Chapter 7

A Hider's Instinct

Seliph dashed through the forest, looking around with desperation. Come on! Come on! He's almost done! Seliph's panting quickened as he dashed through the forest, frantically looking around. Come on, I can't hide up in a tree again.

"Ready or not! Here I come!"

Seliph abruptly stopped and looked behind him, his heart sinking. Quickly looking around, he grumbled as he latched onto the nearest tree and started shimmying up it as fast as he could. Once close enough, he pushed off and grabbed onto the lowest limb. With a heavy grunt, he pulled himself up and started climbing up the other limbs like one would a stairway.

Okay, that should be high enough. He crawled over to the trunk of the tree and leaned his back on its rough bark surface. Slowly, his panting died down as he closed his eyes to listen.

He sat there in stillness, with only the sound of rustling tree limbs from the wind. Relaxing in his spot a little, Seliph looked up at the pores of light coming through the thick bushels of leaves above him. A small smile formed. It feels like ages ago since we've played hide and seek like this.

Seliph sighed, scooting forwards a little to curl his legs better between his arms. His eyes slowly lowered. Hmm…I hope this stuff blows over soon. I want things to go back to how it was before all this. Heh, listen to me. 'I like how I'm not thinking about it' and I just go bringing it up again. He pressed his forehead to his knees. It's been almost a week since I got the key from mom. When I think about it though…nothing really has changed; it just feels like it has. He formed a small smile as he looked upwards. Yeah, maybe this situation isn't as bad as I'm acting like it is. I guess I'll just have to keep waiting till mom and dad says it's cle-

Suddenly, he heard an angry shout not too far from his position. Uh oh. Jaron got him. Carefully, he slid back up against the trunk and remained still.

"I found you fair and square, Ciecro," Jaron's voice gleefully exclaimed. "Come on, let's go find Seliph."

Seliph lightly hit the backside of his on the tree and groaned. Already? Great, and they don't sound far away too. Damn it, Ciecro, why did you have to pick a hiding spot so close to mine. He crossed his arms and pouted. I was literally going in the opposite direction at the start, but of course, you'd somehow find a hiding spot so close to mi-

"Seliph!"

He froze, as his heart started accelerating.

"Seliph!" Jaron called out once more.

Seliph turned his head slightly and listened to Jaron's repeated callings. They're heading this way. Okay, it's fine, just remain calm. They have no idea you're in this area and there are tons of trees. Just stay still and they'll just pass by.

To his dismay, the next shout from Jaron came from directly below. As quietly as he could, he took a deep breath and held it.

"You think he's hiding somewhere near here?" He heard Jaron ask from below.

"How should I know?" Ciecro rudely replied.

"I dunno, because you're older," Jaron teased.

"Don' staht dat again, or yah can find him yahself" Jaron chuckled as Ciecro grumbled. "Why do yah need my help anyway?"

"It's in the rules. Everyone that's been found has to help the mon it to find the rest."

"Stupid rules."

"More like stupid tail light," Jaron giggled.

"Grrr, I'm still workin' on dat."

"Yeah, well mom can make her tail light go pretty low, why can't you?"

"She's a grown-up. Of course, she can."

Seliph scowled. Why out of all the forest, they bicker under my tre- Mpf. He clamped his hand over his mouth, his mouth feeling hot and starting to hurt. The two's argument seemed to only escalate, prompting Seliph to plead in his mind, Just go to another tree already.

"Stop being a sore loser, Ciecro! I know I've got my gift, but it's not like it helps me detect everything."

"Why not? Are yah too stupid tah use it?"

"I dunno, are you too stupid to keep your tail from lighting up?"

"Hey! Dat's a problem us charz have."

"Not mom apparently."

"Can it, Jaron! Yah've got less excuse den I have. Doesn' yah gift react when someone's nearby?"

"No, idiot! It doesn't work like that at all. I just get a feeling sometimes."

"A feelin'? What feelin'‽ Den how dah hell do yah know where dah person is‽"

"I dunno, ask mom if you're so curious."

"I'll pass. Sounds dumb."

"Tck, your gift is dumber."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"It's dah same as dad's!"

"Yeah, exactly why it's dumb."

"Shuddup, Jaro-"

Seliph couldn't hold it in any longer, he pursed his lips and clamped tightly over his mouth, letting the air out. Quickly, he held his breath once more and muffled his mouth.

"Hrm? Jaron?"

Seliph froze. Damnit, did he hear me?

"Jaron, wha's up?"

"Who's gift is stupid now?" Jaron said with smug. "Alright, Seliph. Come down from up there, I know you're there."

