandmother would overlook it, especially once Colette carried her chakrams. She was able to catch up with Lloyd now, to not fear the steep hills as much, to get used to the sights enough that she would no longer stand there to take it in as much, instead catching up to Lloyd to continually move. Even once he grew taller, and could lift her off the ground easily, feeling the strength beneath his jacket from learning his father's trade. Still the scent of pine that pervaded around her, feeling more comfortable than when she would be alone. She told him once that she got nervous when he wasn't around, and the truth of that ran deep, making the end of the journey all the more frightening.

She couldn't feel his hand anymore, and there was nothing on her tongue, but at least her heart still pounded. She was still alive. For this moment. It was the most she could ask for.

He kept her balanced and steady, and she would cling to that for as long as she could.