As we neared the town gate, Ivor and I casually swapped compliments like old friends as we divvied up the gold we collected. I was lucky we ended up running into as many foes as we did on our journey back to Angel Falls. Apus Major taught me ages ago that monsters big and small had an insatiable lust for gold, and a handy knack for finding it. When it was all said and done, I had enough cash to pay Ivor back for the Soldiers Sword I forced him to buy me, and a little something left over. Very little, in fact, but it was more than I had ever had before. More than I believed I needed.

Knowing that, I offered Ivor the Tanglewebs he had given me to sell earlier. He drew his hands away and said it was 'no big thing' for him to get more, and to keep them as a souvenir of Angel Falls 'or whatever'. With that, I imagined he could cross 'town greeter' off his list of viable career options, but it was a kind gesture all the same.

As soon as Ivor and I sauntered into town, Hugo was there; brown eyes so wide they looked like they would fall out of his head. "Hey, Ivor! You're back! Manage to clear up the landslide, did you?" he asked hopefully.

Ivor gave a hearty laugh. "Just wait 'til I tell you the news!" he replied with a grin.

"Ooh! What is it? Tell me! Tell me! Stop looking so smug and just spill the beans!"

Ivor pretended to consider, gladly allowing his friend to boil in curiosity for a few long seconds. "Nah." Ivor said finally. "I have to report to Dad first, don't I? Then I'll come back and fill you in."

Hugo's eagerness left him and disappointment filled the vacancy. It wouldn't have surprised me if Ivor had proceeded to pet poor Hugo on the head before telling him to be a 'good boy' and wait for his treat.

I was beginning to like Ivor, but not the way he treated other people. I may have gotten him to be kinder to me, but he was still in need of an attitude adjustment. Or a lesson in tact. Though. . . perhaps I wasn't the one best suited to bring up that particular criticism.

"Oh. . . okay." Hugo said, dissatisfied, before turning his attention elsewhere. ". . .Hey, what are those flowers for?" he asked, his sight falling to the bouquet in Ivor's hand.

Ivor instinctively hid the flowers behind his back like a child caught stealing, before stuttering out what an immense hurry we were in. I couldn't decide whether his embarrassment was sweet or utterly ridiculous. Perhaps it was a bit of both.

I gave a polite wave to Hugo as Ivor and I went by, silently wondering how someone with as little mortal contact as myself could end up more comfortable with people than Ivor seemed to be. Gifts or not, it would take an eternity for him to catch Erinn's heart acting this way.

Before reaching the inn, Ivor insisted we stop by the ranch to ask its owner - Mr. Algernon, he informed me - if he could have some ribbon or string to tie his freshly picked flowers together with. When asked, the rancher gave Ivor a knowing smile and went inside to see what he could find. While we waited, a young boy who had been playing with the animals spotted us.

Scurrying our way, the boy ran a small hand through his brown, bowl-cut hair, only for it to fall neatly back into place. "You guys! You went to the pass, didn't you?" he asked, still fidgeting with his hair.

Ivor practically exploded. "Yvette! That little brat went and blabbed to everyone and their uncle what we planned to do, didn't she!?" he screamed more to himself than to anyone else in particular.

"Well, she did only promise not to tell your father." I offered. Ivor wasn't amused.

The boy tried to turn our attention back to him by clearing his throat all adult like. It came out as a rather precious squeak. "You know, I saw a big shiny thing fall from the sky over there when the earthquake happened." he continued once our eyes were back on him. "I don't suppose you found anything there?"

I was about to say 'no', until I thought about the Starflight Express. It wasn't gold and shining anymore, but it was when it fell from the Observatory. Could this boy have seen it? "Yes. . ." I whispered numbly, a rush of thoughts overwhelming me.

No mortal was capable of seeing the celestial carriage as it flew through the sky, so how did this boy notice it? Did that mean the Starflight was changed somehow during the fall? Was it as useless and broken as I was? Ivor still couldn't see it, but it's glamour was obviously faltering, it's magic compromised; could it still get me home? How desperately I wished to have the Observatory's library at my disposal at times such as these.

Ivor cut through my thoughts with a derisive snort. "You're just saying that to make him happy. You never saw anything of the sort!" he declared accusingly.

