Yolei was the first awake again. She inhaled sharply when she saw the young man sleeping near her. Last night, it had blended in with the mud and bits of leaves stuck to him, but now dried blood stood out in patches on his face, arms, and torso. He looked terrible. She scrounged around the thick vegetation for herbs she vaguely remembered as healing and wished she had a towel or any clean piece of cloth. Some of the leaves were absorbent, so she soaked them in the nearby stream and hurried back to tend Ken. He gasped when she began cleaning his wounds and jerked away from her. She raised an eyebrow and showed her the pinkish water that dripped down the front of him. He sighed and, without a word, let her continue her ministrations. Right now, he truly wished he had kept practicing soccer throughout his takeover of this world; he probably would've fared much better during their midnight flight.
Yolei tried to be as gentle as possible, but she hadn't nursed anyone back to health for a long time. She winced and muttered an apology whenever he groaned. It didn't escape him that, enemy though he was, Yolei treated his pain as if it were her own. But he told himself that the only reason she was so worried about him was that she needed him in good condition to continue their impossible quest. He had accepted that the... spirit being was telling the truth and that this shadow was a real threat, but this smacked too much of a fantasy epic for his liking. Those never ended well for his side. And he really hated owing so much to this girl.
All this passed through our unwitting hero's mind as our heroine tended his injuries. She could guess some of his thoughts, and she was trying to keep a smile off her face. Ken, needing a girl to show him which way was which, to find his food, and to heal him after a chase by angry digimon. Poor baby. She giggled.
Ken's head whipped around. "What's so funny, girl?" His glasses had tumbled off his face, and she was confronted with his violet eyes blazing at her. Her laughter ceased, though her smile never completely left her face.
"Nothing important." She stood. "Now get up. You should be okay for awhile, unless those digimon track us down."
They followed the stream all day, tripping over the vegetation clustered near the water. As usual, Yolei led the way, and Ken refused to let himself be drawn into conversation. A few bruised apples still remained, and Yolei discovered some wild pears growing near the stream. Her mouth was beginning to feel sticky from all the sugar in the sweet fruit, and she wished she had a toothbrush.
"Hey, you." Yolei wouldn't call Ken 'Emperor', and he wouldn't respond to his name. "Is it just me, or would a toothbrush be really great about now? Even without toothpaste." She didn't expect Ken to answer, but she would talk to herself if necessary to avoid a prolonged, awkward silence.
"I was musing over that myself."
In her shock, Yolei almost tripped. This was definitely a 'stop the presses' kind of moment. "Yeah, um, with all that fruit. And I think I ate some of that nasty ditch mud."
"Think of it as extra protein."
And now he was being funny? On purpose? Either Ken had hit his head on something or had been replaced with a clone. Really, Yolei would be content either way. She laughed in response to his quip. "My mother always says I don't get enough." Her smile faded as she thought of her family for the first time since arriving here. "My mother... I wonder if they're worried about me yet." She shot a look back at Ken. He had abandoned his family, leaving them to weep over the disappearance of their remaining son. He was too busy keeipng his balance to notice her glance, but she thought he had heard her. "They're probably calling everybody, asking if they've seen me." She hated the thought of worrying her parents like that. They annoyed her royally at times, but she knew how she would feel if one of them was spirited away in the middle of the night.
After that, Yolei couldn't concentrate on keeping her feet in the tangle of brush near the stream. This time she called for the stop, though Ken certainly didn't object. She was quiet and morose, barely eating half a pear and staring distantly into the forest around them. Although Ken generally preferred silence, it unnerved him coming from this girl. Then again, maybe she was having second thoughts about this quest business.
A few hours into their rest, Yolei shook herself. "It doesn't matter anyway," she announced suddenly. "There's no way for us to leave, even if we wanted to. I don't have my D3 anymore, and if you could contact your fortress, you would have by now."
Ken groaned. "I was trying to forget that detail."
They had curled up to sleep several feet from each other when less-than-stealthy footsteps alerted Yolei to the presence of someone else. She saw Ken stiffen and knew that he had heard the noises as well. "Not again," she whispered. She held her satchel against herself, ready to leap up and run if the someone else proved to be unfriendly.
"A birdramon spotted them. They've been walking this way all day." Yolei rose to a crouch. "Are you ready, guys?"
She didn't need any more convincing. She gestured for Ken to go first and dashed after him into the thick growth. The now-familiar sound of branches and leaves crunching under the feet of running digimon reached her, and she mentally urged Ken to speed up. She doubted that a providential ditch would appear under their feet again.
The forest had been slowly thinning all day, and now she saw a long plain stretched out before them. And more importantly... "The tree! Hey, you can still climb trees, can't you?" Yolei yelled.
An inviting oak with thick, sturdy--and low--limbs lay just to their right. Ken swerved and struggled up the branches. Yolei followed a bit more gracefully. A very little bit. Digimon danced angrily at the oak's base, shouting threats, but eventually gave up and reluctantly left the pair in peace.
"Why is it that they always recognize you but never me?"
Ken cracked a smile. "That would be infinitely more convenient. You could tell them you were attempting to reform me by... what? showing me the wonders of this world firsthand, or some such."
A cold gust shook the limb they sat on. Yolei wrapped her arms around herself. "Shouldn't it be a lot warmer than this? Summer is barely over." She squinted. "And the moon. It looks... faded. It isn't as bright as it usually is." The wind died, but the cool air cut through her summer clothes.
