"You crossed a line. Never speak to me again."

"C'mon, Rocket, I said I was sorry like a billion times! I did what I had to! Be a pal!"

"No, Red. Our friendship is over after what you pulled. You disgust me."

Red and Rocket were roaming the dank tunnels of Rock Tunnel, undeveloped and pitched black. Though he could have merely taken the more scenic Route 11, Red had decided that the ground and rock Pokemon that inhabited the cave offered the perfect opportunity for Drax to finally train. Unfortunately, Rocket, who was currently glowing like a night light, wasn't very happy about their current situation.

"I can't believe it. I can't believe you taught me flash. The most disrespectful way you could possibly treat me."

"Rocket, please. I had to teach it to someone! Rock Tunnel is too dark and difficult to navigate for us not to have some form of light."

"It's called a flashlight!" Rocket growled, his anger enough to send sparks flying from his body. "Or, I don't know. Maybe send out the Pokemon with the light on the end of his tail?!"

Red flinched at that. "Star-Lord and I aren't exactly seeing eye to eye right now?"

"Oh shit, really?" Rocket scurried up his trainer's pant leg to climb onto his shoulder, poking his face to get him to look up from the rocks he apparently found so interesting. "What's wrong, kid? What happened between you two?"

Lifting up a hand to scratch the Pikachu behind the ear, Red took a minute to decide what to say. "I told Star he's been getting too aggressive during his matches. He didn't take it well."

"Oh." Rocket didn't seem very surprised. "Well, that sounds like Star to me."

"Is it really so hopeless to be a trainer and not kill Pokemon?" Rocket's ear twitched at the fear in his trainer's voice. "Or...to lose Pokemon?"

"I told you once and I'm not going to lie to you now. Pokemon die. Every day in the wild, and even under the ownership of trainers…" Rocket's ears drooped. "If you wanna be the champion, Red, you're going to need to accept that it might happen."

"You sound just like Star."

"But I'm not," Rocket said, looking stung at the accusation. "Trust me when I say I find no joy in watching Pokemon get hurt, or legends forbid I get hurt myself. If I can, I hold back, because I don't want to be a killer. But even despite that, I'm still a Pokemon, I can still lose myself to the thrill and adrenaline, even if I hate it. I mean, you saw what happened against Misty's Starmie."

"Rocket, if you really don't like battling, why are you doing it for me? You...you know you don't have to if you don't want to."

Rocket smirked, giving him a playful zap with a swish of his tail. "Because you're my best friend, idiot."

"Dude, you're going to make me cry."

"Red, as much as I say that you might have to be prepared to face death, it's your aversion to it that's been helping me be more comfortable with battling. Honestly, the fact that I'm not fighting for my life most of the time even makes it kind of fun."

"Alright, Rocket, you're confusing me," Red protested. "Do I need to accept the possibility of death or do I keep avoiding it, because you're giving me mixed messages."

"Hey, kid, I never said I had all the answers, did I?" Rocket hesitated a moment. "But if you wanted my opinion? Keep plugging along and keep up that loveable idealism of yours when you're battling. Don't kill if you can help it, and, if any of us do bite it, let yourself feel the pain.

"But whatever happens, don't give up. That's what we're all afraid of, even Star. Not that you'll need to kill and let your Pokemon die, but that if something does happen, you'll be broken by it. We feel that way because we know how badly you want your dream to come to fruition. So, don't let anything stop you all right? Just keep moving forward."

Red gave Rocket his old, confident "Red' smile. "Believe me when I say I'd die before giving up on my dream. But….I'd also die before I'd let anything ever happen to any of you guys. Even if it means running up onto the battlefield and fighting a Salamence bare handed."

"That's an image," Rocket snorted. He nuzzled against Red's cheek. "Thanks, kid. I think I needed to hear that."

There was a comfortable silence that followed between the two, one that was unfortunately interrupted by Drax sprinting (well, I mean, as fast as turtles can sprint) back into the light that surrounded Red and Rocket. He had grown in size, and his cyan skin was changed to a deep indigo.

"Guys, guys!" Drax panicked, running around to chase his now long and fluffy tail. "I have wings on my head!"

"Er….yeah, Drax," Rocket said. "You evolved. Wartortles have wings on their head."

"But why though?!"

"Okay, Ken," Red said, tipping his hat over his eyes to block the glaring sunlight. "You have to explain how you keep doing this."