The boys excited face fell. "So it's not true. . .?" he asked as he hung his head.

I meant to comfort him but faltered when I realized I had no explanation to offer that didn't leave me sounding like a liar or a madwoman. Would I tell him the truth? I wasn't even sure what the truth was. It wouldn't have mattered though, before I had the time to even reach out my hand, he looked up at me with hate filling in his small eyes.

"Yvette was wrong, you're mean, Altairis. And a big, fat liar!" He shouted before running off. Hands clenched into tiny fists; his childish dreams of gold and adventure thoroughly dashed.

I glared at Ivor. "Can't let anyone be happy but you, huh?"

"I was doing him a favor. He's gotta grow up and know what's real and what isn't."

I felt my temper flare. "Like you're one to make that distinction! Plus, he's still just a child!"

Ivor shrugged, but something hateful crept into his voice. "I just don't want him to get hurt later on when he finds out that shining treasures don't fall out of the sky. Life isn't easy as all that. There are too many people out there who think some greater power will do everything for them." He fixed me with a cold stare, "What was half of this town doing today? Praying that their problems would be magically fixed! Did you see me asking some Guardian to help me out? No, and I'm the only one here that has any good news."

Normally I'd have been delighted with the irony of Ivor's declaration, but something was eating him up, and it was more than his issues with his dad. I was frustrated with him, but I still wanted to help; I just didn't know how to approach the subject. I still had a long way to go before understanding these boundaries, especially in regards to such a uniquely fickle human.

Before I was able to settle on a reply, a wide band of silken vermilion ribbon bobbed in the air between us. We both looked up to see it held firmly between a rough set of fingers. "Sorry ta interrupt but I found a couple a spare pieces of trimming the Missus had in her scraps box. I figured since yer so in love, boy, I'd give ya the most romantic lookin' one I could find." Mr. Algernon said as he gave Ivor a toothy grin.

Red as a beet, Ivor impulsively replied, "I-I don't even know what you're. . . Argh." he sighed, snatching the ribbon from the older man's hands, defeated. "This is perfect. . .thanks."

As Ivor began fussing about with the flowers and ribbon, I turned my attention to the rancher. "So how's your new horse feeling? Er, Dime, right?" I asked.

The grisly looking man adjusted the brim of his well-worn straw hat as he nodded. "She's doin' a right bit better now. I thought I'd lose 'er without the Guardian lookin' out for me, but it seems I'm more capable than I gave myself credit for."

I blinked in surprise. "You thought the Guardian stopped looking out for you?"

"Mhm." he replied rather nonchalantly. "At first. But after a heart to heart with the Missus, I now see good 'ol Altairis just wanted me to have a little faith in my own two hands. After takin' a long hard look at all I've accomplished, I sure am proud." he said, placing a large calloused hand lovingly on the muzzle of one of his prized horses.

I grinned, mimicking the action. I was proud of him too.

"Got it!" Ivor shouted suddenly, lifting the bouquet up in triumph.

"Oh. Wow, Ivor, those look really great." I said with no small amount of awe.

Ivor had been very careful about the flowers he had picked on our journey returning home, choosing a calculated mix of closed buds and fully bloomed Anemone, Aster, Beardtongue and Blanketflower. He positioned them in a way that looked effortless but neat, and bound them tightly together with the ribbon, tying it off in a modest bow at the center.

As he was gathering the various blossoms, Ivor admitted that his interest in the subject stemmed from his mother, who was a skilled flower-arranger. I had never heard of such a thing, and greedily ate up every bit of information he would divulge. As the villagers would say, I was 'chuffed as chips' to have been able to recall the many names and subtleties of the plants I was taught. It was fluff compared to the studies I had committed myself to before, but I had been a student for so long that I truly enjoyed learning; regardless of teacher and subject.

To my surprise, Ivor took our 'oohing' and 'ahing' compliments over his work with a perfectionists cynical humility, rather than his usual boisterous arrogance. This was important to him; everything had to be just right for Erinn. I suppose I couldn't tease him for it, he hadn't been in the best of terms with her lately, and I'd noticed that she could wield a sharp tongue where Ivor was concerned. I suddenly felt very nervous for him; I really wanted this to go well.

