I slept deep. It had scared me at first, shutting down my senses like that. It was a mortal failing, a vulnerability. Still, once the nightmares had worn out, I found myself enjoying sleep more than I had expected myself to. It was a welcome escape from my uncertain reality and I chose to revel in it.

Despite my desperate grasp on the dream world, everything fled the moment a gentle pair of hands rocked me awake. "Morning, Altairis!" I heard a cheery female voice say as I cast my bleary sleep-laden eyes up towards the slight figure standing over me.

"Erinn. . . Morning?" I managed, my voice rough and hard to find in my tiredness.

Was it really time to get up already? I let my eyes wander around the small room I had been designated since my stay there. The single window to my left had been opened, allowing in birdsong and a cool, invigorating breeze. More importantly though, the soft blue light of a sun not-quite-risen flooded in from it, bathing the space in a wraithlike glow.

The sun had not yet deigned to rise, so neither would I.

With a yawn, I pulled the warm blanket up around me to stave off a chill and closed my eyes once more, willing my dreams to return to me.

Erinn would have none of it.

"Come on, get up!" She shook me again, still careful not to press any of my bandages.

"Why?" I whined.

Almighty, when had I become a whiner? ". . .I was having this dream. . . You were there and so was this metal slime and I just. . . I want to. . ." I gave up on words and just laid there.

I was not looking forward to this day. A day so full of improbability and chaos. It hadn't really hit me throughout my recovery, but another thing I dearly missed was the structured life of living in the Observatory. I missed having a purpose and direction at every moment. Nothing that Erinn could offer me would change that right now. Nothing could make this day any less frightening.

"You have a vi-si-tor." Erinn said sing-song, knowing her words would catch my attention.

My eyes shot open. Who could it be? I couldn't imagine any of the villagers had reason - or desire - to visit me, and surely. . . Penny the horse couldn't visit someone, could she? No, no, surely not. Perhaps it was mayor Litlun, here to make a more formal introduction! Certainly that must be it. No individual of such authority would be as rude as he was yesterday without offering apology afterwards, right? Mortals aren't completely barbaric, after all. That did change things. I could not keep him waiting.

I sat up. Erinn moved in close to help me but there was no need. The only thing that held me back now was the weight of sleep. My wounds had healed.

"Alright. I think I know who-"

"It's Ivor." Erinn said quickly.

"Ugh." I flopped back down onto the bed.

"He's got something or other he wants to talk to you about." She pleaded.

I groaned, pulling a pillow over my face. Surely suffocation would be a more pleasant fate? No, I suppose not. "Just. . . go tell him I'm out dungeon crawling or something, will you?"

Erinn clasped her hands in front of her, looking the ever patient mother-like figure. "He knows you're here, so I can't very well turn him away. Just give him a few minutes of your time, okay?"

I took a moment to think.

". . .Bah! Fine. I lost my dream already anyway." I finally conceded.

Honestly, I'd feel guilty further pressing Erinn to lie for me. She wasn't one to be knowingly dishonest and I didn't want to change that in her. Really, Erinn was unfailingly kind and sweet and maybe a little too-

"Look, If Ivor says anything rude to you, make sure you don't let him get away with it. I generally only give him three chances before I strike back." Erinn said thoughtfully.

Erinn. . . Striking back? Striking anything? Mortals consistently surprised me. "Heh, don't worry about that. Just distract him for a few minutes while I try to put myself together. . .I'm sure he'd love to spend some time with you anyway." I gently prodded.

To my surprise, she looked sad rather than flustered.

"No, I don't think that's true. . . not anymore." But before I had time to question her, she quickly pasted on a smile and continued. "But don't worry! I'm sure Ivor won't mind if you take your time getting up. He knows you're injured after all."

Once I had explained that I actually felt quite good, albeit a bit sore, Erinn excitedly went down stairs to start breakfast, allowing me take care of myself for the first time since my fall.

It didn't take long to get myself looking. . . human.

Because my Guardian uniform was dirty from my adventures around town the day before, Erinn had kindly put together some things for me to wear. They were just odds and ends but it was suitable enough. Between the bandana, leather shoes and plain clothes, I had never looked so. . . plain before.

It wasn't that I prided myself in my appearance, in fact, I didn't think about my appearance much at all. It was that, in their clothes, I just didn't feel one bit like a Celestrian, and I did pride myself in my race. I had never realized what an impact things as simple as cloth could make. It seemed that without my Celestrian garb on, there wasn't really anything Celestrian left about me.

With a small sigh, I scraped back my hair out of my eyes and pinned the massive mess of pink curls sprouting from my scalp up under the blue bandana Erinn had left me, then headed downstairs.

