"Is it done yet?"

"Not yet Ori". Aaron said to Ori.

He is busy cooking tomato soup using a small cooking pot on a small campfire he built. After recovering the water veil from that Gumo, he decided it would be best to prepare lunch by the Ginso tree before heading in.

Using the soup cans from his rations and the clean water from the ruins and a few favourable spices to give it an extra kick, created a pleasant aroma in the little camp.

"What kind of soup are you making?"

"Tomato soup"

"Sounds delicious!"

"Have you ever had tomato or anything like that?"

"No…"

"Then I think you are in for a treat." Aaron smiled stirring the pot before taste testing it.

"Hey Ori, I think the soup is almost ready, but we are gonna need a bit more wood to keep it warm. Think you could gather a few sticks around here?" he asked.

"I can! You can count on me!" Ori said as she bounces off somewhere, "Don't go out of my sight!" "I won't!".

Aaron chuckled, Ori is just too enthusiastic and full of energy. Realizing that he and Sein are alone right now he quickly called out to her.

"Hey Sein, can you come here quick? It's important." Sein then rose up from her resting place near the camp and floated to him.

"Alright Aaron, what troubles you?" she asked.

"It's about Ori, I think I know why she was absent at your light ceremony."

"Oh? Go on…" Sein responded, interested. He quickly checked for Ori and see her climbing on a dead tree, gathering some sticks and twigs from its branches.

"Last night I had a dream, or rather a vision just like the one you showed me and Ori" Sein gently sparks in acknowledgement. "The dream showed me of Ori's birth from a huge storm to when I first met her. When Ori was born, a person named Naru adopted Ori as her own child. When the ceremony started, she hid Ori in fear of losing her but then later passed away when the forest collapsed."

"Hmmm, that explains about her absence from the ceremony though I do worry…" Sein said. "About what?" he asks.

"Spirits are able to share memories to others through contact, though it's very rare for a non-spirit to receive memories from one."

"How so?"

"Usually Spirits generally share memories to those they trust the most. Usually it is with close friends or family relatives, which means that Ori must see you a good friend".

Aaron felt touched that Ori has good faith in him, he didn't think she trusts him that much.

"Although, you said this happened while you were asleep correct?" Sein broke Aaron's thoughts. "Yes, we were, Ori was asleep as well." "Then it's possible she may have shared her memories with you by accident. Young spirit guardians, tend to need time and training to develop their light energy and to adjust the use of their powers, and since Ori seems to have never met any other spirits, she has no experience with controlling her energy."

"Then, she shared her memories by accident…" Aaron concluded. He feels conflicted, while he does want to confront Ori about this, knows it is better to rather let Ori to tell him about it herself. He doesn't want to scare or hurt her, especially since her mother's death was only a few days ago!

"Aaron, I suggest you talk to Ori about it." Sein suggested.

"Yeah but… I would rather let Ori be open to me by her own account, and how the hell can I talk to her about her mother's…"

"I'M BACK!"

Aaron and Sein jumped in shock by Ori's return while she brings over a bundle of wood. "What were you two talking about?" She asked.

Oh S*** better think up of something good.

"Umm…I was asking Sein more about your kind Ori and this forest." he said.

"Liiiiike?" she asked.

"Our cultures and society in general. It's only fair since Aaron shared a bit of his." Sein joined in.

"Oh… ok!" Ori said, happy with their answers. "Here's the wood Aaron!"

'Oh yeah, the wood I asked.' He thought.

"Thank you Ori, this should be enough." You said, adding the wood to the fire. Sein and Aaron dodged a bullet there.

'Ori sees Aaron as trusted friend…this may not end well' she thought as she watches Arron and Ori mingle with each other. While she doesn't want to shatter such a precious bond, she knew the impact would be worse if it deepened too much. 'I have to warn him when I have the chance' Aaron would not like to hear the news, but it must be done.

"Alright soups ready!"

"Yay! Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie!"

"Ok ok! Just be careful not to burn yourself! It's hot!" Aaron said as he filled a bowl of soup and passed it to Ori.

Ori takes the bowl sniffing the delicious smell and takes a wooden spoon (with a few cautious blows to cool the soup) and took a sip.

"Wow! This is delicious! Thank you Aaron!"

"It's a pleasure." he said, getting himself some soup as well.

The forest was calm and provided a pleasant atmosphere to enjoy the soup. Ori does throw in some questions about Aarons kind and more inventions they made until she asked one particular question…

"What is your family like Aaron?" she asked

It was a sensitive topic, it didn't bother Aaron too much. Couldn't hurt to tell her.

"…I…don't know much about my family Ori. I was raised in an orphanage."

"Orphanage?" she asked

"Think of it as a place where kids go if they don't have any families to look after them. They live there and wait until they are adopted by someone or if they are grow old enough."

"That's horrible! Did anyone adopt you?"

"…No."

It was a difficult time for the society, families can barley keep up with financial costs and no one could afford to adopt a child, so everyone in the orphanage have accepted the idea that chances are, no one is gonna be adopted anytime soon.

Aaron does know his Mother died giving birth to him and his father was nowhere to be found, though he thinks his dad might be running off somewhere to avoid paying child-support.

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

"No worries Ori, you didn't know."

Maybe this is an opportunity for Ori to open to Aaron about her mother.

"Hey Ori, you seem to be thought, soup not warm enough?" he asked.

"Hm..? Oh! No! It's good! It's warm and delicious! It's just that…"

Yes…

"It's just that…"

Go on…

"… I want more soup! It's just too good!"

'Damn…alright…maybe I should just give her a small nudge.' He thought. After giving her a second helping he spoke to her.

"Hey Ori…"

"Yes?"
"If there is anything you want to tell me, feel free to go ahead, I'm your friend and so is Sein!"

Sein glowed in agreement.

"So, if you want to say something, let me know ok?"

"Umm…ok."
It could have been put better, but at least he got the message across to Ori. It's all up to her to talk about it.

"Hey Aaron!"

"Yes Ori?"

"Have any more of those cookies?"

…

Aw F***…