After a well meaning 'Good luck' from Mr. Algernon, Ivor and I made our way to the Inn where we were sure to find Erinn; working away, knowing full-well no customers were coming. Calling her dedicated would be a vast understatement, no, she was obsessed with her work - with that place. After all, it was the only thing she had left of her father, and it had become quite clear to me since my fall that family had strange effects on people. Even Celestrians.

Casting my second-hand anxiety away as best I could, I took a great deep breath of clean air and distracted myself with the scenery around me. The sun had begun to set, and its rays played off the water of the falls in a brilliant display of light. On the small island in the middle of the river, a man knelt and dipped a conspicuously ornate glass bottle into the water. After he finished filling it, he held it up against the light of the fading day. The water was pure, clear as the glass that contained it.

"Hey, Ivor." I said, turning towards him.

Ivor twitched and looked around till his gaze landed on me. Apparently I had broken his focus."Huh? Yes?" he replied.

I smiled apologetically. "Didn't mean to scare you, I was just wondering about something you mentioned to me earlier."

Ivor seemed to relax a bit and ran his free hand through his tower of styled, blonde hair, barely disheveling it. "S'okay. I was just thinking about what to say to Erinn."

"And?"

He grimaced. "And I still don't know what I'm going to say." Ivor blew out his breath, trying to ease the tension in him. "C'mon, what was it you wanted to ask? Help me take my mind off this."

"Well," I said, turning towards the falls, "I was thinking about the water here. When you were talking about your mother before - how she was sick - you said she should be okay because Angel Falls has the purest water. I knew this town was known for its water, but I assumed people just meant the falls." I gestured to the roaring waterfall as it gleamed with the rays of the setting sun caught in its downpour, marking my point. "It is beautiful, after all."

Ivor nodded, a strange vacant look blanketing his face as I continued.

"But I see now that the water really is quite exceptional in its purity, and you mentioned that Erinn was brought here of all places to get healthy. . . and keeping in mind my own speedy recovery, I can't help but wonder, is there something more to this water?" I asked, turning to face Ivor.

He said nothing. He just stared into the shimmering water, mesmerized. No, not mesmerized, he didn't appear to be seeing the water at all.

I frowned. "Ivor? I'm asking if the water here has any actual healing effect. It's important that I know. That's what the town is really known for, isn't it?" I asked more directly as I put a hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention.

Ivor still didn't meet my eyes.

"Hold this." He said, holding out the bouquet towards me; his voice flat, expressionless.

I took the flowers gently, as to not undo the hard work Ivor put into arranging them, before speaking again. "Ivor, what is wrong with you? You look-"

Before I could continue, Ivor cut me off with a piercing shriek that sent my heart into my stomach. Falling to his knees, Ivor continued to scream, his arms wrapped around himself in a mock hug, sudden tears pouring down his anguished face.

I stood there, bouquet in hand, stunned.

"I-Ivor? What's going on? What's wrong?" I felt my mouth go dry as I looked around wildly, hoping to see the kind nun out on her walk or even one of those gossipy ladies, anyone. But there was no one around to help. Should I go find someone? Would it even be okay for me to leave him like this?

Ivor continued to scream, high, aching and inhuman, as he began rocking back and forth; his nails digging into his sides as he held himself tighter. His chocking sobs snapped me out of my indecision.

I threw the flowers out of my way as I dropped to his side, readying a Heal spell in the back of my mind and begging the Almighty that I had enough magic left in me to make it happen.

"Ivor." I began, my voice wavering in fear, "It's going to be okay. I'm here, just tell me where it hurts." I said, readying the sparks of healing magic in my fingertips. "Please, Ivor, tell me where you're hurting." I heard my words grow thick in my throat as my eyes became hot with the promise of tears. What was happening to my friend?

Ivor's scream died down into a whimper and he turned his face towards me, his features etched with visible agony as he whispered. "Everywhere. It hurts everywhere."

Tears fell from my eyes and at a loss of what to do, I laid my hands on him, willing the Heal spell I had mustered into his body. Nothing happened.

"Ivor. . ." I whispered, not knowing what else to say.

He was perfectly still for a second while he looked into my eyes and then, for just a moment, it seemed as though he saw through me and into something else entirely. Then the words poured out of him.