After a long walk, and a philosophical discussion about Drax's new wing ears that somehow seemed to take even longer, a literal light at the end of the tunnel had led Red and his Pokemon to the northern, hilly entrance to Lavender Town, where they found Kenny camping out and waiting for them, already brewing his coffee. An elderly man was sitting next to him, one made Red feel an odd sense of nostalgia.

"What do you mean?" Kenny asked innocently as he held up a mug for Red. "Cream and sugar, right?"

"Yeah, like eight sugars," Red said, gingerly taking the steaming mug and squatting down beside Kenny and his makeshift camp, sure to keep his balance on the incline. "And I mean, how do you keep beating me to places? The last time I saw you was in Vermilion."

"Hey, I have my ways, champ," Kenny said, clinking mugs with Red. He took a sip and shuddered at the warmth. "Mm….expertly brewed as usual. I impress myself sometimes!"

"Yeah, yeah, Blue's supposed to be the smug one." Red took in the deep aroma of his own coffee, the smell somehow reminding him of a family he'd never had.

"This is Mr. Fuji," Kenny said, gesturing to the elderly man next to him. "Representative of Lavender Town."

"It's so wonderful to finally meet you, Red," the old man said. Despite his age he was in shape, and he wore surprisingly casual clothes. He was like the 'cool' great uncle Red had always wanted.

"Wait, hold on, that name sounds familiar." Red pulled out a notepad from his pocket to examine it. "I'm sorry, my friends have a lot planned out and sometimes I have trouble keeping track of the plot."

Finally finding what he was looking for, Red smiled and held out his hand for Mr. Fuji to take. "That's right! You were the one who captured Mew!"

"Well, I certainly wouldn't use the word 'captured'," Fuji chuckled. There was something so disarming about the way he smiled: Red was reminded of Yellow. "But yes, I did befriend her. She was always quite fond of cupcakes, if I recall."

"You fed one of the most powerful and elusive Pokemon to ever exist….cupcakes?"

"Well, even a mythical Pokemon can work up an appetite, can't they?" Fuji laughed a little too long at his joke, and Red tried to exchange a glance with Kenny, but the hiker seemed just as amused as the old man, and had given in to his trademark belly laugh.

"Anyway, we can speak more about it back at my house," Fuji said, standing himself up and dusting off his pants. "No staying at a Pokemon Center while you're here, Red, I'll have you set up in the guest room. Kenny, the coffee was as delicious as usual!"

As he hummed to himself, making his way down the hill to where Lavender Town was outstretched below, Red nudged Kenny.

"He seems like he knows me," Red muttered. "And he's friendly and all, but he's kinda freaking me out."

Kenny laughed at that. "Oh, that's just how old Fuji always is. And, according to him, he knew your parents. It makes sense that he's fawning over you."

"Oh." Red watched Kenny begin to follow after the old man, before he realized just what exactly the hiker had said.

"Wait, he knew my dad?!"

Mr. Fuji's tiny cottage reminded Red of the family sitcoms he used to watch as a kid. Cozy and warm, clean and lived in...it was nothing like Bill Sonezaki's clutter, or Arceus forbid his mother's house.

He, Kenny, and Fuji all sat around the old man's dining table, sharing a meal Fuji cooked himself (some type of bird. Farfetch'd, maybe?) He remembered watching those shows and wishing his life had been like those sitcoms. A family sitting around a table, exchanging stories and laughing...it was like a dream was finally being fulfilled.

His mom was usually passed out on the couch before evening, and though he had found a real sense of family under Samuel Oak's roof, the professor was so busy with his work that Red had often gone very long without even seeing him, usually prompting Red and Blue to simply order a pizza or something.

Red certainly never been mothered the way Fuji was treating him now, goading him to finish his plate and applying a napkin to his face when he had some mashed potato left on it. Red's mistrustful feelings were quickly pushed away by a surge of affection for the man.

The old man's home wasn't just a quaint little abode, but also an orphanage for Pokemon, and (most of) Red's team was having fun playing with the little tykes. Even Lucina helped out Fuji's Marowak chaperone some of the little ones with a sleep powder to finally quiet them.

Fuji kept Red and Kenny entertained with stories about Red's parents. "A little bumbling, your dad was, not the most coordinated man. Certainly wasn't as good at training Pokemon as your mother. But he was one of the most empathetic and supportive people I've ever known, and once he committed to something, he always saw it through."