Erinn stood in the kitchen, pulling something rich and savory smelling from the stone stove, while her grandfather took his usual seat across from the window overlooking my guardian statue and the falls.

It was lovely, gathering together for meals each day. Celestrians would congregate and spend time with one another, but never so often or so casually. This culture of food that mortals partake in - each and every one of them - was something beautifully unique to their race that I felt oddly grateful to experience.

Something was wrong though, something was not where it belonged. It was Ivor, standing by the front door looking the same as he always seemed to when Erinn was close by - nervous.

I said my good morning to Erinn's grandfather, nabbing a heavenly bit of cooked pork off of a nearby platter and made my way over to Ivor.

"Hey, Altairis." He said as I strolled over to him, my eyebrows raised. "Don't look so surprised. There's something I want to talk to you about, that's all."

I crossed my arms and fixed my face in a deep scowl, mimicking master Aquila's imposing attitude as best I could. "Then talk."

Unflinching under my glare, Ivor looked pass me and at Erinn. ". . .We can't talk about it here. Come outside a minute." He said before bolting out the door.

Well then. Apparently I was not as frightening as my master. Hmph, it was the clothes fault, surely. If I had been in my prime, I'd have had him cowering. Definitely.

With a shrug, I followed Ivor out the door and around the far side of the house. He stood away from the windows, yet still looked about warily.

"Be honest with me, Ivor. Is this going to be about your deep, soul crushing love for Erinn? Because I really don't think I can help you with that. "

His face flooded red. "W-What!? Why would you even think that? She's just a silly inn girl! I mean, that's not to say she isn't just the most beauti-uh, I meant to say. . . It's just that me and Erinn, well. Wait. Argh! That's not what I came here to say! Not that there's anything to say about us. Well, not 'us' but you know. . ."

I smiled as I watched Ivor trip all over himself. It seemed that there was nothing that frightened him quite as much as his own feelings. I decided to interrupt him before he had a complete breakdown. "Ivor!" I shouted, ceasing his babbling. "I believe there was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Ivor cleared his throat as he gathered himself. "Ahem, yes. So here's the thing. You've heard about how the pass has been blocked by a landslide, right?"

I nodded. Of course I did, that landslide was the reason Erinn couldn't call on a healer for me. It was the reason I had to wait so long for my body to mend itself.

Ivor continued. "Well, that pass is a lifeline for us in Angel Falls. We're totally cut off if we can't use it. It's a real problem for Eri- A real problem for everyone, I mean."

I suppressed the sudden desire to roll my eyes. "Riiiight. I understand that it's a problem for 'everyone'. What are you getting at?"

"Well I was thinking: what better time for Ivor to come to the rescue? I'm going to clear the landslide and make it passable again." He said, mater-of-factly.

I felt my face twist in suspicion. "You? Clear a landslide? A whole landslide? . . .You?"

Ivor didn't seem to catch the question.

"It'll get my dad off my back for a while, and I know Erinn will be pleased as well." He muttered mostly to himself.

"You're so noble."

"There's just one hitch with my perfect plan." He said.

"Just one?"

He nodded. "Since the earthquake, there have been lots of monsters about, and it's pretty dangerous to leave the village now. . ."

I frowned. Was this really true? I supposed monsters could be aggravated by natural disasters, but I hadn't observed that behavior in my training before. I shuddered at the idea of little Angel Falls boxed in by nature, alone with tons of angry monsters. This place wouldn't stand a chance.

"That is a problem." I agreed. "But I'm having a hard time figuring out why you're telling me all this."

Ivor smiled at me. It was awful. "That's about where you come in. I was thinking that maybe you could tag along."

I almost laughed. "What makes you think I'll be any help?"

"You minstrel types are generally pretty handy in a scrap, right? Can I count on you to help me out?"

Were minstrels good in a scrap? I thought they just sung old songs and told stories from other parts of the world. I must have a lot to learn about my false identity.

"It'll be a great way to repay Erinn for helping you out." Ivor added.

I sighed. There was so much wrong with this. Aside from being a terrible plan, I really didn't know if I could help.

I wasn't much of a fighter. I trained, sure, I trained hard, but I had only been in one battle and my very capable master was there helping the entire time. More than that though, I didn't know if my training would even help in a heavy, clunky body like this. And I. . . I was scared. Now that I knew pain, I knew that I didn't want to suffer it any longer, I wanted to avoid it at all costs.

I was a coward.

But I was still the guardian of Angel Falls, the statue proved my fall hadn't changed that. I couldn't let it continue to change me. My flock needed me, coward or not.