"She's dead. She's been dead for months. You have her eyes. I thought maybe I'd be okay after she died, I thought I could cope, but then you show up with her eyes." Ivor's tears returned with full force. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I was cruel, that I lied about her, but I just didn't want to admit she. . ." His words dissolved into full body sobs as he begun to rock himself again.

'Yeah! This is where daddy and Ivor and me live!', I heard Yvette's chirpy voice echo through my mind as I realized what had bothered me about Ivor's earlier story about his mother's sickness. Yvette never mentioned her mom; she was already dead before I had fell. I quickly thought back to when I was still under Aquila's apprenticeship and searched my memory for the last time a woman had died in Angel Falls. I hadn't known it was Ivor's mother. I didn't remember anything about the day really, other than Aquila's brief lesson on mortal grief.

"It is unwise to take the requests of grieving mortals seriously. You see, Altairis, death effects everyone close to it; hollowing those it surrounds. Mortals are especially unhappy with we Celestrians in these dark moments. They feel we turn our backs on them out of cruelty, but we do so for their own good. The wishes of one crazed by death can only cause more sadness, so time is the only comfort we can bestow."

But time had passed and it hadn't been enough, not for Ivor. So I offered him another comfort, one I was only capable of in this meager form. I held him as he cried and shared in his pain. I was relieved, glad to know Ivor wasn't in the physical pain I first thought he was, but it was fleeting, as I knew he was feeling an equally real pain - a pain that a simple spell couldn't touch.

It felt as if hours had passed, but in reality, the whole ordeal only lasted a handful of minutes. The last of which was spent in relative silence, nothing but the constant roar of the water beside us pervaded the air. It was Ivor that spoke first.

"You didn't have to do that. Not for me." Ivor's voice was slightly strained and rough, but there was something else that was different about his words. Something was all together changed about him. Softer.

I took him by the shoulder so I could look him directly in the eyes. I needed him to understand what I was about to say next. "Ivor. You are my friend. It's my job to do that, and I take my jobs seriously."

Ivor was quiet again for a second before breaking into a giant grin, laughing. "Bacon and biscuits, Altairis! No need to play the stoic Guardian for me."

I flushed and Ivor's laughter died down, but his smile remained. "Seriously, though, a good friend is always welcome in my life. I don't deserve them, my friends, but maybe I can start making up for that now. I just. . ." Ivor paused then laughed again. "I don't know what to say after all of that."

"You could tell me why you broke down all of a sudden. Was it something I said?"

Ivor's grin faded a bit. "Yeah, but it's not like that. You were asking about the Angel Tears, and it reminded me of my mom and Erinn's dad and how it wasn't enough to save either of them. . . I've held that contempt and sadness inside for so long now that once you mentioned it, I just broke down I guess."

I looked out over the water, holding in some sadness of my own. "Angel Tears, huh?"

"Yeah," Ivor began, stretching his arms over his head, "dad told me the story before, but it's puerile gibberish if you ask me. Basically, some wally saw the falls and thought they looked angelic so, you've got the Angel Falls. Then when they found that the water was pure and tasty, another poetic genius declared 'only the tears of an angel' could be so pure and, bam, Angel Tears. It's some of the dumbest rubbish I've ever been taught. Probably made up by a geezer trying to sell something, that's how all stories start, you know."

I doubted Ivor's story was accurate, but that didn't matter, what I needed to know was whether or not the water was truly magical. If the falls were enchanted, or so pure that it had a direct healing effect, then my quick recovery could very well be thanks to nearly drowning in it rather than any Celestrian power or gift from the Almighty.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "So, does the water really have any magic in it?"

Ivor seemed to contemplate the falls for a minute before answering. "I think it probably does. Lots of people have gotten stronger after drinking it, and being raised on it myself. . . well, I just think maybe there is more to it than just being pure."

My heart sank.

"But," he suddenly continued, raising my hopes once more. "I don't think it's what people really make it out to be."

"Really?" I said a bit too eagerly. "I mean, why do you say that?"

