Archways stood staring towards the entrance of the ancestor's home, contemplating. It was the dawn of the fourth day and they were wondering if it was time to leave. As the days went by, Alive-one got more and more prone to outbursts of impatience and frustration.

Archways wasn't a stranger to saying goodbye to companions whether it was at the end, smack in the middle, or even the very beginning of a journey. Some were participating in a race and couldn't stop for a hello, some wanted to explore at their own pace, and others simply just wanted to be alone to meditate.

Every time it happened, Archways understood and let those fleeting encounters be just that; fleeting.

But this was different, it had a lot more to lose if they left, not just for Archways but for all the ones-from-now back at the path.

Archways glanced over their shoulder to Alive-one, who was currently sulking beside the plants a good distance away, muttering something to the plants who in turn sang softly. As Archways got to know them better, the more Archways realized just how the war, and subsequent isolation, must've affected them. They didn't know the specifics but considering how their behavior vastly differed to any of the hundreds of ones-from-nows' they've met, well… something had to have happened.

And that Something had caused something to break in Alive-one,… but it didn't make them bad. A little unpredictable? Yes. Bad? No, not at all, as evident by the fact that despite getting more and more tense around Archways, they always backed off and went to cool down before coming back from it. Besides their meeting a few days ago, Alive-one wasn't actually hostile to them.

They recognized that, perhaps, Alive-one was simply not used to having a companion, especially all of a sudden after all this time. They had gone on for so long by themself that they surely thought there was no one left. But despite all that…they also showed a lot of excitement too. There was always something Alive-one wanted to show and things they wanted to teach. They laughed a lot, even if each one was brief, but they were genuine all the same. And their eyes would light up when they told stories, grateful for a listening ear, even if Archways didn't know half the words.

It was confusing to say the least and Archways didn't know how to help.

They thought back to leaving, to give Alive-one their space, but then come back so they could still have the opportunity to learn new things. However, the idea was quickly thrown out due to the fact Archways was doubtful they'd be able to find the place again. Not only had they nearly flown past it but it had also been covered over with sand, unseen, until the storm unearthed it. If it got covered back up while they were gone, it'd be impossible to find again. It didn't help that there wasn't any good landmarks that headed towards it, just miles of identical dunes. Perhaps Alive-one had a way, but Archways hadn't seen them leave once since first entering and was unsure if they ever did besides the occasionally peek outside.

Many ideas bounced around in their head but in the end they decided to stay just a bit longer; to properly plan things through, maybe get the right words to ask some important questions.

For now, they ambled over to one of the too-tall tables. Alive-one had set aside multiple spaces throughout the area with this one having an empty sketch book to draw in and a rainbow of charcoal to choose from. Idly, they flipped through the first couple of filled pages until they got to a blank one.

Archways thought for a moment and then grab some red charcoal – or at least tried. They weren't very good at holding the utensil with the edge of their cloak yet. There was a certain finesse that they just didn't quite possess and so they had to fiddle around a bit to try to get a better grip. While fiddling, they pictured in their mind what they wanted to draw. The first few pages were hardly pictures, mostly faltering scribbles with a vague impression of a thing or a person.

With a new idea firmly implanted in their mind, Archways gripped the charcoal as tight as they could and pressed the tip onto the page hard. They tried to keep steady but still ended up with shaky lines; at least this time it was going in the general direction they wished it to go. For almost an hour, they slowly and painstakingly scribble away, switching between red, yellow, black, and green. Just as Archways was about done, Alive-one had calmed down and had grown curious to what they were drawing.

Archways gave a short ping of hello but ultimately didn't push for much else.

"What's that?" Alive-one chirped curiously as they focus on the center of the piece. Said piece had two red cloaks bending down to look at something – reminiscent of the scene from the very first statue where four ancestors had bent down to look at a growing plant-like cloth.

Except this piece wasn't about being at awe of the power of glyphs and cloth.

"Plant," Archways simply said. "Flower."

"A flower?" Alive-one repeated. Archways waited for Alive-one to continue, it seemed they were thinking a thought or two. "And another person like you... was this on the surface? Where?"

