Hello again everyone! It really does not feel like a year ago that I first published this story, but it was so. I'm not going to make a big deal out of it, but I thought it was worth mentioning. I do want to extend a thanks once again to I apologize for the delay between chapters, after spending so much time working on it at once I was pretty burnt out. Either way, I figured that a whole month's break would be too much, so I started writing this about a week ago.

Reviews:

GlaceionFan: I am not sure that I am, I can't see it fitting in to the story. Yeah, I thought it was a nice tie-in for that. Well, I get reviews because a lot of people, including you, seem to like my work. I guess I kind of got lucky that people stumbled across my work, and found it interesting, which has paid off in the form of reviews. I really do appreciate everyone who leaves reviews, it always feels rewarding to check on the story and see that there is a new review.

Caitou zzzzzz: I felt that it would be too much fan service for there to be too much interaction. I am willing to admit that both characters are based on aspects of me, but not in a way that is self-insertion per say. Avery is idealized, everything I like about myself with none of what I dislike. Jacob has all the same flaws as me, besides a choice one or two. I took these things and then filled in the rest of their personalities off of what was there. Jacob would not seek to change what is, as he is resigned to his fate because of what Arceus told him, and he is too much of a reactive person to change it. He has great strength of will, but he rarely applies it.

I was lifted from sleep by a gentle prod from Miranda. "Wake up sleepyhead!" She said, smiling happily.

"You couldn't have let me sleep for a few more minutes?" I grumbled, but nevertheless got up, blinking in the bright morning light. "Has Cecile woken up?" I asked, a few seconds later.

Miranda's smile quickly diminished, becoming a slight frown. "No, not yet. She's in the same state she was last night." She said. "Anyways, the reason why I woke you up is because Bane and Frost want to talk with us." We lazily made our way downstairs, in no particular rush.

Bane was sitting at the table, staring blankly at a wall. Frost was pacing around the room. Bane straightened up in his chair, turning around as he heard us walking down the stairs. "Good morning!" Frost said, cheerfully.

"Good morning to you as well." Miranda said, politely. "So, what was it that you wanted us to talk to us about?"

Frost and Bane exchanged glances. "Well, Frost and I were thinking that we would go looking for Ho-oh, as I promised her not long after we met. We weren't sure if you wanted to come along, Jacob, so…" Bane replied, slowly, before trailing off.

I looked over at Miranda. "My time is already spoken for. Miranda and I are going to go and explore the region." I said. Miranda smiled, appreciatively.

Bane nodded, giving that same grin he had had when he overheard Xerneas. "I understand. When will you two be leaving?" I glared him, but Miranda remained tactful.

"We aren't entirely sure, but defiantly after Cecile is awake." She said.

Frost nodded. "We were pretty much planning the exact same thing." We all fell silent after this, and Frost resumed her pacing. I spotted the gogoat, who at this point I was getting curious as to his name, but I decided not to ask.

I wandered over to the study area I had been in the night I met Cecile, and Miranda followed me, either out of boredom or a desire to stay close by my side. The room was exactly as I had remembered it, although I did pay closer attention to a few things this time.

The thing that really caught my attention was a calendar, heavily scribbled upon and seemingly hastily tacked up to the wall, such that it was lopsided. The last day that was crossed off was marked with a much straighter line than the others, presumably the work of Bane or Oliver instead of Cecile.

I had to crane my neck to make out the date, but if I saw correctly today was the fifth of September, meaning my birthday was tomorrow. For the first time it struck me how badly I had kept track of the date, probably because I was so used to having a calendar to rely on.

I glanced over at Miranda. "So, apparently it's my birthday tomorrow, I hadn't been paying attention to what date it was." I said.

Miranda's eyes lit up. "Really?" She asked. "How old will you be?"

"Seventeen." I answered. "Please don't tell Bane or Frost though, I don't want the extra attention."

Miranda did seem a bit disappointed, but she didn't voice it and just nodded. We stood there for a few seconds, looking up at the calendar. Miranda turned towards me. "I don't think you have been properly introduced to Rowan, the gogoat, let's go talk to him some." She walked out of the room, and I followed behind. Looking out the window, it was rather dreary outside, gray clouds warning of coming rain.

We walked over to Rowan, who was in his usual spot in the living room. He was watching Cecile, who was still out cold on the sofa. After a few seconds, Melinda cleared her throat, and Rowan slowly turned around, grimacing slightly as he shifted position. "Avery was never actually introduced to you, so I figured now was as good a time as any." She said.

Rowan nodded, in the same slow manner. "I suppose." He said, his words noticeably drawn out. "Well, my name is Rowan. I have been Cecile's pet my whole life, and since she was injured I have helped her out with whatever she needs me for." He paused for a few seconds. "By your standards, a boring life, but I have never wanted more."

"I'm Jacob, as I'm pretty sure you have heard." I said, rather awkwardly.

"Of course." He responded, and looked back over at Cecile.

There was silence for several seconds, before Miranda broke it. "Thanks for taking the time to chat." She said, and she turned to me. "Let's go upstairs." She said. We headed up, and both sat down on the windowsill. I looked out, seeing the rain begin to fall, its pitter patter on the roof slowly escalating.

"You know," I said, after a minute's silence. "I feel almost… lost. Like I don't have a path to follow, no goal to fulfill." I looked over at Miranda. "And it's really bothering me. Back when I was human I would have willingly spent my life just playing videogames, but now…" I trailed off, my thought half formed.

"Then follow me." Miranda said, meeting my gaze.

I found myself almost pulled in, quickly getting lost deep in the wells of her eyes. "I will." I said, with conviction. Miranda moved closer to me, snuggling up. I didn't feel really like that my pseudo-question had been answered satisfactorily, but I put it out of my mind.

All of a sudden, there was a great clamor from downstairs. Miranda jumped down from the balcony and ran over to the stairwell, looking down in the direction of the living room. "She's awake!" She called out, and hurried down the steps.

I stood up, and rushed down after her. Cecile was sitting on the sofa, looking extremely disoriented. Bane was sitting next to her, talking quietly. "It's… just a lot to take in." I heard her say as I moved closer. Miranda and Rowan were sitting a few feet away from the couch, and I joined them there on the wooden floor.

Cecile was looking down at her lap, and remained much quieter than she normally was. "Could you bring me some water?" She asked Bane, who quickly obliged. I looked over at Miranda, who was somber, but smiling faintly.

Bane returned with a glass of water, and Cecile accepted it readily. Bane remained standing. She swished her tail around, examining it closely, and then let out a sigh. "I don't know what I'm going to do." She said, tears welling up in her eyes. "How can I be a part of society now?"

Bane let out a similar sigh. "I don't know." He said. "I spent too much time avoiding people to know how it could happen." He avoided meeting her eyes as he said this, glancing down, at the walls, anywhere but at her.

"I need to rest." She said, and shifted herself so that she was once again lying down. She had to manually drag her legs back up onto the bed, but I thought I saw one of her feet twitch. I put it down to just being my imagination, and moved on. The rain had stopped, and the skies visible out of the window were once again clear.

Bane moved back into the main room of the house and sat down at the table, staring blankly at the map there. Miranda stood up, moving towards the door, and I followed close behind. We slipped outside, and sat down on the porch, not saying a word, just looking out over the unpaved road leading to who knows where.