"Sure, Ivor." I said finally. "I'd love to see how this plan works out."

His face brightened. "Knew it! Right then, you lead the way, Altairis."

"Wait. What?" When did this become my terrible idea?

"Oho, don't worry, It's easy enough to find. You just head out of the village and follow the road east."

"That's not-"

"Oh yeah, and let's keep this to ourselves, okay? We don't want everyone sticking their beaks in."

Before I could reply, Erinn strode towards us, a look of suspicion on her face.

"What's going on? How come you and Ivor are so pally?" She asked, looking at me.

Ivor jumped in to answer straight away. "We got off on the wrong foot, but now we've had the chance to chat, we've found that we get on okay after all." Ivor said, beaming at her.

It was surprising just how easy it was for him to lie, especially to someone who normally unwinds him with a glance. Equally surprising was his grin. Unlike the one he gave me earlier, this one made him look quite. . . respectable. Charming, even!

"That's why we're hanging around together. Just trying to get to know each other a bit better." He continued, casually draping an arm around my shoulder.

Erinn looked to me for confirmation.

"Yeah, what he said."

What? They never went over lying in guardian training.

The expression on Erinn's face became easy, losing the questions in her eyes. "I must admit that it sounds a bit unlikely. Still, if you're getting on, that's the main thing. Oh! Here." Erinn handed me a small, warm bundle. "If you're going to be running off around town you should be sure to eat. I know you're feeling better, Altairis, but I don't want you collapsing like you did yesterday. You must keep your strength up!"

I peeked inside the pouch and was greeted with the glorious aroma of salted pork strips and homemade bread. Like sleep, eating had been one of the most frightening things about my recovery, but now I've come to understand why the mortals kill each other over such things from time to time.

"Oh, I'll be sure to eat this, Erinn. No worries." I said, my mouth watering.

Erinn then went back inside to go tend to her own rumbling stomach, leaving Ivor and I alone. As soon as the door shut, Ivor wrenched his arm from around me and the suave facade he wore fell away. It seemed that I was stuck with the classic flavor Ivor for today.

"I said all that just to keep Erinn off my back, so don't go getting the wrong idea. I still don't trust you very much." He said.

I laughed in his face.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Remember that time I promised not to tell anyone about your father tearing into you for being a lay about? Or when I decided to help you out just a few minutes ago? Or when I basically lied to the girl who has been caring for me since I got here just for your comfort? Yeah, okay. But I'm not trustworthy or anything. Sure." Before he had the chance to rebuttal I headed off down the road towards the towns item shop.

Without argument, Ivor followed behind.

"What're we doing here?" He asked as I strolled inside.

"You want me to help you out? You're going to buy me a weapon."

The store was befitting of a town like Angel Falls. It was quaint but charming and surprisingly varied. Jars of herbs lined the wooden shelves on either side of us while all the bits and pieces of armor and accessories for sale were displayed on the walls. What I was looking for was behind the counter though - racks of weapons stood there, gleaming. Swords, whips and. . . fans? Who would use a fan to kill something? I image I still had a lot to learn about mortal combat.

"Hey! Why am I buying you a weapon?" Ivor asked incredulously. "Don't you have any money?"

"Well sure, I did. I also had my own sword but that was before I fell. They were washed away by the river."

Maybe I wasn't as bad at lying as I thought. I did lose my bronze sword, but I never owned a piece of gold in my life. What Celestrian had?

Ivor's eyes narrowed. "If this is some trick to get free-"

I growled in frustration. "Oh stuff it, you. I'll pay you back today. Once the monster murdering gets started I'll hand you all the gold I find, alright? It should more than pay off a. . ." I trailed off, looking at the weapons. "Ah! A Soldier's sword, perfect."

Ivor rolled his eyes but begrudgingly paid the owner as I took a few practice swings. I felt a bit of my former confidence surface as I held the familiar weight of a blade in my grasp. I may be of some use yet, it seemed.

As we headed across the second bridge and into the south side of town, a familiar face came skipping up to us. I heard Ivor groan behind me.

Yvette stopped and smiled up at me, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Oh! Miss Minstrel Lady Ma'am! Have you decided to do a performance for the town today? Oh please say that you will!" She pleaded with me, eyes brimming with hope.

"Ah, I'm sorry Yvette, I hate to disappoint you but I-"

"Just kidding!" She suddenly shouted, throwing her hands up. "That's just what daddy wishes you'd do, instead of mooching off of Erinn. He says the townsfolk could really use the boost!"

"M-Mooching?!" I had never been so offended. "Your father does know I've only just recovered, right? From falling off a waterfall?"