Ivor looked down at his hands as he spoke, his eyes far away. "Things aren't as simple as that. Water doesn't just decide to heal some people but not others, it can't think that way; magic or not, it's still just water." He looked back up at me, regaining the light in his face. "I think it can only go so far and heal so much. It wasn't enough to stave off the disease mine and Erinn's parents had, but it was enough to get a little girl back on her feet. It's good, but it's not the miraculous cure-all people around here like to say it is. It doesn't really come from an angel, after all." he chuckled and the sound eased my nerves a bit.

It was no definitive answer, but it had me thinking. Maybe I had to let go of the idea that I was only slightly removed from my Celestrianhood; that perhaps life was as unfair and cruel as Ivor believed it to be, and I was only alive because I had fallen into the right pond and lost all significance to my race when it happened.

I sighed and gave up on that line of thought, it was doing me no good; I still knew what I had to do, regardless of my condition. Instead, I let my mind wander to Ivor, how he must have been different before his mother had died; before he became a jumble of nerves and tears. I thought of the mayor and his unforgiving demeanor, and little Yvette - bright as the sun and too clever for her own good. I thought about families and relationships as I watched the sky with my mortal friend, finally able to picture my own family without a feeling of helplessness threatening to drown me.

Just as I found myself yawning in the sight of the emerging stars dotting the darkening heavens, a thought hit me like a brick tossed from a window. "Oh! What are we doing!?"

Ivor eyed me in amusement as I clamored to my feet and ran a little ways behind him. His eyes grew wide when he saw the slightly battered bouquet of wildflowers in my hand. "Erinn!" I shouted, waving the flowers in his direction.

The panicked look I was so accustomed to seeing came over Ivor like a wave, and he bolted to my side, picking out bruised petals with a surgical precision. It took him less than a minute, and the bouquet looked as full and beautiful after as it did before. None the less, Ivor declared it trash.

"It's trash!" Ivor declared.

I rolled my eyes. "C'mon, it looks great right now! But It won't look so great if you take forever giving them to her. You want her to know your feelings for her have bloomed, not wilted and started to smell like rotten fruit."

After a little back and forth - and some friendly threats - Ivor and I finally continued our way to the inn. It was fully dark by the time we entered the door and I idly wondered if Hugo thought Ivor had forgot about him. Those thoughts quickly melted away in the warmth of the inn.

The inn of Angel Falls was not unlike most of the other houses there. It was small, old, and had an odd charm about it. It shared the same mismatched stone flooring, smooth stone walls, polished wood beams, and open candle light that every other building in Angel Falls had.

The inn did have some distinct differences though. Instead of smelling like baked food, animal fur or wood stove; the inn always had a pleasant, light, almond fragrance. I wasn't sure how Erinn did it, but no matter what manner of person came to see her, tracking in what-have-you, she always had the place smelling lovely and inviting just a moment later.

That wasn't the only dissimilarity though; the place was spotless. It wasn't just the level of cleanliness you'd expect of a proper business, it went well beyond that. Whereas the item shop might have some grime around the door and dirt in the rug, Erinn's inn had no such thing. The church's pews might creak a bit and have a few scratches from use, but the furniture here was always solid and without mark or mar. Utensils were polished to a gleam, the windows were treated daily, and not a drip of wax ran over the candelabras. The photos were free of dust, the flowers exchanged every afternoon, and all bedclothes were washed with every use. The place would feel almost sterile if not for all the little odds and ends Erinn adorned the place with. There was enough clutter to make you feel at ease, but not so much that you found the place unstylish. It was a difficult balance and Erinn had perfected it.

"Hello, Altairis!" Erinn chimed from behind the desk as she saw me. Though she smiled, it was a tight sort of grin that didn't touch her eyes.

I did my best to return it anyway. "Hey there, Erinn. I thought I'd still find you working. For whatever reason. . ." I said, my eyes scanning the empty sitting room.

Erinn's voice was weary. "I know we haven't had any customers lately, but I have to be ready to welcome them just in case."

Yeah, just in case they decided to vault over a giant landslide and needed somewhere to rest afterwards.

I let a moment pass between us before speaking. I didn't want to press her, but I found myself genuinely worried that she was working herself too hard. "Erinn-"

"You probably think it's pointless, don't you?" she said, cutting me off. "Well, so what? What else am I supposed to do?" Her voice was hard and angry, but I still heard the real question in her words, the quiet pleading. Please, tell me, what else I am supposed to do?