Ken nodded slowly. "The shadow the spirit spoke of. I thought it would come on more gradually."
"He was right about starting now." Yolei shivered. "This can't continue much longer, not if the digimon are going to survive." Now she wished for a sweater. "Not to mention us."
Yolei tried to be as gentle as possible, but she hadn't nursed anyone back to health for a long time. She winced and muttered an apology whenever he groaned. It didn't escape him that, enemy though he was, Yolei treated his pain as if it were her own. But he told himself that the only reason she was so worried about him was that she needed him in good condition to continue their impossible quest. He had accepted that the... spirit being was telling the truth and that this shadow was a real threat, but this smacked too much of a fantasy epic for his liking. Those never ended well for his side. And he really hated owing so much to this girl.
All this passed through our unwitting hero's mind as our heroine tended his injuries. She could guess some of his thoughts, and she was trying to keep a smile off her face. Ken, needing a girl to show him which way was which, to find his food, and to heal him after a chase by angry digimon. Poor baby. She giggled.
Ken's head whipped around. "What's so funny, girl?" His glasses had tumbled off his face, and she was confronted with his violet eyes blazing at her. Her laughter ceased, though her smile never completely left her face.
"Nothing important." She stood. "Now get up. You should be okay for awhile, unless those digimon track us down."
They followed the stream all day, tripping over the vegetation clustered near the water. As usual, Yolei led the way, and Ken refused to let himself be drawn into conversation. A few bruised apples still remained, and Yolei discovered some wild pears growing near the stream. Her mouth was beginning to feel sticky from all the sugar in the sweet fruit, and she wished she had a toothbrush.
"Hey, you." Yolei wouldn't call Ken 'Emperor', and he wouldn't respond to his name. "Is it just me, or would a toothbrush be really great about now? Even without toothpaste." She didn't expect Ken to answer, but she would talk to herself if necessary to avoid a prolonged, awkward silence.
"I was musing over that myself."
In her shock, Yolei almost tripped. This was definitely a 'stop the presses' kind of moment. "Yeah, um, with all that fruit. And I think I ate some of that nasty ditch mud."
"Think of it as extra protein."
And now he was being funny? On purpose? Either Ken had hit his head on something or had been replaced with a clone. Really, Yolei would be content either way. She laughed in response to his quip. "My mother always says I don't get enough." Her smile faded as she thought of her family for the first time since arriving here. "My mother... I wonder if they're worried about me yet." She shot a look back at Ken. He had abandoned his family, leaving them to weep over the disappearance of their remaining son. He was too busy keeipng his balance to notice her glance, but she thought he had heard her. "They're probably calling everybody, asking if they've seen me." She hated the thought of worrying her parents like that. They annoyed her royally at times, but she knew how she would feel if one of them was spirited away in the middle of the night.
After that, Yolei couldn't concentrate on keeping her feet in the tangle of brush near the stream. This time she called for the stop, though Ken certainly didn't object. She was quiet and morose, barely eating half a pear and staring distantly into the forest around them. Although Ken generally preferred silence, it unnerved him coming from this girl. Then again, maybe she was having second thoughts about this quest business.
A few hours into their rest, Yolei shook herself. "It doesn't matter anyway," she announced suddenly. "There's no way for us to leave, even if we wanted to. I don't have my D3 anymore, and if you could contact your fortress, you would have by now."
Ken groaned. "I was trying to forget that detail."
They had curled up to sleep several feet from each other when less-than-stealthy footsteps alerted Yolei to the presence of someone else. She saw Ken stiffen and knew that he had heard the noises as well. "Not again," she whispered. She held her satchel against herself, ready to leap up and run if the someone else proved to be unfriendly.
"A birdramon spotted them. They've been walking this way all day." Yolei rose to a crouch. "Are you ready, guys?"
She didn't need any more convincing. She gestured for Ken to go first and dashed after him into the thick growth. The now-familiar sound of branches and leaves crunching under the feet of running digimon reached her, and she mentally urged Ken to speed up. She doubted that a providential ditch would appear under their feet again.
The forest had been slowly thinning all day, and now she saw a long plain stretched out before them. And more importantly... "The tree! Hey, you can still climb trees, can't you?" Yolei yelled.
An inviting oak with thick, sturdy--and low--limbs lay just to their right. Ken swerved and struggled up the branches. Yolei followed a bit more gracefully. A very little bit. Digimon danced angrily at the oak's base, shouting threats, but eventually gave up and reluctantly left the pair in peace.
"Why is it that they always recognize you but never me?"
Ken cracked a smile. "That would be infinitely more convenient. You could tell them you were attempting to reform me by... what? showing me the wonders of this world firsthand, or some such."
A cold gust shook the limb they sat on. Yolei wrapped her arms around herself. "Shouldn't it be a lot warmer than this? Summer is barely over." She squinted. "And the moon. It looks... faded. It isn't as bright as it usually is." The wind died, but the cool air cut through her summer clothes.
Ken nodded slowly. "The shadow the spirit spoke of. I thought it would come on more gradually."
"He was right about starting now." Yolei shivered. "This can't continue much longer, not if the digimon are going to survive." Now she wished for a sweater. "Not to mention us."