"Pink sand, green sky." Archways answered with their limited, but also now stronger vocabulary, while touching up a spot as they did. "Close to Mountain."

Alive-one gave a small slow nod."I … didn't think any plants could survive up… there." There was a disbelieving sound to the ancestor's voice with a mix of… hope, maybe, as they trailed off into silence. Neither of them talked for several long moments, both of them trapped in their thoughts. Archway's mostly wondered about what Alive-one could be thinking as Alive-one stared off into space. Perhaps… they could take Alive-one with them? It wouldn't really give them the space they needed, but if they wanted to…

"Go to flower?" "Can you show me where the flower is?" They both said at the same time. They blinked at each other before Alive-one snorted a short laugh.

"Guess that's a 'yes'."

Archways stilled, just for a moment, as they processed that, yes Alive-one was willing to do this and that they'd be going back to the Mountain, finally, after this long week away. Nothing of fault on Alive-one or their home, but Archways was yearning to head back to theirs.

With barely any contained excitement, Archways spun around in a circle making all sorts of noises before bee-lining towards the entrance, leaving a startled but amused Alive-one behind as they followed after with a shake of their head. It was only when Archways had dashed out the gate and got to the tallest point of the area that they realized something very very incredibly important.

They could no longer see the Mountain.

There was a moment of denial as Archways spun around frantically searching in all directions, but nothing of the Mountain could be found; not a speck of its presence could be seen from its silhouette down to its calling light, not even the faintest of glowing could be found behind the clouds.

Had they really not noticed that they had gone so far?

Archways spotted Alive-one just as they left the entrance, slowly trailing after. Once sighted, Archways boomed out loud trills – not quite distress nor panicked, but certainly attention grabbing. Alive-one paused as they assessed Archways before giving a short ping back and quickening their pace. Archways stood unmoving as they waited for Alive-one to get closer.

"Little eager aren't we?" Alive-one asked. Archways simply responded by spinning around again and chirping rapidly, forgetting all words momentarily. It was only when they got confused silence that they sought out to use at least one word. Now they were spinning around going, "Mountain? Mountain? Mountain? Where Mountain?"

"Oh." It finally clicked with Alive-one. "You don't know how to get back do you?"

Archways gave a prolonged, sad fwee as they hung their head low.

"I was wondering if you knew or not… guess not." Alive-one said, but they weren't down-trodden like Archways had expected. "It's a good thingI've got maps then yes?"

Archways tilted their head to the side, confused, as Alive-one motioned for them to follow. Back at the entrance, Archways hummed with concern; had Alive-one changed their mind maybe? But their confidence was something of note. When Alive-one told them to stay put, it made Archways light up again in excitement.

Alive-one DID have a way it seemed.

Archways sat down roughly as they waited for whatever Alive-one would bring out. It took several long minutes but eventually they made it back to the surface with something in toll. It was made of something like cloth but thicker and with three odd scarves coming off of it. Two of them were long and thin placed on either side and one short thick one at the top.

"Now this, this will show us the way!" Alive-one exclaimed as they flipped a flap over and pulled out some rolled up paper and held it out to the red cloak. Archways grasped it, thought better of holding it with their cloak, and set it down on the sand to get a good look at it.

It was a lot like a tapestry, same style and everything, but it didn't seem to tell a story at all. On it was the Mountain set at the top and below it was the ruined city. These locations they recognized, but there were other places too scattered about on the gridded paper that they didn't. Another thing was that each location had a small glyph placed directly beneath them.

It was times like this that Archways wished they could read, they still hadn't gotten around to those lessons yet.

"That's a local map," Alive-one explained as they pointed out the locations. "It has the main city at the base of the Mountain as well as some of the smaller towns. We don't need this one at the moment since, again, it's a local map. Small." Alive-one rerolled the map and stuck it back in with the rest before pulling out another.

"We'll be using this one, as well as a star map if anyplace has been completely wiped from existence." Alive-one rambled on. "I've got a compass to point the way and a couple of other instruments in case we get lost. OH and I'm bringing some seeds with, in case there's enough good soil there for them."

Archways, as usual, didn't understand everything, but looking at the second map made everything make sense. Whereas the ones-from-now showed others locations by physically taking them there, this picture gave a 2D visual look of the entire lay of the land.