Seliph groaned into his hand. Why me…?

With a frustrated sigh, Seliph leaned climbed down till he was on the lowest branch and leaned over, scowling at Jaron, who was giving a victorious grin. "You two are impossible, you know that?"

Ciecro crossed his arms and with a grin, replied, "Yep."

Jaron crossed his arms as well. "Uh-huh."

Seliph rolled his eyes. "That wasn't a compliment, by the way." He swung himself below the branch and let go, landing on the ground with a hard thud. As he stood up, he stared down at Jaron with an annoyed look before raising a brow. "So, how did you know I was there, Jaron?"

Jaron brushed his snout and smirked at Ciecro. "I wasn't sure, but I sort of got a weird feeling from above us. After looking, I thought I saw you and all."

Rubbing the back of his head, Seliph grumbled. "Yeah, you're getting better at using Wary huh."

Smiling, Jaron nodded. "Yeah, but I think I was just lucky this time."

"Yeah, I did a dumb thing by holding my breath." Seliph then looked at Ciecro, his eyes narrowing. "Course, it wouldn't have mattered if you hadn't led him right to me."

Ciecro leered back at the accusation. "Why did yah hide so close den?"

Rolling his eyes, Seliph didn't bother answering and just walked past them. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. Let's just head back and play a new game. I'm getting a little tired of hide and seek."

The trio hiked their way back to the clearing with the clear water pond and sat in the grass near it. "Okay, so what should we play now?" Seliph asked.

Ciecro shrugged. "Dunno."

Jaron stroked his snout before shrugging too.

Seliph swung his arms in small circles as he started sitting down, saying, "Well, let's think of something." Jaron and Ciecro looked at each other before sitting down as well. The three went quiet for a second before Jaron broke the silence.

"Uhm…Seliph."

"Hrm? Got a game?" Seliph asked, leaning in along with Ciecro to hear Jaron's suggestion.

Jaron's head lowered slightly as he rubbed his arm slowly. "Uhm…no it's not that. I'm just…I was wondering." He looked Seliph straight in the eye and said in almost a whisper, "You two know what's going on?"

The two looked at each other before Seliph turned back to Jaron. "What do you mean?"

"You know, the stuff that's got mom and dad worried."

Seliph sighed as Ciecro just leaned back and plopped on the ground, making sure to raise his tail onto his leg to avoid setting the grass on fire.

Placing a hand on Jaron's shoulder, Seliph leaned in close and with a serious look calmly said, "Jaron, I thought we told you that we couldn't and you'd have to ask mom and dad about it."

Jaron's head fell. His hand stopped rubbing his arm and both went up to his little snout and gently held onto it. "I…I don't wanna ask them," He meekly confessed.

Seliph raised a brow and took his hand away. "Why not?"

"Because I feel like it's something bad."

Seliph looked at Ciecro, who had moved his head up enough to look them. A little smirk formed as he moved over to sit next to Jaron. "Why do you think that?"

Jaron's hands clamped harder on his sat, prompting Ciecro to sit up.

Seliph looked back at Ciecro, concern filling their faces. They waited in silence, while Jaron moved his arms from snout clamping back to the arm rubbing. "Well, it's just." He looked at Seliph, asking, "Do you remember when we played hide and seek a couple of days ago?"

Seliph thought for a second before answering with a chuckle, "You mean the one where I made you scream like an old lady Jynx with my fake Cut."

Jaron scowled. "I didn't scream like that."

"But yah can," Ciecro added, laughing.

Jaron crossed his arms, till Seliph patted him on the shoulder.

"Sorry, we're done. Continue."

After a sigh, Jaron continued, "I remember when we were walking home that day, getting a weird…uhm… feeling?"

"A weird feeling?" Seliph crossed his arms. "Like what?"

"I'm not sure, but felt weird and kind of faint. Like something was watching me, but not really near me. Maybe like a ghost type hiding in the ground or a rock, just waiting to scare me."

Seliph's eyes narrowed. "Was it your Wary reacting to something?"

"Maybe, but that time felt different than the other times. I'm not sure how to describe it."

Seliph looked at Ciecro shared a glance as Ciecro joined them.

Jaron looked upwards. "I just know that I felt it for a second, then stopped. I guessed it was just my imagination or something else so I forgot about it when we got back."

"Yah tink yah gift had a dud?" Ciecro tilted his head, shifting to sit perpendicular to Jaron.

"I don't know. I only really remembered it acted up during our game."