This must be some sort of mistake. Authority figures liked me, I'm great! I'm polite and a hard worker and. . . and! It wasn't my fault I was all beaten up!

"Yep!" Yvette chirped, breaking my heart a little more. "But I know your secret." She said, lowering her voice to a slightly more human decibel. "I know how you and my brother are going off to the mountain pass!"

"Shh!" Ivor broke into the conversation, arms flailing. "Keep your voice down, will you? We don't want the whole world to know!" He whispered angrily.

Yvette gave her brother a well-practiced, condescending smile. "It's okay. I won't tell Dad, if that's what you're worried about."

This kid.

"Yeah, well just make sure you don't, okay?" Ivor replied as he began pushing me in the direction of the town gate.

Yvette waved enthusiastically after us as we made our way down the dirt road. Once we passed by the ranch, I decided to try my hand at talking to Ivor as I would have liked to when I was invisible, to try to get to know him.

"I can't help but notice how bubbly and friendly your sister is, Ivor. Were you like that as a child too?"

To my surprise, he wasn't resistant to conversation. "Nah. Not like Yvette. She really takes after our mom."

"Oh. I haven't met the mayor's wife yet. She must be quite the woman."

Ivor smiled, it was small, but it was genuine. "Moms great. She's not pushy at all like dad is. I just wish she weren't so sick these days."

"She's sick?"

As he answered, his face became sad. Concerned. "Yeah, just how Erinn was when she first got here. But I'm sure she'll get better, we have some of the freshest air and the purest water. I know she'll get strong again. I know. . ."

I fell silent as we approached the town gate. I hadn't meant things to take such a sullen turn and I never realized Erinn had been sick before, it was hard to imagine considering how hard she worked now. Something about his story was bothering me though. I just couldn't place my finger on it.

Ivor fell in behind me as I marched towards the open fields outside of Angel Falls. Before we made it past the gateway though, I was greeted by Hugo. "Here comes another lamb to the slaughter! You can't go out there, you know. There are monsters about."

Before I had the chance to say anything, Ivor groaned and pushed me out of the way, still upset from our talk before. "Stop trying to scare people! We're leaving the village and there's nothing you can do about it."

Hugo stared at his friend in shock. "W-Wait a minute! What are you doing with her, Ivor? Since when were you best mates?"

I knew what would lighten Ivor's mood. I gave Hugo my most hearty scoff as I clutched Ivor's hand in my own. "It took only one private moment at his house last night to know we could never deny our feelings for one another. We're in love, Hugo, and needless to say, he prefers my company to yours. Isn't that right, my little puddin' skin?"

His jaw dropped.

"Gah!" Ivor screamed as he shook off my hand. "W-What is wrong with you!? Why would you say something like that! Pudding. . . what!?"

"Ivor. . . " Hugo said, his voice astonished. "Is this true? . . .And why don't you ever like the pet names that I give you?"

I laughed so hard I thought I was going to die.

"You are both such a pain sometimes!" Ivor shouted in frustration. Turning to his friend, he clarified. "We're just going to clear the landslide, that's all. Don't listen to a word that woman says!"

Hugo frowned at me as I wheezed in breathless laughter. "Oh, alright. . . But there really are monsters about, you know." Hugo said, still miffed.

"Nothing I can't handle. Just let us by, will you? Hold us up any longer and there'll be trouble!"

I shouldn't have been surprised to hear Ivor threaten his friend, but it did cease my cackling. I felt a little bad for Hugo, really.

Well, sort of. At least no one was sullen anymore.

"G-Go on then. I'm not stopping you. But if you get tired or hurt, you'll come straight back to the village if you know what's good for you."

With that warning in mind, and a death glare from my newest friend, we stepped out into the wild.

I knew quite a bit about the area around Angel Falls, I studied it on my own in preparation for master Aquila's lessons and again with him by my side. Still, the place felt quite different from this angle.

The steep, rocky cliffs that surrounded the entire area never looked quite so high before, and the rolling hills of green never so vast. It was as frightening as it was beautiful. The river that ran from the waterfall in town led into a serene lake in the middle of it all, which heralded the half-way point of our journey to the mountain pass to the east.

Ivor refused to talk to me most of the way there, but broke his silence by threatening to push me into the lake as we passed. I took it as a unique sign of forgiveness and began talking about the area.

I shouldn't have been surprised to find that Ivor knew just as much about the place as I did. Apparently, he had spent a lot of time gathering medicinal and antidotal herbs for his mother and even sometimes to sell to the item shop.

"And over there, " he said, pointing across the lake, "lies a great spot for harvesting Tanglewebs."

