The forest remained, the sky starting to glow in a sort of light blue. Midday was upon them, Shulk's watch ringing out to signal the fact it was 12 o' clock, and they were getting accustomed to the strong smells of the forest. A few paths crossed theirs, Shulk noticing none of them, and the map wasn't marked in that direction. Apparently, they had walked ( and they ran like wild hogs at random intervals ) about 3 miles in the past hour or two, Shulk mumbling something about good progress before they all sat down to take a brief break, Shulk nearly passing out from the heat they had endured. It was strange, the further in one direction they went, the hotter it became, and even Shulk hadn't felt any heat like this in the middle of winter.
"Mm. Ike, it's gettin hot, my phone says that it's about 77°, and it's the middle of winter." Link said, placing his phone in a pocket he had strapped onto his belt. Ike rose his eyebrows, glancing over their area. Robin and Shulk had taken to undressing to either their underwear or to the clothes underneath their jacket and boots; Link was sitting on a stump shirtless, scabbard resting beside him; Zelda and Roy rested under trees, Roy making puddles everywhere as he sweated literal gallons. Ike frowned and held onto a small canteen, the water inside almost empty, save for a few inches left,"Damn, it wasn't that hot a few days ago. It's like the further we get to the next city, we find ourselves being burned alive, not to mention it's winter." Ike said, leaning back against the tree he was resting on. Reflet nodded, her coat and winter boots taken off like Robin's, but she was fanning herself with a tome. It was, in fact, a truth they had to realise. It was like trying to find someone while playing Hot and Cold; they knew they were getting hotter and hotter, and when they got there they might as well expected a burning volcano, magma burning them alive and giving them a flaming death, and Roy probably wouldn't make it halfway there without dying.
Ike stood, making his way over to the groaning redhead who Zelda was vigorously fanning, even using a few ice spells to make sure he stayed cold,"Hey, Roy." Ike said, stopping in front of the redhead and placing his hand on their head. Roy grunted in a sort of response, moving himself so he could look at Ike without having to lean his head up even more; Ike moved his hand, Roy's head feeling as if it was cool, but he knew that Roy was much warmer than that,"You want to continue?" He said, moving to situate himself further than the redhead before he fried him alive with his body heat that came from him like steam from boiling water. Roy moved to sit up fully, his back now against the heavily scented bark of the pine,"If it means finding my father, then I would." Roy said, a determined glint in his eyes being replaced by a content one as Ike nodded,"Well, this is the only chance you had, so, um, yeah." Ike said, moving away from the tree Roy and Zelda sat at, choosing to walk back into the sun filled path and toss sunscreen at Robin and Reflet.
[NOON]
Ike stood, the group's break ending short as Ike stood suddenly, eating some dried meat that he had packed in a bag. It was peaceful, the birds deciding to pick a fight over his dried meats more than once, but besides that, it was calm. Zelda had found a way to keep a strong ice spell on Roy for a day or two, vanquishing Ike's worry about the heat, but making him worry about the cold,"He does get too cold once his body temperature gets below 69°, so keep an eye on him, okay?" Ike said, a deep frown on his face as he stared at Zelda. The princess made a face before Reflet placed a hand on her shoulder,"We will, trust me." She said, glancing up at Zelda's unreadable expression. Zelda stiffly nodded, something that she had obviously been taught when she was a child, or she simply learned it by herself. Roy sensed the mood and frowned lightly, rushing up beside Ike and pressing his hand to the indigo haired teen's arm,"Ike, don't be so rude to Zelda. I know you worry about any more of us dying, but we'll be fine; trust my instincts, please?" Roy said, his eyebrows turned upwards as Ike ripped his arm away from the deathly cold touch,"Fine." Ike said, glancing over to the forest beside the entire group, but this time it was away from Roy and the others.
The sky had many hours left in it, about 9 or 10, Link had decided. Reflet had even dragged out an almanac she had "borrowed" from Ryu before they left. The wind was once again capricious as it changed its direction every time Ike turned. Roy suddenly turned towards a bush, their plans to head out soon being put to another pause,"Ah, wait." He murmured, slowly dragging out a sword he dubbed "Sword of Seals" because he opened the seal to a letter he had gotten from Young Link ( the thing arriving right before Ike awoke from his peaceful rest ) with it. Reflet seemed to have a habit of releasing a giggle she had every time she heard the name, and Ike had a habit of making an incredulous face as soon as Roy shouted the name of the blasted sword.
The bushes rustled some more, a fierce snapping sound resounded through the air before Roy shouted a battle shout, his eyes wild as he slashed a creature in half. Zelda made a deep face filled with emotion before she, on impulse, struck it with a deadly shock of lightning. Roy jumped back, arms flailing wildly as he leapt backwards, Shulk catching the small redhead in his arms before he fell to the ground. The hilarious thing was how Shulk had caught Roy without moving, he simply extended his arms and waited for the redhead to make touchdown. Ike let out a ghost of a laugh, the body of the destroyed creature flashing in his mind as he did so, making him end it in a haunting whisper.
Roy flushed a bright red and scrambled from Shulk's arms, eyebrows furrowed,"You can't just catch someone bridal style and play it off with a straight face!" He shouted, frantically brushing himself as if he had cooties. Shulk allowed a light smile to show on his face before he picked up another satchel, adjusting it on his bare shoulder before he looked on towards the path they were supposed to walk. Ike rubbed the front his face, bringing his hand through the messy indigo that rested atop of his head,"Okay. Okay, so lets go, okay?" He said slowly as of testing his voice for the first time. Link frowned and nodded slowly, Roy following in a rush after the Hylian. They hadn't waited for Zelda and the others to follow, so Ike did it. Roy let out a small shout for Ike to hurry up before Ike grabbed the last satchel, the one filled with weapons, and followed.
Each step he took, the glowing yellow sword grabbed his attention, making him frown and glance away from the bag. Okay, he would only use it for its power; not its comfortableness nor how peaceful it felt in his hands. That was the deal he had with an object that could neither agree nor disagree. How peaceful, he had just made a deal with a weapon that could probably kill anything he braved against. It left a dry taste in his mouth as he walked alongside the group, the trees seeming to become different as they continued on, choosing to stare more at the sword he already had.
"It was settling enough how the world was playing a game relating to Marco Polo with them, but now they found themselves traversing through woods that hold many unexpected secrets in its corners, yet they continue to search for their loved ones as if they're still alive," they mumbled, crossing their legs and frowning at the ground with a deep frown.
"how pitiful."
I swear to u that I forgot to add Pit to this chapter, and now that I edit it, I'm mad at myself. Pit's in the next one though, don't worry.
All I have to do is edit the rest of the chapters, and then I can be done with this for a while ( I still need to edit the first few chapters, maybe even redo them ), or a least as long as I'm allowed. Anywho, enjoy this.