I wanted to tell her to go home, go rest, forget about responsibility for a change and actually talk about what she's feeling, but the words felt so funny in my mouth. They were words I couldn't say, because I felt they would make me a hypocrite.

I counted myself lucky when Ivor took this chance to make himself known.

Clearing his throat, Ivor stepped up beside me; his face wracked with anxiety, bouquet still at his back. "Ah, hi Erinn. Um-"

Erinn made a very unladylike snort once she finally took notice of him, then looked incredulously at me. "What are you still doing hanging around with Ivor? Surely you're fed up with him by now?" she laughed. She didn't mean to sound so cruel, she never did, but she sounded that way all the same. It was more than enough to offend Ivor.

His face became a neutral mask. "You won't be bad-mouthing me like that for much longer, you know. You'll see. You'll be thanking me before long." Ivor's voice wasn't raised, and it didn't sound half as angry as I've heard it before. It was simply resigned, and it broke my heart. Without sparing her so much as an extra glace, he turned to me. "I'd better go and report to Dad." Then he shoved the bouquet into my hands and left without another word or a slammed door.

Erinn furrowed her brow as she watched the door swing shut after him. "Well he was acting extra strange. Was he as grumpy as that all day? How did you put up with it?" she asked, her attention now on me.

I bit down the first words that came across my tongue. I wanted to chastise her for being so snappy with him, but I couldn't exactly blame her for her behavior either - It's not as if Ivor wasn't reaping what he sowed. Still, maybe I could help close the gap between them just the littlest bit.

"You know," I began, lifting the bouquet to my nose and into full view, "Ivor really isn't always so terrible. That boy has got hidden depths." I took a deep inhale and marveled at just how well the different scents blended together. It was a symphony of sweet undertones, woody fragrance and sharp, clean perfume.

Erinn's features softened into the kind face I was used to. "I suppose you might-oh. What is that?" Erinn said, staring intently at the blossoms in my hand. "Is that what you two have been doing all day? Flower arranging?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

I smiled nervously as I thought about how much to admit to her. Surely mentioning our little voyage to the mountain pass would be a bad idea. "Not exactly. Ivor was teaching me all about the wild blooms native to this area - I had never seen anything like them before. I learned quite a lot, actually." Not a lie.

Erinn beamed. "May I see them?" I nodded and handed the bouquet over to its intended owner. She spun it slowly in her hands, looking it over with an intense gaze, then took a cursory sniff. Her eyes lit up. She took a much longer sniff the second time before grinning at me."This is just amazing, Altairis! You did an incredible job! Ivor must be a better teacher than I would have thought." she held the flowers back out to me.

I put my hand up, stopping her. "Actually, it's Ivor that made the bouquet. I just took notes. Also, it's for you. He put a lot of effort into it."

Something crossed Erinn's face as she brought the flowers closer to her, but I couldn't decipher what it was. "He did that for me, huh? That's. . ." Her face twisted in an odd way before settling on a smile. "Nice. That's really nice of him."

"I told you, hidden depths."

Erinn's eyes suddenly looked far away as she spoke again, staring down at the blossoms. "I used to be really sick, you know. I don't remember much about that time, but I know that's when I fell in love with flowers." She looked back up at me, brighter. "Every day there would be a flower in my room when I woke up. At the time I thought it was magic, or a Guardian, but now I know it must have been someone in town." Her voice then lowered, growing soft with memories. "Probably my dad. . . I wish I thanked him for it. They were the best parts of my day, and my only good memories for a long time." Erinn dipped her head back into the bouquet of wildflowers and a small smile formed. She looked perfectly peaceful.

It was then that I realized what Ivor had in mind when he chose the flowers that he did. White, sky blue, orange and plum - I thought they were an odd color palate at first, but seeing Erinn hold them made his intention clear as day. They were just like her. The dark purple of her hair, the blue of her favorite dress, the crisp white of the apron she wore for work and even the orange of her signature bandanna; they were all there, wrapped up in a pretty bow, not too unlike the one Erinn wore around her own neck.

She was his muse, his divine inspiration.