With a thrilled trill, Archways dance around in a circle stomping the ground in delight.

This was a perfect solution!

But then Alive-one's eyes grew dim and they drew themself up slowly to gaze towards the entrance of their home.

Archways deflated; of course this didn't mean it was going to be easy.

With a wavered cheep, Archways caught the attention of Alive-one, their own eyes dimmed down as well.

"No, no, we're still going, but I got to say good-bye first," Alive-one said, making themself perked up again even if it was hard. "Got to make sure my plants will be okay while I'm gone."

Archways watched them shuffle back inside while they waited next to the maps. They fiddled with the sand and tried not to let nervousness get the better of them. The several long stretched out minutes felt like the most unbearable moments in all of Archways' life despite waiting for longer with no problem. Alive-one would come back, they knew they would.

The instant the rusted gates groaned once more, Archways perked up and stared hopefully towards the entrance and was rewarded with Alive-one stepping out into the light once again. They triumphantly sang one loud note as they waited once more for the living ancestor to make it back towards them.

Once at the top, Alive-one gave a happy squint of their eyes before giving a loud chirp towards the bag holding the maps. Glyphs embedded into the odd scarves shone out in response before lifting off the ground and latching itself onto the back of Alive-one's neck, the thick one right where Archway's own scarf connected while the two thinner ones went to the sides.

Archways blinked as the straps turned white to match Alive-one's cloak; it was certainly a convenient way to carry things though nevertheless a strange concept to the red cloak.

They were so enthralled by it that they didn't notice Alive-one staring at a contraption they held, it was only when they turned to face another direction that Archways became aware of it.

"There we go..."Alive-one muttered but spoke more clearly after. "This way to the Mountain!"

Archways beamed with all the happiness in the world and soon danced in a circle again, chirping their heart out.

However, they quickly paused in their cheery chirping, paused in their enthusiasm for the journey to the flower, to see that Alive-one was stuck gazing back to their home again. They gave a tentative ping and yet Alive-one didn't move. It wasn't until Archways had moved close that Alive-one snapped out of their statue-like state.

"Sorry, I'm… always worried when I leave my plants… and that's for short trips. This – this is going to be the longest time I've been away." Alive-one explained. "Maybe this is stupid, going all the way over there to see a single flower."

Archways was having none of this, not now. With a loud burst of sound, Archways heavily exaggerated their excitement in hopes to stop the shift in emotions as swiftly as it had come. Alive-one was so startled that they froze right in their tracks and expected something more, but Archways just nonsensically chirped repeatedly and ran back and forth between the ancestor and the direction of the mountain all the while flapping their cloak up and down.

"Uh…okay… yeah." Alive-one dumbfoundedly muttered as they watched the smaller wayfarer. "Yeah.. they.. they will be okay and fine… and I got my maps… do I have all my maps? Do I have my compass? I… no.. no, no, no.. stop this Last you already checked ten times!"

Archways shook their head at the worrywart of a one-from-before, but at least they had started to walk in the direction of the Mountain. With an encouraging tweet, Archways flapped their cloak once and let the wind catch them and throw them up high.

"Uhhhhhh…You can fly… pretty well." Alive-one said in a trance as they were trying to calm themself down. Archways landed at the top of next dune over and watched Alive-one trudge up it far, far slower with a bit of concern. It wasn't a matter of patience on Archways part that concerned them, but whether or not if Alive-one would last the trek to the mountain and not chicken out partway at this pace.

Archway gave a curious pip and emphasized their cloak; they didn't know the word for 'fly' yet and hope Alive-one would catch on.

"Fly there?" And catch-on Alive-one did. "Sorry to say but I don't got no fancy glyphs to fly with. There weren't any glyphs left when.. when I left." Archways huffed quietly enough not to be heard. They knew that tone of theirs, and they knew that this was going to be a long walk. And yet they held it suffocatingly close to their heart that they must wait patiently as they'd always had for everyone else despite knowing the length of time was going to test their limits and all just to keep Alive-one moving forwards.

But Archways had never abandoned a companion in need before and they wouldn't start now.

They promised they never would.