The three went silent, thinking their theories about it, till Ciecro raised a question. "Wait, wasn' dat when dat Drapion guy came?"

Jaron's eyes widened. "Yeah, that's right. Maybe my gift was reacting to him."

Seliph stroked his chin, thinking for a second before nodding in agreement. "Probably, you still got some growing to do before your gift fully matures. Maybe, it reacted to him since he was a stranger or something else about him."

Jaron started rubbing his shoulder again. "I…I dunno."

"Dunno? Yah jus' said-"

"I know, but..." Jaron went silent, before moving his hands out and cupping them as if he was holding a ball. "It's like this. I felt that feeling at this point. Then," Jaron extended his right hand a little ways. "Seliph acted weird the next day."

Seliph nodded, "Yeah, since I had talked to mom last night."

Jaron nodded and moved his arm further, "Then Ciecro started acting weird too."

Ciecro crossed his arms. "Well…uh."

"You had a lot on your mind," Seliph stated, smiling at Ciecro, who gave a little, grateful one back.

"But that's what I mean." Jaron let his hands rest on his tummy as he looked at Ciecro. "You both started acting weird after that Drapion guy came. Not just you two, but just home, in general, feels weird. It doesn't feel like that weird feeling I told you about, but it doesn't feel the same either. Doesn't feel sa-…" Jaron pulled his hands close and stared at the ground, shivering slightly.

Poor guy. Seliph put a hand on Jaron's shoulder, causing the Totodile to look at him. "Don't worry about it."

"Huh?"

"This weird feeling you've had and still do. Don't worry about it." Seliph pulled Jaron close. "Because whatever is making you feel that feeling, it's not gonna get near you. I won't let it."

Ciecro nodded, with an invigorated smile. "Yeh, an' if it does try somethin', I'll knock its head off."

Rolling his eyes at Ciecro's over-enthusiasm, Seliph commented, "You can't knock the head off of a feeling."

Ciecro snarled at this, making Jaron laugh. "Yeh, well maybe it's a big, scary monster causin' dah feelin'."

Seliph just shook his head. "Well, if it's a big, scary monster then you can knock its head off." He patted Jaron on the back and looked him in the eye. "But you get the idea, right?"

Swiftly nodding, Jaron hugged Seliph's neck. "Yeah, thanks."

Seliph patted Jaron's head, while Ciecro rolled his eyes.

"Dis is gettin' stupid," he muttered, getting back on his feet.

The other two looked at him confused. "What's wrong?" Seliph said, placing a hand on his hip and smirking. "Big tough Ciecro don't like being hugged."

Ciecro scoffed. "Naw, it's jus' yah two do it way too much."

Jaron and Seliph looked at each other, mischievous grins forming.

"Don' yah dare!" He yelled, starting to run away, but Seliph was faster. Pouncing on him, Seliph pinned Ciecro to the ground with a big hug.

"Lemme go!"

"Oh no!" Seliph laughed, "You've been caught by the big, scary hug monster."

Ciecro growled, as he tried to push up from the ground, despite Seliph's weight. "Get off of me! Jaron ge' 'im off- Wait no, Jaron! Don'- Agh!" He collapsed once Jaron joined the dogpile.

The two on top laughed as they gave the sour Ciecro a big hug from on top.

Ciecro yawned loudly as he nestled into the grass and shook his head. "Nope, dat's gotta be an Onix."

Seliph sat up and gave him a disapproving look. "Ciecro. It's an Ekans."

Ciecro sat up as well, snarling, "It's an Onix. Are yah blind?"

Groaning, Seliph pointed to the cloud. "Look at how it's shaped. It's smooth and shaped like an 'S'. It can't be an Onix."

"Oh yeah! Well wha' about dat pointy thin' on its end, dere?" Ciecro pointed.

Seliph smugly grinned as he shrugged his arms and shook his head slightly. "It's an Ekans tail."

"Tauros Shit! It's an Onix pointy head ting. Yah got it upside down."

Seliph merely laughed at Ciecro's protest.

While they were arguing, Jaron was sitting at the edge of the clearing's pond, looking at his reflection in the war. He twisted his head a bit so he could see his curved red scales, protruding from the back of his neck. He smiled at how they curved like a Gible's fin as did his father's, although his were significantly smaller. His admiring was broken, by the sound of his brothers' argument getting louder. With a grumble, he dipped a finger into the pond before latching onto the edge and somersaulting his way in. With a big slash, Jaron sat up and giggled, swatting at the chest-high water with glee. "Come on guys, let's play some more!" He shouted, shifting around to look at them.