I laughed. I laughed hard and loud, shocking Erinn out of her small reverie.

"Altairis? What is wrong with you?" she giggled along with me.

I shook my head and took a deep breath, trying my best to compose myself. "I-I'm sorry, Erinn, nothing you said was funny. I'm not sure why I'm having such a fit over nothing." I was so relieved and excited over hearing her mention the same story Ivor had told to me. It was odd, but I hadn't realized till just then how much I was suddenly rooting for the two of them to get together. I felt more than a little silly about it.

It was then that I wanted to ask her if she remembered a boy at the Guardian statue, holding her as she smiled and cried, but I couldn't think of a relatively smooth way of bringing it up. So instead I laughed and told Erinn I needed to see to something real quick before I turned in for the day.

As I was leaving, one of the older, gossipy women of the town came striding through the door. For a moment she looked my way with an odd expression in her eyes, but just like that, she turned her attention to Erinn and the look vanished. I shook off the strange vibes as I got outside and jogged over to Ivor's place.

It didn't surprise me one bit that the first thing I heard when I entered the house was Mayor Litlun's booming voice. "Don't be ridiculous! You were foolish to go all the way out there, just the two of you. Utterly foolish!" he shouted just as I entered the main room of the house.

Ivor seemed genuinely surprised by his father's reaction to our little trip. "But-But! Why are you so angry? If we hadn't gone to the landslide, you'd never have known it was about to be cleared."

Litlun made chuffing sound that might have been a laugh if he weren't so angry. "So what? If I didn't know now, I'd have found out soon enough. Knowing a little it sooner is hardly worth risking your life for. That's why I'm angry. That's why you're foolish." the mayor spared a glance in my direction as well, allowing me to feel thoroughly chastised.

If I hadn't known about the relatively recent loss of his wife, I might have thought Litlun was being a tad overprotective - Ivor was a genius with a blade against these monsters, after all. But knowing what I did, I saw the mayor's anger for what it was: true fatherly concern. It was a touching thing to behold, I had never known anything like it before.

Ivor looked to me for some sort of back up or support, but I just shrugged. His dad was right and, well, I just didn't know how to speak against the word of authority. I guess being subordinate your entire life will do that.

Ivor threw his hands up in defeat. ". . .Gah! Fine!" Just as he was about to turn away from his father, he stopped. "Oh yeah, there was something else. Something I heard from one of the soldiers. They want us to find some girl called Patty who went missing on her way here."

Patty! I had completely forgotten.

"Wait a minute! Is that true?" A familiar voice called.

Ivor's face fell as he turned towards the doorway. "Erinn! What are you doing here?"

Erinn marched pass me and fixed Ivor with a death glare. "What do you think? I'm here because I heard you whisked Altairis off on some silly adventure!" she steamed.

Ah, so that's what that woman went to see Erinn about. Something inside of me suddenly felt hot, like someone just dumped burning coals into my belly. I was getting real sick of being talked about but not talked to.

"That's quite enough now, Erinn!" I shouted, tearing her attention away from Ivor. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not bedridden anymore. No human on earth has the power to force me to do anything against my will; I make my own decisions and take responsibility for them." I declared.

Erinn's body language relaxed a bit and she looked down, slightly ashamed. "Y-Yes, I understand. I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright." I said, my voice softer now. "I'm not upset that you're concerned, it's sweet of you, I just don't think Ivor deserves the blame."

Erinn nodded and mumbled a soft apology to Ivor, who took it with such gratitude you'd think she was offering him a bucket of gold. Mayor Litlun then took back control of the room, politely ignoring the arguing of three children. "You're from Stornway originally, aren't you, Erinn? Do you know this Patty woman?"

Erinn nodded. "I seem to remember my dad talking about someone called Patty from his days in Stornway." Suddenly her face became stricken."Oh dear! Maybe she didn't know he'd passed away and she was coming here to see him."

The mayor stroked his short beard as he considered the situation. "Hmm. . . Well, I can understand everyone's concerns, but we can't very well send off a search party with no lead to go on." he said finally.

Ivor piped up once more, glad for his chance to speak again. "Actually, the soldier said something about how she might've been on her way here through the Hexagon."