"Tanglewebs? Did your mother ask you for those too?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I bring those home for Yvette from time to time. She doesn't like being left behind, but there's no way I'd bring a noisy brat like her out here to attract monsters to me."

I chuckled. "Speaking of which. . . where are all of these monsters, anyway? We haven't ran into a single one." I said, feeling slightly awkward with my shiny new Soldier's sword hanging off my hip.

Ivor had no answers but was pleased to see that despite him having asked for my help, it was I that somehow ended up in debt to him.

Because our journey had been uneventful, we were making phenomenal time and agreed to take the detour around the lake and fetch little Yvette some Tanglewebs and harvest a few antidotal herbs on the way. As we ambled through the wooded area en route to our destination, I asked him about Erinn.

"You said she was sick when she first came to Angel Falls, right? Can you tell me about that?"

Ivor shrugged. "There's not much to tell. Apparently her mom was sickly and so was she. I remember when she and her dad first moved here. Erinn was always upstairs in her bed all day, all skinny and ghastly pale. I brought her flowers almost every day thinking that would make her better." A little smile emerged on his face as he recalled the details. "See, folks always brought mom and dad flowers whenever they weren't feeling their best and then they ended up getting well again, so I thought that's just how it worked."

Frowning again, he continued. "I was starting to get real upset that no matter how many flowers I got her, she just wouldn't get out of bed. Then one day I went over to her house to tell her I wasn't going to bother with it anymore when I noticed her standing outside, all on her own. She was looking at that dumb guardian statue of ours, crying. I went over there and that silly girl was smiling as she was bawling her eyes out! And she looked so. . . well, I was a kid and I thought she looked funny standing there all crazy like that but really, I'll never forget how pretty I thought she was. . . how pretty she is."

He shook his head, as if shaking the memories from his mind. "Funny thing is, she doesn't seem to remember her time being sick. I mean, she is a bit younger than me but still! I think that's why she's so keen on Celestri-whatevers, even if she doesn't know it. Anyway, I'll always remember. . ." He trailed off awkwardly, realizing how much he had been talking.

"Not much to tell, huh?" I teased.

"Aw, shut up." He said, blushing.

"You know. . ." I began, as we started carefully picking Tanglewebs from an abandoned nest. "Erinn seems to think you don't like her very much anymore, or at least that's the vibe I was getting from her this morning."

Ivor stiffened. "What? But that's not true at all! . . .Well, maybe I haven't been so nice to her lately. . ."

"But why?" I asked. "Why be rude to someone you seem to care for so much? I don't understand it."

Ivor chucked the Tangleweb he was holding. "It's just that I'm frustrated! I don't know why I'm mean to her! It's just when I was nice it never seemed to be enough, and then she went and forgot all the things I did for her when she was sick. . . the flowers, the talks, her crying and smiling in my arms. . . All of it gone! Why waste kindness on someone who never remembers it?"

I put my hands on my hips, scowling at him. "Oh that's just silly! Of course being nice to someone isn't going to make them fall in love with you! Even I know people don't work that way. And besides, Erinn isn't a child anymore and she certainly isn't sick. The kind things you do for her now will not be forgotten, just as the unkind things aren't."

"But-"

"And furthermore, you can't hold her memory loss against her like that! I've been in a bed for only a week and have a hard time remembering what happened during, I can't imagine how tough that would be for someone who was bedridden all their childhood." I folded my arms under my chest. "Just. . . be honest with her and yourself. I can see that you're capable of incredible kindness, Ivor, and I think that's something Erinn could need right now. And besides," I said, losing the edge in my voice, "I don't believe she's forgotten the things you've done for her. If she had, she wouldn't have been so sad to see you act the way you do."

Hurt flashed across Ivor's face.

"Sad? I made her. . . Aw man, that's not what I want at all!"

Sighing in frustration, Ivor suddenly went over and picked up the Tangleweb he had tossed, then handed it to me.

"What's this for?" I asked.

"You take this and the herbs we collected. I'll keep a web for Yvette and you sell all the rest at the shop. It won't be enough to pay me all back yet but whatever, I know you're good for it. I trust you."

That brought a grin to my face. "Thanks. Now what do you say we hurry on and deal with that landslide for Eri-er, for everyone's sake?"

Ivor smiled. "Yeah! Ivor to the rescue! And remind me to stop and pick some flowers on our triumphant way back, alright?"

I couldn't keep help but feel good as we made our way east towards the mountain pass. His plan was still rubbish, but I was pretty happy to have been included in it. Popping the last bit of bacon I had left in my mouth, I decided that a day so full of improbability wasn't so bad after all.