To his frustration, the two were still arguing. Still fighting over some dumb clouds. He crossed his arms and pouted as he stared back at the water, which was starting to settle. Suddenly, he raised a brow as he looked back at the fighting duo, then back to the water, repeating this process till a dark grin formed on his face. Alright, you two asked for this. He leaned forwards and filled his mouth with water. After his cheeks were full, he climbed out of the pond and quietly walked over to the bickering two. After counting to three in his head, he sprayed their faces.

Spitting out water and wiping his face, Seliph shouted, "What the? Jaron, what the hell was that for?"

Jaron simply laughed as he started running away. "You're both all wet now."

"Get back here!" Seliph shouted, charging after Jaron and tackling him to the ground. He pinned Jaron by the back and scowled. "Think you're funny, do you, twerp?"

"Okay, okay, you win," Jaron laughed. "I was just trying to get you two to stop arguing."

Grumbling, Seliph got off of Jaron and crossed his arms. "You didn't have to spray us like that."

Jaron smiled as he dusted off his tummy. "Maybe, but my idea was more fu-"

"I'm gonna kill yah!"

They both looked towards Ciecro, who was slowly stomping towards them, his scowling face noticeably redder than his body, which was covered in dirt.

Seliph tilted his head. "Why are you so filthy?"

"Tah get dah wateh off!" Ciecro snapped.

The two looked at each other, before breaking out into a chuckle.

"It ain' funny!" Ciecro yelled, stopping right in front of them and leering. "I hate wateh!"

Seliph sighed. "No, you don't. Just when it gets on your tail."

Ciecro looked to the side, his cheeks blushing and snarling in frustration. "Shut up."

The duo finally calmed their laughter down.

"I'm sorry, Ciecro, I kinda forgot about how sensitive your tail is to getting wet," Jaron said, rubbing the back of his head with a weak smile.

Ciecro raised his snout and snarled. "Well…yah're stupid fo' forgettin'."

"Hey!" Jaron snarled.

"Ciecro, he said he was sorry. You don't need to go all out on him." Seliph walked over and gave Ciecro a calming smile.

Slowly, Ciecro's scowl faded as he started scratching his head awkwardly. "Fine, I forgive yah. Let's jus' do somethin' else."

Jaron nodded. "Hmm…what should we do?"

Ciecro crossed his arms and looked upwards. "Uhhhhhhhh…"

Seliph pressed a finger to the side of his head. "Okay, so we already did hide and seek, tag, cloud watching."

"And Roughhousing, Greninja, Rescue Explorer," Jaron added.

Ciecro closed his eyes, saying, "An' SPUD, Stop an' Go, Find dah treasure…"

They went silent, all staring at the ground in front before Seliph turned around and gazed at the tree line. "It's getting late. Maybe we should head back."

Jaron and Ciecro looked at each other.

"Are you sure?" The Totodile asked, a little disappointed.

Seliph brushed his nose. "Aren't you hungry? It's getting close to dinner time and we skipped lunch."

Jaron placed a hand on his stomach and a second later said, "Yeah, I am kinda hungry."

"Yeh, I could go fo' some food too," Ciecro added, rolling his neck.

"Alright, it's settled. We'll go back and get some food, then play in our room for the rest of the day."

"Yeah!" Jaron shouted with enthusiasm.

"Yeh, sure." Ciecro nodded. "Let's hurry den, I'm hungry." As he started for the forest, Seliph put his arm on Ciecro's chest and gently moved him back.

"Woah, there. You can't go home like that."

"Huh?" Ciecro looked down and his eyes widened. "Oh…yeh."

Jaron chuckled, making Ciecro growl at him. "Sorry, I guess it is my fault." Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "Hey, Seliph, how about I go home and make something to eat, while you clean Ciecro up?"

"Wha'‽" Ciecro exclaimed, his cheeks flaring with red.

"Sounds like a plan," Seliph nodded.

"Are yah kiddin' me? I ain'- Wait Jaron!"

Unfortunately, Jaron had already started for the house. "Don't take too long!" He shouted back, as he disappeared into the forest.

Ciecro just stood there, devastated with his head sagging. "Do we really hafta do dis?" He asked, as he looked at Ciecro with a depressed frown.

Shrugging, Seliph walked in front and pointed out, "Well no, but do you want to go all the way back there just to have mom bathe you herself?"

Growling to himself, Ciecro raised his arm and huffed, "Jus' make it fast. An' watch dah tail."

Seliph nodded and gently grabbed Ciecro's arm to hold it still. "I'll try, but don't squirm too much, else I can't promise your tail getting out of this dry."