"Chip off the old block, aren't you, champ?" Kenny grinned and leaned across the table to put a hand on Red's shoulder.

Red's smile was a little uncertain, not sure how to take what Fuji was telling him. It was the most he'd ever heard about his father. "I hate to bring down the mood, but what ended up happening to him? My mom never told me."

Fuji's wrinkles seemed to deepen, and Red noticed for the first time just how old he must have been.. "Well, I suppose that ties in with I'm sure the many questions you and young Blue Oak have for me. With everything that happened with Mew."

"Yeah, I don't think we actually had the complete story," Red said. "All we knew were some secondhand hints from Rocket grunts and Bill Sonezaki's account."

"None of whom ever really knew everything," Fuji said, nodding to himself, and he went a little pale. "Honestly, I believe it was Mew's capture and subsequent cloning that served as the reason Rocket Industries came to be in the first place. They funded the expedition that I led into the Berry Forest, as well as the research team that studied Mew when I introduced her to the public."

The hand holding his fork trembled to the point that he dropped his utensil. "In truth it's my greatest regret. I never saw her again after I gave her up to Rocket's scientists, scientists who created an all powerful clone responsible for the deaths of...well, I don't even know how many. And that's not even mentioning the fact that Mew being in human hands sparked the Indigo War."

A tear began to leak from his eye down to his wizened cheek.. "I should have kept her a secret. If I had known…"

"That's just it though, Philip," Kenny said, keeping his soft and non confrontive. "You can't ever know. There's no point beating yourself up about it. Try looking forward instead of backwards, alright?"

Fuji gave him a watery smile. "Of course. Forgive me. I...I just can't help but feel helpless at such an old age, too feeble to take responsibility for the tragedies that I helped play a part in. Leaving the fate of Kanto to the innocent youth."

Once, Red may have felt proud at the gaze of one who expected great things from him, but Fuji's eyes were haunting, and he couldn't help but shy away from him.

"Bullshit," was Kenny's simple response as he polished off the last of his peas. "You're still standing aren't you?"

"Er...yes," Fuji said.

"Still have your wits about you? Got a Pokemon by your side?"

"I do."

"Then you're not feeble enough to not make a difference! We gotta give our future generations someone to look up to!" Kenny lifted up Red's hat and ruffled his hair.

"Ow!" Red cried in delightful indignation, swatting the hiker's meaty hand away. "Stop it!"

Fuji laughed at the display. "You never let anyone feel sorry for themselves, do you, Ken?"

"Of course not! I'll listen to their troubles and brew them a hot cup of coffee, but it's my job to not let anyone stay off their feet too long." Kenny stood up straight, giving a mock salute to the air. "Self pity never did anyone any good. Standing up on your feet and holding your ground is what being Kantonian is all about!"

"Hear, hear!" Red said through a mouthful of mash.

"Your father would have had the same reaction," Fuji said, nodding at Red. "I guess you want to know what happened to him, huh?"

Red nodded. "It was on his feet, right? Like Kenny said?"

"It was," Fuji said, though once again he looked very reluctant to speak. "Did Sam or Blue ever tell you what happened to Gary?"

"Blue's dad?I mean, I hadn't until just recently," Red admitted. "Blue told me that his dad was trying to fight Mewtwo, and he er...didn't make it out."

"That's true, but what Oak apparently neglected to mention was that Gary wasn't alone. Your parents were close to the Oaks, even then, and jumped to Gary's side as soon as he asked them, and Giovanni Romano, the gym leader of Viridian City, was the one who led the assault."

"Wait, you're saying my mother fought the clone?" Red asked. "She didn't like, just like drunkenly compare Mewtwo to his father and make him clean up her vomit?"

"Jesus, kid," Kenny murmured. "Lot to unpack there."

Red shuddered. "You're telling me."

"Life wasn't easy for Delia, Red," Fuji said. "She watched her husband and a close friend die to er...Mewtwo's what we're calling it? Yes, Mewtwo's hands. She went to pieces after that."

It took a second for that to sink in. Red's head began to ache.

"That is why, isn't it? Why she'd always tell me I'd end up like my dad. Now I get the context." He tipped his hat over his eyes and turned away, so that no one would see how red his eyes were.

