The rations that Deku and Shoto brought lasted two and a half days, and then the boys were left hungry. Deku tried to make light of the situation. "Don't royals know how to hunt?"

Shoto seemed to take offense. "The squirrels in the royal woods are far rulier than the wildlife outside the High Court. Also, I'm the only one of my siblings who can hunt. Natsuo is too aggressive and impatient for the precision needed in a drawn-out hunt, and Fuyumi can't shoot an animal, though she is excellent at gutting and cooking them."

Deku smiled through the pain of riding on Ruby Cuperni for so long. With the the stars twinkling and the invisible moon tugging the river, the horses had slowed to a brisk trot, and it wouldn't be long before they would rest, but in the meanwhile, riding hurt. A lot. "Your siblings sound like nice people."

"They are, I suppose."

"You suppose?"

"I don't know them well." Deku was about to apologize, but Shoto abruptly shifted the focus of the conversation. "What about you?"

"Uh, I'm an only child."

"I meant, can you hunt?"

"I don't go hunting often. My mom and I keep a stable of birds, which she says she inherited from a friend when she was around my age." Deku had always liked that story. Others might disagree, but he thought there was something lovely about inheriting birds rather than gold, and from a friend instead of family.

"But you shot that rogue."

Deku snapped back to the present, and pulled his unicorn to a stop so he could disembark. "I like to have a few skills. I'm not as talented as Uraraka – my friend who wants to be a sorceress – but I have some tricks up my sleeve." He smiled up at Shoto, who was still on Silver Lancea, looking down at him regally. From here, it looked like the stars were in the silver-white half of his hair, while the red half appeared black. "I'll catch a meal for us."

Shoto got down from his unicorn. "I will accompany you."

Deku shook his head. "That's alright. I'd instead appreciate if you could start a fire so we can cook whatever I catch."

"I can start a fire."

"Great! I'll be back in a rope's length."

"How long is a rope?"

It was borough-speak, and Deku rubbed his neck, awkward for appearing uncourtly, though obviously Shoto already knew he came from the boroughs. "It's as long as it needs to be."

"Oh."

"Sorry if that didn't make sense."

Shoto blinked—or rather, winked, as his turquoise eye stayed bright and luminous in the darkness. "I think I get it. I will start a fire as big as it needs to be. It may burn down part of the forest. But it probably won't spread to anyone's homes."

Sometimes, Deku had no idea whether or not Shoto was joking. He prowled deeper into the woods, drawing his bow and readying an arrow. The fletchling had a gorgeous design, the feathers painted by a careful hand. It should have been on display—although it had been, before Deku grabbed it to defend his friends in the riot led by the rogue Stain—not for a hunt, though it was also carved to be functional.

Deku had told Shoto a half truth. Guilt at lying to his prince weighed on his shoulders, which would hinder his hunt. While knowing how to use a bow was always a handy skill, it wasn't completely necessary when you lived in a community where people raised birds and chickens without needing to hunt for them or other animals. Deku learned how to shoot for the same reason Uraraka learned sorcery; he had a role model that he aspired to be like. While Uraraka looked up to Nature, Deku admired the hero from Inko's stories.

When his mother was a lass, not much older than Deku himself, a warm, familiar world became cold and unyielding. Fellow townspeople slammed their doors shut; they turned a blind eye to their neighbours' hunger; brother turned against brother, daughter betrayed father, mother abandoned child. But through it all, a young man with golden hair forming a victory symbol gave them hope. He was a hero: stealing from the Courts to feed the boroughs, archery skills that amazed even the masters, a smile that lit up Yuuei when the only lights were from fire, fungi, and strange glowing creatures like the ones lighting up Deku's surroundings. Nearby, the soft white spots of a deer glowed in the dark as it grazed on luminescent blue mushrooms.

I will be like All Might, Deku thought as he aimed. I will be a hero, too. He exhaled as the arrow flew and struck true.

When Deku returned, Shoto had set up a tame fire along with ice packs to preserve any excess meat. A thrill ran through Deku at the prince's expectation that he would catch too much for them to eat in one meal. Shoto used a rod to control the fire as the deer cooked.

"So I was thinking," Shoto began, and Deku couldn't help but blurt out, "Royalty thinks! I'm sorry, I just got excited. I think the meat's ready."

Shoto took a knife from a scabbard at his thigh to cut out two portions, then continued, "We'll be passing by Yuuei on the way to the southern fortress where Nejire and Tamaki were headed. You're from that borough, right? Would you like us to stop by your home? Between the journey to the High Court and back, you must have been away from your family for quite some time."

Deku almost dropped his share of the deer. "I completely forgot! I promised my mother I'd be home before the moon rises; I went to town that day to buy cloth to keep her warm." Tears blurred his vision and dripped onto his hands. "I didn't even bring it with me."

Shoto nudged him. "We can give her our blankets. By the time we arrive, we'll be near enough to the fortress that we won't need them anymore."

Deku wiped away his tears and smiled at the prince. The starlight failed to illuminate his scar, turning him to a monochrome figure with only his left eye bearing any colour. "You're very kind."

"I am?"

Deku laughed. The next day, he arrived at his dwelling. He'd wanted to bring Shoto, but the prince pointed out that it was more practical for one of them to stock up on resources. The unicorns stayed hidden in the woods.

Deku hopped over the stream, the blankets folded along with wrapped deer preserves. The first thing he noticed was how quiet the birds' shed was. Yellow and blue feathers drifted to the ground, dotted with blood and ash.