I was silently grateful that Ivor seemed to remember so much more about his conversation with the soldiers from Stornway than I did. I had become quite distracted by all the outpouring of emotion that I was forgetting simple details. I never forgot details. Were humans always going to be this diverting?

The mayor looked surprised but then shook his head. "Is that so? Well, even if that's the case, we still can't be of any help. The Hexagon is far too dangerous nowadays." He then turned back to Erinn and I, his voice growing noticeably softer. "Erinn, why don't you take Altairis home now? Try not to worry too much."

I stepped forward. "Excuse me sir mayor, I was hoping to speak with Ivor about something before I left. It's the reason I came by tonight." I interjected as politely as I could.

To my shock, Litlun regarded me with kind eyes instead of the steely gaze I had expected. "Could it wait till tomorrow? I'd appreciate a bit of privacy so I can talk some sense into this pg-headed son of mine." he replied, apparently saving all of his glares for Ivor tonight.

"Th-There's no need for that, Dad!" Ivor grimaced as Erinn and I quickly made our way out the door.

"I was so worried when I heard you'd been to the mountain pass, Altairis." Erinn admitted as we sat together in her room. "But you're obviously a lot tougher than I thought."

I chuckled, thinking about just how beat up I felt after today, but I wasn't going to argue. "Well I am a traveling minstrel, after all. We're built like gigasteel."

Erinn smiled, nervously fiddling with one of the bright orange poppies in the vase across from me. "Speaking of which, um. . . I wonder if I could ask you a favor, Altairis."

"Oh?"

Erinn didn't look up from the table. "You see, I'm quite worried about all this talk of Patty going missing. So I was wondering if you could- Oh, never mind!" She said suddenly, shaking her head. "The Hexagon is really far too dangerous. I couldn't possibly ask that much of you." she said as she looked up at me apologetically, but her eyes still gleamed with the question.

I felt myself begin to sweat as I thought about the Hexagon. "Ah, that pass underneath the mountains? Underground? Without any sunlight, or fresh air, and tons of earth weighing down upon it? Um. . ." I trailed off, thinking about all of the terrible ways I could die alone in the dark. Celestrians were not made to be underground.

"I'm obviously worried about Patty, but it's far too dangerous to go off to the Hexagon looking for her. All we can do is pray to the Almighty to keep her safe." Erinn said, plainly seeing my reaction. Before I could make any excuse for myself, Erinn folded her hands in front of her and begun to pray. "Guardian Altairis, please watch over Patty and see that she comes to no harm." Erinn then smiled at me, telling me to get my rest, and I gladly obliged.

I was going to need one heck of a good night's sleep before tackling the Hexagon, because now I didn't have any other choice but to go.

I decided to slip out while it was still night. I had hoped to sleep a bit longer, but my dreams were feeling inhospitable, and I needed to leave before Erinn or her grandfather woke. I dressed quickly and grabbed some bread and hard cheese from the cupboards downstairs before making my way outside, packing most of it down my throat before I even crossed the first bridge. Cheese is heavenly.

I hadn't expected much of anyone to be up this late, but to my surprise, the lamp above the town gate burned brightly as Hugo stood at his post, watching the peaceful scene around him.

"Hey Hugo. " I said as I came within speaking distance. "Uh, about Ivor earlier, I'm sure he didn't forgot to come back to talk to you, it's just he was detained by his father and all-"

Hugo held up his hand to stop me and gave me an easy smile. "It's alright, Altairis, I know how he is. How they both are." he laughed and I joined him. Pausing a moment, Hugo continued. "Look, I know it's not really my place to say so, but thanks for looking out for Ivor."

I felt myself flush. "Uh, yeah. I mean, no problem. He's really not all that bad." Why did I feel so weird about a compliment?

Hugo nodded sagely, graciously overlooking my embarrassment, or completely oblivious to it. "He has his faults, that's for sure - and he drives most of us insane half the time - but I wouldn't wish him any ill." Hugo smiled at me again, and I realized then just how different he seemed when he wasn't chasing after Ivor's coattails. "You be careful, where ever it is you're sneaking off to." he teased.

At a loss for anything else to say, I promised him I would, then left for the Hexagon. 'And for certain death' I grimly assured myself.