He was conscious of Kenny and Fuji both giving him pitiful stares, but he hated pity. It always made him feel helpless. "But Blue Oak wasn't like my dad. He was an Oak. He's a prodigy, born to change the world. God, he was like the son she'd always wanted. While I…"

"Look at where you are now, Red," Kenny said, his eternal grin no longer on his face. "Three badges, a team of powerful Pokemon. You prove her more and more wrong every day."

"No." Red shook his head, standing up on shaky legs. He stumbled for a moment, but his hand found a wall to steady him. "No. The only way I can prove her wrong—"

"Look." Kenny stood up as well, apparently catching on to where Red was going with this. "Don't bite off more than you can—"

"I have to defeat Mewtwo. That's the endgame. It's why nothing I've ever done is good enough for her. If I can just bring the clone down...

"Ugh, what am I saying?" Red muttered, already feeling his anger deflate. "I think I need a breath of fresh air."

Out of the corner of his eye, Red saw Fuji give Kenny a concerned look. "Er...of course. Please, take your time."

"I'll go with you," Kenny said.

"It's fine….we'll be fine," Red said, gesturing for Rocket to jump on his shoulder. "It'll be nice to get a good look at Lavender." He tried for that fake smile he always did when there was something bothering him. It wasn't very effective.

"Lavender kind of sucks, huh."

"Yeah, not the most happy or eventful place. I never like to stay here too long."

In truth, Red was reminded of Pallet. A slightly bigger, somehow even more depressing Pallet. The buildings were tinged with purple, which may have been fun, if they had been more of a cheerful indigo instead of a dull mauve riddled with chipped paint. The townsfolk themselves were just as woebegone as their home. Mostly elderly men and women, they didn't walk with that same purpose that those of Pewter or Viridian had. Instead there was a sense in how they shambled about that they simply didn't have anywhere better or more important to be.

There was one major landmark in Lavender Town, the Pokemon Tower, which apparently stood as the tallest structure of the less urbanized of Kanto's settlements. With nowhere else to go, Red found himself drawn there, though he was a little concerned by the old women in odd clothes gathered and warbling about being possessed.

"Are they okay? Do they need help?" Red whispered to Rocket, who didn't even look taken aback by the odd behavior.

"Eh, this is pretty typical Lavender Town behavior. These women are spirit mediums, so they probably are possessed right now."

"They are?" Red shivered as one of the women caught him staring. When she looked back into his eyes, her own were merely blanks, no pupils in sight.

"Sure. Usually they never actually get through to the afterlife because Gastlys find an easy target to prank."

"I don't think I understand Gastlys," Red said. "Are they dead, or are they born ghosts, or…."

"All of the above, kid," Rocket said. "Some ghost types are born the old fashioned way…."

"Ergh…"

"But many are actually just Pokemon who weren't satisfied with the afterlife," Rocket said, before chuckling. "You know, Lavender really is thematically appropriate with the conversation we just had, isn't it?"

"Is the afterlife...a nice place?"

"Well, I'd say that, since our world is not literally swarmed with ghost types, it must be pretty good." Rocket thought for a minute. "Maybe that's why death doesn't freak us out the way it does you humans. We know something good's coming. You guys are used to facing the unknown."

"That is a scary thought." Red said. He thought for a moment. "Why do Pokemon come back as ghost types anyway? What do they get out of it?"

"Well...usually you'd think it comes from some sort of regret, but honestly mostly I just see ghost types party and spend their reanimation pranking and having fun.

"I've never seen a Gastly sad. I think it just comes from a love of life."

"Oh." Red thought for a moment. "Do you think I could come back as a Gastly? I could keep dying and coming back, over and over, until finally I prove myself."

"Probably not, kiddo. That's just not how humanity works," Rocket snorted. "But, hey, if you're lucky, maybe you'll wake up as a Kadabra."

Red laughed. "Fingers crossed, eh? I guess in the meantime, I'll just have to make the most of this life, huh?"

Star was trying to nap. It was hard, not because he was uncomfortable. Mr. Fuji had a nice place, and the Charmeleon was lying out on his stomach in front of the fireplace, basking in the warmth. It had begun to rain, and while the thought of water was usually stressful, there was something soothing and safe in how it pitter pattered against the roof. He would've dozed off long ago, but his teammates were loud idiots.

There was the sound of slurping as Lucina drank the sap from Groot's bulb. God, that was a horrible image. Then there was Drax and Jackie, both still freaking out over the Squirtle's recent evolution into Wartortle.

