Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. The poem is "Ulalume" by Edgar A. Poe, and the chapter titles come from "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow" by Po Chu-i.

A/N: No one reviewed my last chapter. That makes me a little sad. Is anyone reading this?

Chapter 7: Clove the Ether

I replied: "This is nothing but dreaming:

Let us on by this tremulous light!

Let us bathe in this crystalline light!

Its Sybilic splendour is beaming

With Hope and in Beauty tonight!--

See! - it flickers up the sky through the night!

Ah, we safely may trust to its gleaming,

And be sure it will lead us aright--

We safely may trust to a gleaming,

That cannot but guide us aright,

Since it flickers up to Heaven through the night."

Izzy and Tsukiyo walked through open woodland that was softly blanketed in snow. The sun sinking low in the powder-blue sky caused the snow to sparkle with rainbows. Though there were no tracks following the path besides their own, it was crossed on occasion by the footprints of deer, foxes, birds, rabbits, and other small animals. With a smile, Tsukiyo quoted a poem by Murasaki Shikibu. "'Along the cliffs of these mountains, locked in snow/Are the tracks of only one. That one is you.'"

Izzy took her hand. "An excellent allusion for this halcyon hyperborean canvass, my pulchritudinous companion."

"I bet you say that to all your girlfriends."

"Which is precisely why I don't have any but you."

Tsukiyo pulled him into a kiss. He could feel her smile against his lips.

The gentle silence was broken by a sharp caw.

They looked up into the bare branches of the nearest tree, where a large black bird looked down on them.

"Corvus corax, the common raven," Tsukiyo said. "In one Ancient Greek myth, Athena had a crow for a companion. She discarded it for the owl when the crow proved to be a tattletale; the constellation Corvus was put in the sky as a warning against tattletales in another myth associated with Apollo. In Norse mythology, Odin had two ravens, Huginn and Muninn—'thought' and 'memory'—that flew around the world every day and kept him updated. In some Native American legends, the Raven helped create the world by stealing the sun and carrying it into the sky."

"Ravens are considered by some ornithologists to be among the most intelligent of birds. Some research indicates they have the capacity to think abstractly, communicate complex concepts, and make tools," Izzy added.

They observed it a moment longer, then continued down the path. The raven flew in front of them and landed on the trail, splashing snowflakes across its perfect blackness, and cawed at them.

"Do you suppose it wants us to follow it?" Tsukiyo asked.

"I don't know."

The raven cawed again, then flew to a tree off the trail.

The humans looked at each other, perplexed. Then, as if they'd discussed it and come to an agreement, they both followed the raven off the trail.

The bird kept flying a few trees ahead, making sure the humans didn't fall behind. It led them further and further away from the trail. The sun set and the temperature began to drop. At first the raven's black form could be easily seen against the crepuscular glow, and after the light faded and the stars came out, it cawed regularly as it led them onward. Tsukiyo and Izzy huddled close against the cold, and though neither mentioned it, they both remembered other raven stories in which the birds weren't portrayed so favorably.

At last, they saw lights ahead. As they drew closer, they realized the lights came from the windows of cottages in a small village. Indistinct forms could be seen moving to and fro in some of the windows.

The raven landed in front of the door of the largest cottage and cried out. The door opened. Izzy and Tsukiyo flinched against the sudden brightness.

"Come in. Don't just stand there in the cold," said a pleasant voice.

They did as asked. The cottage was warm, cozy, and cluttered with decorations from every culture and time period Izzy and Tsukiyo could think of. The raven flew past them and landed on the mantel above the fireplace.

Their host, a rotund humanoid with a long white beard, nodded to an overstuffed sofa. "Please have a seat. My wife will be in shortly with dinner. Until then, please make yourself at home."

"Thank you." Izzy plopped into the sofa. "I'm Koushiro Izumi, but everyone calls me Izzy."

Tsukiyo didn't take a seat yet. She looked at him suspiciously. "My name is Tsukiyo Nishiyama, and everyone calls me Tsukiyo Nishiyama. Mind if I ask your name?"

"Oh, I've been called pretty much everything in my life time," he said amicably, evidently taking no offence at her cold tone. "Around here, they call me Laetusmon. My wife's name is Gaudiamon, and our little friend here," he walked to the mantle and smiled fondly at the raven, "is called Ash. She's very intelligent, even though she doesn't always choose to act like it. She told us you would be coming."

A woman entered with bowls of some delicious-smelling concoction. She was as elderly and plump as her husband, and just as robust. "You poor children! Look at you. You're shivering. Here, have some stew. I'll put on some hot chocolate, and the cookies will be done in about a half hour." She handed one bowl of stew to Laetusmon, and another to Izzy, but before she gave one to Tsukiyo, she exclaimed, "My goodness, child, sit down! You've been on your feet all day. I don't want you to faint."

