Traveling through the portal took only an instant. Stepping out to the other side, Corrin found himself on the top of a grassy hill, a single tree nearby. The light of dusk revealed a small house in the distance, the first such humble building either of them had seen on their journey through dimensions.

"Still not the right world, then..." Corrin sighed.
Corrin turned at a loud noise over his shoulder to see the portal fading.
"There's not going back now..." Azura noted.
"Not good. Did we take the wrong portal?" Corrin wondered.
"There was no way for us to know," Azura said, "before worrying about that, perhaps we should explore this place."
"Explore... Right..." Corrin mumbled.
Azura knew immediately that something was up, his earlier energy from their reunion drained. "Corrin?"
"I'm fine. It's just been a long day," he explained.
"Oh, you poor thing. Head to that house, perhaps we'll be able to stay in there for a while."
Corrin nodded, heading down the hill. The ground was covered in grass, with a small forest over on his left. And was that a pond he saw? The air was still, like time itself had halted, but it made everything seem peaceful. Corrin couldn't help but feel relaxed, despite his worries about what they might find.

Corrin knocked on the door. "Anyone home?"
He waited for a few moments. There was no answer. He looked to Azura.
"See if you can go in," She suggested.
Corrin reached for the door handle. The door wasn't locked, the prince pushing it open. Inside was a lantern, a table, a bed and a bookcase.
"Hello?" he called out. He put Azura down and picked up the lantern. It somehow lit itself, making him jump. "Is this thing magic?"
Glancing towards Azura, he saw she was bent down, brushing at the table with her tiny hand. She inspected her palm.
"So much dust in here," she commented, "it seems like this cabin had been abandoned for some time."
"That could be good for us," Corrin said, feeling the mattress. It was so tempting for him to just throw himself onto the bed.
"I suppose we could rest in here," Azura smiled, seeing Corrin's longing look.
"Fantastic!" Corrin cheered, jumping onto the soft mattress, "we can always look around tomorrow, right?"
"Yes," Azura agreed. Corrin pulled out one of the pillows, placing it on the desk. Realizing his intention, Azura climbed on top of it. Struggling to stay upright on the huge object, she surrendered and let herself fall down onto its soft surface. The excessively comfy pillow was slightly worrying to the tiny singer, fearing she might be consumed by the folds of fabric.
Corrin was already drifting off. "Goodnight, Azura..." he said as he closed his eyes.
"Goodnight, Corrin." Her voice was the last thing he heard that day...

The light of the morning sun on his face woke Corrin. He smiled at the warm feeling. He had been dreaming again, one reality fading as he blinked into his own. Every morning he always thought, for an instant, that there was a small bird at the window. Every morning he realized it was Azura.
"Good morning... Azura..." he murmured.
She giggled. "Good morning. Seeing you struggle to wake up in the morning never gets old!"
Corrin groaned, bringing a hand to his face. "Were you dreaming again?" Azura asked.
"Yeah. About the first night we spent here," Corrin told her.
"You've been having that dream a lot recently," Azura noted, her tone still whimsical, "maybe it means something."
"You could be right," Corrin said, swinging himself over to the side of the bed, "I think it's because I finally finished reading all of those books last night." He looked to the bookcase against the other wall.
"He sounds like such a strange man," Azura pondered, recalling what Corrin had told her of the previous resident's writings, "did you learn much from his last chapter?"
"Not really," Corrin shrugged. With one last groan, he forced himself to stand. "I'll tell you about it on our morning walk."
Azura nodded. Corrin placed his finger on the table pointing down in front of her. She did not hesitate in giving his giant digit a hug. He brought the tip of his thumb over her back, as gently as he could manage. It was this small gesture that really brought home how small she was. It was the opposite for her, closing her eyes and imagining hugging another human at her full size once again.
Corrin carefully released her from their unconventional embrace. She smiled warmly at him, before turning to look at the surface of the table where she stood.
"How long has it been now?" Corrin asked.
"Hold on... 194 days," She revealed, finishing counting her scratches on the wood.
"I can't believe it's been over six months," Corrin said, placing his hand palm-up on the table. "Time really has flown."
"I agree," Azura said as she climbed onto the giant hand, "don't worry, we will get out of here one day."
It was far from the first time she had told him that, but he couldn't help but believe her every time. "I guess the last guy made it out, right?" Corrin said, lifting the tiny singer into the air, "I just hope I don't forget how to fight, it's been so long!"
"You train every day," Azura reminded him, "I'm sure you'll be fine."
"I know, but I still worry," Corrin said, recalling the conflict back home with a shudder. One day, he would have to face the decision he abandoned. But not today, at least...