"Oh my god, Drax! Your tail is so fluffy I wanna die!"

"Okay, I'm jazzed you like it, but you're going to tear it off."

"Good! I'll make myself a pair of earmuffs!"

"Jackie, no."

And, then the icing on a cake. Someone was jumping on his back.

"Oh my Arceus, get off me!" Star pushed himself up, and a brown furball rolled off his back and hit the carpet with a thud.

The Pokemon, an Eevee, hopped to his feet, wagging his tail excitedly, before pouncing again. "Rawr!"

Star blinked as the Eevee bit into his arm. He lifted it up, carrying the fox with him, his little feet kicking the air.

Star bared his teeth. "I'm going to eat you, pipsqueak."

Eevee tried to say something through a mouthful of Star's arm, before apparently thinking better and unclasping his jaws. "I'd like to see you try! I'm Thor, and I'm going to beat you in combat, foul son of Loki!"

He lunged again, but Star swatted him away with his tail. The Eevee hit the carpet and rolled all the way over to Groot, who steadied him with a vine.

"Thanks, friend!" Thor said, lying on his back and staring in wonderment at the Ivysaur. "Would you like to join me and fight this foul serpent?"

"I actually will eat you," Star called. "Raw or cooked, whichever I'm in the mood for."

"Um…this might not be a fight you want to pursue, little guy," Groot said.

"Yeah, I've seen him eat Diglett before, he's shameless," Lucina piped up.

"No, don't you see!" Thor said. "It's the only way I can fulfill Ragnarok! I land a lethal blow on the fell snake, but alas, its deadly poison seeps into my blood! After taking nine painful steps, I'll fall as well."

"Jesus, what's your typing? Normal and Shitty Poetry?" Lucina drawled.

"Wait, what's Shitty Poetry super effective against?" Groot asked.

"Nothing, it's the worst type."

"Oh." Groot turned to give Thor an awkward smile. 'Well, I mean, Star doesn't have any venom, but if you really want I can use poison powder on you or something?"

"Nah, don't worry about it," Thor said, patting Groot's head with his paw before lunging at Star again. "Prepare to be defeated, Jörmungandr!"

Star's tail lashed out, tripping Thor and throwing him onto the floor once more. "Gesundheit."

"No!" Thor moaned as Star-Lord pinned him down with his foot. "That's your name! It's no fun if you don't play along!"

"Then why would you pick me?" Star asked. "I hate kids, and I'm the one trying to sleep on the floor. Can't you play with literally anyone else? Even Lucina would be a better pick and she hates everyone."

"Oh yeah, I know a fun game we can play!" Lucina clapped her hands excitedly. "It's called, 'I throw you off the top of Pokemon Tower' and you try to fly!"

"Jeez, Lucy," Jackie said, edging away from her.

"What? I like short games."

"It's just, you seem like you're the strongest and coolest!" Thor said. "Butterfree are lame!"

"That's offensive!" Groot cried.

"No, no, he has a point," Lucina said. "If your name's not Lulu you're probably going to suck and die. Just the way of life for us Butterfree."

"Look, everything you said about me being the coolest and toughest is true," Star said. "Objectively true."

"Yeah, yeah we get it, you're better than us. You don't have to rub it in," Groot mumbled.

"But that doesn't mean I want to waste time babysitting." Star folded his arms. "You're not worth my time."

"Please!" Thor hopped up and down. "You don't know how boring it is in Lavender Town! I'm going out of my mind here! Also I'm an orphan and if you're mean to an orphan you're a horrible person, so please!"

"All right, all right!" Star said, the flame at the end of his tail firing up in his annoyance. "I'll train you if that's what you really want. It'll be rough, though. If you're not hurling your guts out by the end of it, you didn't train hard enough."

"Yay!"

"Damn, Lavender really blows, huh?" Drax said to Jackie, though it was Rocket who responded, the Pikachu apparently had arrived without anyone noticing.

"No shit," the Pikachu said, shaking water droplets out of his fur. "Every time I visit, the more miserable it gets."

"Oh shit, dude, when did you get here?" Drax asked.

"A while now. You guys were just too distracted by the twerp screeching about Norse mythology."

"Where's Red?" Jackie asked. "He's been...kind of different lately."

"He wanted to stay outside, wander around in the rain," Rocket said. "I think he's still dealing with the whole, 'how far he has to go to prove himself' thing."