"I won't faint; I'm fine," she protested, a bit bemused.

Gaudiamon looked at Izzy, then back at Tsukiyo, calculating. "So you're just going to let that handsome young man sit there all by himself?"

With an air of nonchalance, Tsukiyo sat on the sofa next to Izzy.

Gaudiamon handed her a bowl. "That's better. You really must learn to be less stubborn, Tsukiyo. A little bit of stubbornness is good, but not if it keeps you from doing what you really want." With that, she hustled back to the kitchen.

Laetusmon smiled. "I'm afraid she's going to insist you stay the night. This world can be very dangerous in the dark. Besides, we're not far from Gruesomon's castle. And it's only a half-day's walk along the Linden Tree Path to the Slate Cliff, where you'll find the cave Xylomon is kept in."

"How do you know we're looking for Xylomon?" Izzy asked.

He smiled mysteriously. "I know a lot about you, digidestined."

At that moment, Gaudiamon returned with hot chocolate and a plate of sugar cookies. Before she could set them down on the coffee table, Ash swooped down and snatched up a cookie. "You and your sweet tooth," Gaudiamon scolded. "Have you no manners? We have guests."

Ash tossed her head flippantly and began picking at her stolen cookie.

Izzy and Tsukiyo were promptly handed mugs of hot chocolate, which proved to be the most delicious either had ever tasted. The cookies were also extraordinary. Laetusmon set sleeping mats on the floor near the fireplace. The two humans—who, in truth, were exhausted by their day's journey—quickly fell asleep.

They awoke to the smell of sausage and pancakes.

"So you're awake," Gaudiamon commented when they walked in the kitchen. "Breakfast has been ready for ten minutes."

"Thank you very much, but we really should be on our way," Izzy said politely.

"Nonsense. You need food to keep up your strength. You have a long, dangerous day ahead of you."

The door opened, and a gust of icy wind carrying a flurry of snowflakes blew through the kitchen. Laetusmon pulled the door closed behind him. He was carrying two heavy coats and four snowshoes. "You'll need these. There was quite a blizzard last night, though I trust the two of you slept through it soundly."

"They're not going anywhere without a warm breakfast in them," Gaudiamon insisted.

"Of course not. Besides, I still haven't given them their parting gifts."

"That's really not necessary; you've done so much for us already," Izzy said.

Laetusmon just laughed and shook his head. Then he sat down at the kitchen table, where five places were set. Ash had perched on the edge of the table, pacing impatiently in front of her plate. Tsukiyo and Izzy exchanged a look. They were both suspicious, Tsukiyo more so than Izzy. Tsukiyo was considering bolting for the door now; Izzy was willing to stay for breakfast and then see what happened. After a moment, Tsukiyo nodded almost imperceptibly, and they both sat at the table. They weren't telepathic, and didn't have any mystical bond like a digidestined had with a digimon, but they knew each other so well that a simple glance could communicate a great deal.

After finishing breakfast, Laetusmon left again, and returned with two wooden boxes. He handed the larger one to Tsukiyo, and the smaller to Izzy.

"What is this?" Tsukiyo opened her box and carefully took out a jade statuette. Thick, cylindrical, about as long as a typical office pen, the intricately-carved jade fit comfortably in her hand. It was an amalgam of dark green, light green, white, and lavender jade. She held it closer to her face and studies the carvings on it: detailed images of flowers, trees, animals, people, dragons, and various symbols. "This is exquisite." When she looked up, Izzy closed the box he'd received and pocketed it. "What was in yours?" Tsukiyo inquired.

"Nothing," he answered quickly.

"Nothing?"

"I'll tell you later."

Laetusmon smiled. His eyes sparkled. "Both of your gifts will prove their full worth only later, though I believe Izzy already knows how to use his. You should be going. Ash will guide you as far as Gruesomon's castle." He handed them the coats and snowshoes he'd brought earlier. "Good luck."

"You've done so much for us; how can we possibly repay you?" Tsukiyo asked.

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. There's nothing that makes me happier than making other people happy. If you really want to repay me, be kind to others."

Tsukiyo bowed deeply, then she and Izzy donned the coats and snowshoes and departed. Laetusmon and Gaudiamon waved to them from the doorway. Ash flew ahead of them, guiding them through the grey morning.

"Friendly people...or demons, or whatever they are," Izzy commented.

"Very. And enigmatic."

"Do you think it's possible..."

"I think it's probable. But that just raises more questions."

They were quiet for a minute.

"If we'd been out in the blizzard last night, we could have died," Izzy said.

"I know."

"I hope the others were alright."