AN: Hope you are enjoying the story so far, thanks for reading! :)


The next morning, before the sky had even begun to lighten, I was awakened by Avani shaking my shoulder. "Hey, sleepyhead. Time to get up and head out," she said as I drowsily opened my eyes. She looked disgustingly refreshed and energetic. "Good morning," she added cheerily.

"Nng," I groaned. "Good morn… no. Just… no. It's not even light yet, so I'm going to go with 'bad night' instead."

She looked surprised as she asked, "Oh? Didn't sleep well?"

"Yeah, well, someone was a little loud last night, so no, not the best night's sleep ever," I replied testily.

"Ahhh, I see. Jealous?" she replied, teasingly.

Recovering some of my good humor at the prospect of yanking her chain, I replied, "Well, so what if I am?"

"You wha…?" she said, looking at me uncertainly, blinking in surprise.

"So jealous that you two slept so soundly afterwards. Why, what did you think I meant?" I asked innocently.

"Ugh," she replied, grabbing a cushion and smacking my head with it as I laughed at the look on her face. "Save it for later, we really need to get a move on. And Leon—you can tease me all you want, but if you tease Dylas about that even just a little teensy bit, I will never forgive you. He can't take it like I can."

"Yeah, sure…." I said with a mischievous grin, "Hey, seeing that he has a mane and tail, can I ask him if he's also hung like a…"

"Leon!" she shrieked, smacking me again, harder, as I laughed. "Don't you dare!" She stood up and gave me an exasperated glare. "Breakfast is in 5 minutes. Be there or we'll leave you behind." And she turned and stalked out the door.

I threw on my clothes as fast as I could and arrived just as she was dishing up. She gave me a quelling glance and placed a plateful of kippers, toast, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, and sliced fruit before me, and another at her place. She set a large bowl of thick porridge and a pitcher of cream before Dylas, then poured coffee for all of us. She sat down and we dove in, eating quickly and in focused silence.

Afterwards, Dylas and I cleared and washed up while she set about packing the bags she'd designed and made for her wolf. First, though, she quickly filleted a fish, carefully removing the bones, and gave the raw fish to the beast to eat from a plate set on the kitchen floor while she packed. I was surprised by the delicacy with which the large monster ate his meal.

When the wolf was done eating, Dylas picked up the plate from the floor, stopping to pet his large shaggy head and scratch his ears as he did so. "So, he's pretty friendly, huh?" I asked as I watched him.

"Well… no, not really," he replied. "Only to people he knows well. He's accepted me pretty well, because I'm here so much, I guess. And because, well, I suppose I smell a little like Avani—or she smells a little like me. And he knows Venti and the butlers well, and a few of her closest friends. But if a stranger were to walk in when he's on guard duty here… well, it wouldn't be pretty."

"I came down in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, and he was lying just where Avani had told him to lie down, but he was awake and alert, watching every move I made," I commented as the wolf trotted out to the main chamber in response to his mistress's call.

"Yeah, you're pretty lucky. If he hadn't seen that Avani welcomed you in her home, he'd have been at your throat," Dylas said drily.

"I guessed as much," I replied, setting down the last of the dried dishes. "Well, if I'm going to be camping with him, I'd better get acquainted so that he doesn't decide I'm a threat in the middle of the night sometime."

"Yeaaah…. Better let Avani take care of that, though. She's amazing with animals," Dylas suggested as we walked towards the main chamber.

Avani was just fastening the closure on the second of two bags—similar to the saddlebags that horses used, but modified in size and shape to rest on a wolf's frame better and to be attached to a harness. She called to the large wolf, who lay before the fire watching her, and he came quickly, frisking like an oversized puppy. She played with him for a few minutes, then ordered him to sit. She scratched his ears when he obeyed, then fastened his harness around him as he sat still, tail thumping like crazy. She attached a pack on either side of the harness, then strapped the bedrolls to the harness across his back. With that, he was ready to go. We fastened on our armor, grabbed our equipment and packs, and we were off.

The sky was just turning light to the east as we left the gates and headed towards the sunrise. We had armed ourselves, since one never knew what you might meet out in the wilderness, such as crepuscular beasts of prey. We made our way cautiously to the ruins of the old Water Shrine, then turned south as Doug had instructed.