"That's annoying," Lucina muttered. "Should we go after him?"

"Kenny went to go find him when he saw me come back alone," Rocket said. "Who knows, maybe he'll find a way to get through to him."

It wasn't a thunderstorm yet, but Red could tell it was coming. The clouds swirling above had turned grey, and the pouring rain only became more and more intense.

Yet Red had ignored it, climbing up one of the hills overlooking Pokemon Tower and flopping down on the wet grass. He himself was soaked now, though he didn't really mind.

Red never gave in. Not in training, not in daily tasks, not even in a mere video game. If there was something to be done he'd do it to the best of his ability, and if he didn't have the ability, he'd keep at it until he learned how. There was so much he still sucked at…he still couldn't surf if his life depended on it, he was the worst volleyball player on his team, and he'd only just recently finally grasped Pokemon training. But somehow, excelling had felt like a hunger that constantly needed to be sated. If he wasn't practicing he was wishing that he was.

But when it rained, Red liked to collapse and let it overcome him, let it soak and ruin all his clothes. When it rained he liked to give control to the universe for once, let it do what it wanted to him. It was peaceful, and a quiet relief.

It had gotten so dark that Red hadn't even noticed Kenny had joined him until the hiker spoke.

"You doing all right?"

Red turned and propped himself up on a shoulder. There he was, under an umbrella. "Ken, I have to know. You wanted to be a gym leader really badly, right? Before the war screwed everything up?"

It was difficult to see Kenny's expression in the dark, but when he spoke, his tone was as warm and disarming as it always was. "Yeah, I wanted to be a gym leader. Arceus, it must've been my sole focus as a kid."

"How did you accept that it wasn't going to happen?" Red asked, surprising even himself with the desperation in his tone. "You're probably the happiest man I've ever known, and after what you had to go through, I don't understand."

Kenny laughed at that, a quiet chuckle compared to his usual full belly wheezing. "The easy answer is that even though I knew what I wanted to be, I knew that fulfilling it wouldn't bring true joy. My happiness comes from the simple pleasures in life. A daily cup of coffee, a laugh with friends. Watching you come into your own as a person."

"Oh."

"Hah, you don't believe me, do you?" Kenny sat down on the wet grass, putting away his umbrella and lying beside Red. "You're young. When I was your age I thought that my happiness was dependent on my dreams as well."

"But….isn't it?" Red asked. "Isn't that what life's about? Fulfilling a purpose? Proving yourself?"

"I think the question you have to ask, Red, is who exactly you're proving yourself to. Your mom? Professor Oak? Me?"

"Well, yeah. Who else would I have to prove myself to?"

"You. That's what's most important. I think. Not whether you achieve your goals, but whether you're happy enough with yourself and the decisions you make."

Kenny stared at the Pokemon Tower, or maybe at something beyond it. "I knew...a lot of kids like me and you back at the war. They had dreams like you and believed themselves to have purposes in life, something to fulfill. And...a lot of them didn't make it out of the war. That's the thing about life, it just ends sometimes.

"So, if you bit it, right now, if something horrible happened, I want you to ask yourself if even without accomplishing that dream, you could be proud of the person you were in trying to see it through.. Did you become a trainer to win, to be recognized, or because it was something you loved doing? Could you be at peace knowing that, either a stone's throw away or a mountain's climb, you lived the best way you could?"

It was a long while for Red to respond, but Kenny didn't seem to mind the rain. "These are a lot of heavy questions, Ken."

Kenny's next laugh was, for a moment, louder than the clap of distant thunder. When he recovered, he rose to his feet, grunting at the effort. "And the answers to them are lessons learned when you've lived a lot longer. Even I wouldn't be bold enough to say I have them all.

"But keep doing what you're doing, champ. I can tell from your eyes that you love battling. And life's too short not to live your life doing what makes you happy. Or at least, that's my answer."

Already walking back, he turned his head to look back at Red. "When you're tired of lying around, come back home. Old man Fuji misses you. I'm sure he'd be happy to stuff you full of food and share more stories."

Red noticed with a start, a little while after Kenny had left, that the hiker had not taken his umbrella with him. It sat a few feet away from Red, very forlorn.

Red finally pushed himself up, wiping away the rain from his face. Realizing for the first time how cold it was, Red picked up the umbrella and held it above his head.

After a moment, he pulled it open to protect him from the rainfall.