Azura in hand, Corrin walked through the forest he had come to know so well. He glanced down at the shrunken singer, sat on the edge of his palm. Her legs were kicking in the air as she hummed a tune. He smiled. He hoped she would feel like dancing in his palm again. Shrunk down to such a small size, his hand was as big as a stage to her. He realized he had known her longer at her current size than he had when she was her normal height. A somehow other-worldly woman at such a small size, he often thought she might somehow fade away.
"I'm glad you're here, Azura," he told the tiny blue-haired woman.
Azura sighed. "You've been telling me that a lot recently."
"I mean it!" Corrin said, flaring up with faux irritation.
Azura giggled. "I know. I feel the same way."
"That month I spent on my own, not knowing if I'd ever see you again... It felt like a lot longer than the time I've spent here," Corrin said.
Azura looked up at him, a sad smile on her face. "It was the same for me, even though it wasn't nearly as long. I won't leave your side, Corrin."
Corrin laughed. "You say that nearly every day!"
"Oh? Well, I mean it, too!"

Reaching a clearing, Corrin walked over to the edge of the cliff. He carefully peered down, into the sky below. It was unnerving to think that cliffs like these surrounded the place that had been his home for half of a year.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to this..." he said. He was especially worried about Azura being blown over the edge of the cliff, the subject of many of his nightmares.
"I don't really mind," Azura said nonchalantly, "it reminds me of the home I once knew."
Corrin turned to a nearby bush. Crouching down, he searched for berries before finding one hidden in the leaves.
"I think we're running out of these," Corrin said, handing a berry to Azura. Even such a small thing was almost as tall as she was, and certainly bigger.
"We're lucky we don't get hungry here," Azura noted. "besides, they might grow back eventually."
"Maybe," Corrin agreed, "I'm sure I didn't see some of these yesterday."

On the way back home, Corrin paused for a moment at the pond, as he often did.
"This is like where we first met, isn't it?" Azura said, glancing over as she munched on a berry.
"Not really," Corrin told her, "nowhere near big enough to be like that lake." He could only kind of see what she was talking about. Maybe it was a bit like a smaller version of that lake in Hoshido, but he would have to squint
"I suppose. Well, it seems like it to me at least," Azura mused, biting into the berry again. Corrin didn't mind her using his hand as a dinner table, but did she have to be so messy?

Nearing the house, Corrin wondered what he would do now to pass the time. He could always start reading the books over again, he guessed. They were such interesting stories, he wondered how long it would be until he got bored of them. He always had Azura to talk to, their conversations made the hours pass quickly.
"Corrin, look!" she suddenly cried out. Quickly glancing to see what she was pointing at, he looked up towards the top of the hill.
There was a blue glow, a gentle light on the side of the tree. "Hey, isn't that..."
"Hurry!" Azura urged, "we might be able to get out of here!"

Corrin went up the hill as fast as he could, Azura safely contained in his fist. He never wanted to risk dropping her when he was in such a hurry. Reaching the tree, he opened his hand, letting his downsized companion see what was ahead.
"It is a portal!" Azura gasped.
"We should go," Corrin said, "we need to find everyone again."
"Yes. Hoshido and Nohr need us," Azura agreed.
Corrin hesitated. "You know, it was fun spending all this time here with you. I'll never forget it."
"Yes, I feel the same," Azura nodded, "I confess, it is tempting to stay here forever. But now, it is time to go."
Corrin nodded back, gulping. It had been a long time since he last went through a portal like this. Hopefully this time they would get to where they needed to go, or rather, where they were needed...