By midday, we'd discovered what we thought must be the path towards Sercerezo Hill, only to find it completely blocked by an odd cluster of trees. We stopped for lunch and to examine the terrain. "This looks pretty artificial to me, especially given that the Sechs apparently have been using this road until very recently," Avani said, studying the grove with a scowl of concentration as she munched an apple. "Well, there's no helping it. It'll have to be cleared," she said, tossing the core into the bushes and wiping her fingers on her skirt.

"Allow me, Princess—I have been assigned that very task!" We all jumped, startled, only to find Avani's personal butler, Vishnal, trotting along the path towards us. That explained the lack of reaction from Baldur, I thought—he knew the eager young man was a friend.

"Stand back and let me handle this for you!" he said as he drew two sturdy machetes. With our mouths agape, we watched as he dashed forward, slashing and hacking at the slender young trees until they were felled.

When he was done, he was panting and dripping sweat, but he'd cleared a path through in what must have been record time. "There, that should do it. Now you can continue on your way, Princess," he said cheerfully.

"Is… is that something you actually train to do as a butler?" I asked in astonishment.

"Well… Mr. Volkanon instructed me especially, so maybe not exactly—but we butlers do whatever it takes to help our masters!" Vishnal replied with a wink .

"Wow, Vishnal," Avani said slowly, looking amazed. "That's… that's incredible. Really. Tell Volkanon I'm very impressed. And thanks! You saved us a lot of time and effort!"

"Of course—it's my duty and my pleasure to be of any assistance to you, Princess!" And he took off back up the path to the north.

"What the hell?" Dylas said, finally regaining use of his tongue. "Did that really just happen? Or am I still asleep?"

Avani looked at him with amusement, and said teasingly, "If you were still asleep, you'd be in my soft, warm bed with your arms around me. Are you? No? Then it must have really happened!"

Dylas flushed deep red, then shouldering his pack again, said, "Shut up! Let's get going. And let's hope that commotion didn't attract any unwanted attention." And with that, we were on the road again.

We crossed a bridge over a deep ravine and found ourselves in a land very different from the one we had just left. For some reason, some of the lands in the area had only one season all year. It had not been that way in my day, and I found the change very curious. I'd asked Kiel about it once, as he was well read in myths and legends—he'd said only that he thought it had to do with some of the fairies that had begun to appear a few centuries ago. There were some tribes of the fey that had evolved to specialize in one or another of the elemental magics, and they had likewise formed a strong preference for a particular season. Once they became established in an area, the surrounding region would be permanently stuck in whichever season was that tribe's preference. For example, he had said, the red fey specialized in Fire magic and preferred the weather and climate of autumn. So when they became established in the area west of the Selphia Plains, the surrounding environs no longer had any seasons other than autumn. Because of that, it had eventually come to be known as the Autumn Road.

Sercerezo Hill was locked into a permanent springtime, with groves of cerezo trees eternally pink with fragrant blossoms, fields of flowers dotting new green grass, and mild spring weather. It was a lovely place—if you were just on a lark, at least. When we reached the far side of the bridge, Avani spotted some fluffy white woolies grazing and napping in a sunny meadow. She told Baldur to stay, and to my surprise, he did—dropping down on the warm grass and completely ignoring the small monsters ahead.

Avani slowly approached the nearest, who was grazing sleepily. She reached out a hand to stroke it… and the next moment was knocked flat on her keister. "What the…?" she exclaimed, startled. The small creature turned and lowered its head, preparing to crash into her again. I quickly cast repeated Double Sonic spells, catching the hostile creature in their blades and returning it to the Forest where it belonged.

Dylas scowled at her as he strode over to help her up. "Idiot! What did you think you were doing?" he scolded as she dusted herself off.

"Well… they were just so cute. And I've never had a wooly attack me like that before!" she protested.

"Dumbass. That wasn't a wooly—that was a schmooly. Can't you tell the difference? Schmoolies are bigger, hostile, and a lot tougher than their tamer cousins. Geez, it's a good thing we came along—you're just too naïve to be on your own, no matter how strong you might be!" he said, still scowling at her, his arms crossed over his chest.

She opened her mouth, an angry look on her face, but then she checked her retort and closed her mouth. After a minute, she said, "You're right, Dylas. It was stupid of me. And I am glad you're here. Thank you."

Caught off guard by her sudden capitulation, he stammered, "Oh, uhh… well then. I-It's no problem."

Avani turned to me, saying, "And thanks, Leon, for dispatching it for me."

"Oh, no problem," I replied with a wicked grin. "Though I'm sorry to send off something so cute as it was adorably kicking your butt. Oh! Look! There's another one over that way—maybe it can help you sit down again if you give it a friendly pat-pat!"

"Oh, shut up!" she replied, trying to frown, but unable to help laughing. "Haven't you ever seen something so cute that you just couldn't resist petting it?"

I walked over to her and patted her on the head, grinning as I said, "Well… maybe I have. Just once." She turned bright red, and grabbing her bag, she called Baldur to her.

We continued on a ways farther, clearing out several small but surprisingly tough monsters from the area. Then we stopped in a small meadow surrounded by a stand of sweetly-scented cerezo trees and decided to set up camp there. The shadows were lengthening by then, and soon it would be twilight.

Dylas had already claimed the job of camp cook, so he got to work, setting up a large fallen tree trunk as a makeshift work table. As Avani removed Baldur's baggage, she asked me to start a fire while she cleared the site. She whisked around, moving quickly as always as she brought me stones to make a fire ring, pulled greenery from the surrounding area, and stacked small branches for kindling close by. Then she grabbed an axe and strolled off in search of larger logs, her faithful wolf at her heels, and returned a short while later, both of them carrying loads of large branches and logs. She made a few trips in total, returning each time with more logs and branches. She placed the three largest logs around the fire ring to use as benches, then she quickly chopped the rest into firewood. Meanwhile, Dylas prepared a simple stew, simmering it in a heavy pot suspended from a tripod over the low fire. As he stirred the stew watchfully, Avani brewed a pot of coffee and sliced some dense bread.

When the stew was ready, she pulled out three bowls, then an extra large, shallow bowl. "Hungry?" I asked with an amused look. She just rolled her eyes and ignored me as she ladled piping hot stew into the large dish, then moved to one side to stir and blow on it as Dylas filled the other bowls. He poured three mugs of coffee and set slices of bread on the edges of each bowl. By then, Avani decided that the stew in the large bowl had cooled enough, and she placed it on the ground before Baldur. She stroked his head, and he licked her hand appreciatively before sniffing at the bowl. I watched in fascination as he reached his huge muzzle down, delicately picked out a chunk of something, flicked it up into the air and caught it neatly, devouring it quickly. Avani noticed me watching, and laughed, saying, "I don't really need to cool it at all—Baldur knows how to cool his own food to the temperature he likes. The hotter it is, the higher he tosses it. I've never seen him burn his mouth. But I do it anyway, just because."

We sat on the logs around the fire as we ate. The stew was quite delicious—I was impressed at Dylas's skill, and I even told him so. He smiled—a rare genuine smile—and said he'd learned a lot from Porcoline, though he thought he still had a long ways to go.

Avani finished first, then rose and grabbed a pair of large skins she had brought for water. She'd filled one earlier while searching for wood, but it'd been emptied in the course of meal preparation and for a drink for her wolf. She told us to stay and finish our meals while she took Baldur for his walkies and fetched more water. Dylas looked uncomfortable at the idea of her heading out in the dark with only her wolf, but nodded agreement.

"His 'walkies'?" I asked after she had vanished into the twilight shadows.

"Yeah…." he replied slowly. "Trust me, if she ever asks you to take her pets on walkies with her… don't. Especially the big ones. And if you do go anyway, be very careful where you step…."

I grinned at him, saying, "Sounds like pretty specific advice there."

"Yep," he replied, swiping up the last of the gravy in his bowl with the last of his bread as I laughed.


Disclaimer: Rune Factory 4, most locations and many of the characters in the story, and the game's plot belong to Neverland Co. and XSEED Games. The story plot and some characters and locations are my own invention.