Rolling his eyes, Ciecro just braced himself, though wound up screaming once Seliph started spraying his side.

"Don't be such a baby, it's just water."

"It's cold water!" Ciecro snapped.

"Okay, then…let's talk about something. That might help distract you from the chill."

"Fine," Ciecro grumbled as he tried to think of a topic. He winced as Seliph started spraying on his side again. A few seconds later, his face went serious as he stared at the forest edge in front, pondering. "Do yah tink dey'll leave us alone?"

Seliph stopped spraying so he could ask, "Who, the bad guys?"

"Yeh…"

Shrugging, Seliph lowered his head and started spraying again, taking moments to talk during his cleaning job. "Mom and dad think there's a good chance they will. I mean, the note only said they were in the area, not that they were here for us."

"Yeh…Seliph?"

"Yeah?"

"Who do yah tink dey are?"

"Not sure. I'm guessing, if they're enemies to mom and dad, they must be enemies of Norfair."

"I guess so. Bu'…wha' kinda enemies do dah Norfairions have?"

"Beats me. Mom and dad never talked about it outside of history class. Can't blame them though."

"Yah tink dey're Mextrein?"

"Why Mextrein specifically? Wait, wasn't that just a continent fighting for independence a long time ago?"

"Yeh, dey fough' dah Norfarions an' dah oteh clans."

Seliph shrugged as he shifted behind Ciecro to work on the other side. "Okay, but that was a long time ago, right?"

Ciecro went silent as he thought on that question.

Seliph, continued, "I doubt it's still going on or at least that there's an active war between the two. I mean, think of it this way. If there was one, wouldn't there be some news about it? Sure, we live in some remote forest near a small town, but we can hear news now and then, right? Plus, I don't think the message referred to Mextreinions."

"How do yah know?"

"Cuz I read it, and it didn't mention anything about Mextreinions."

"Huh?" Ciecro looked at Seliph, eyes wide open. "Yah read dat message!" He said excitedly.

"Well, not exactly. You see, Mom said that it had some kind of secret message to it, and there was a listing of items at the end of the message. I think that's where the secret message that mom meant."

"So, wha'cha figure out?"

"Not too much, but I noticed two items on the list that seemed odd and I'm guessing they're related to the secret message since mom reacted to me mentioning it."

"Wha' were dey?"

"A 'Fire orb' and 'Eye drop seeds'. They seemed weird since it was a list of generic supplies, but these two items were very specific. Plus, they weren't really useful for us anyways, so why mention them in the first place? That was my reasoning at least; I don't know what the secret message has to do with a Fire Orb and Eye Drop Seeds."

Ciecro glanced towards the forest, mulling over this information. He was so engrossed in his theorizing, he didn't even notice Seliph start speaking again.

"There, all done…? Ciecro?" Seliph gave him a little tap in the side, snapping Ciecro out of his mulling. "Hey, genius, I'm done."

"Huh?" Ciecro looked down and all over his body and happily commented, "Hey, it's all gone. Tanks."

"No problem, now let's hurry on back. Jaron's probably home by now." Seliph started to turn around.

"Uhm…Seliph."

"Yeah?" Slowly looking back, Seliph raised a brow upon seeing Ciecro scowling all of a sudden. "What's wrong?"

The Charmander crossed his arms and stated, "I tink…we should come up wit a plan. Jus' incase."

"Incase what?" Seliph walked closer.

"Incase we're attacked."

Seliph could feel the air around him grow colder as he lowered his gaze, along with Ciecro's. Hmm…he's right though. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared. He put his hand on Ciecro's shoulders and their gazes met. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Let's discuss it on the way back."

Ciecro nodded and started on towards home.

Seliph watched Ciecro lead on and a smile began to form. He jogged after Ciecro and the two began discussing their backup plan.

O

"Hmm, let's see…" Seliph stroked his chin as he examined the checkerboard in front. His other head started pointing out moves, a gesture that slightly intimidated Jaron.

Crossing his arms, Jaron sighed. "Can you hurry up and move?"

"You can't rush these things."

"But it's just the first move," Jaron complained as he rolled onto his side and groaned.

Seliph eyed him in annoyance. "Come on, Jaron."

Jaron grumbled, rolling on his back. "Well don't take too long. Mom and dad are about to start making dinner."

"Probably, but we've got time. Though." Seliph looked up from the board to his little brother. "So you're going to ask them after dinner?"

Slowly, Jaron sat up, rubbing his arm. "Y-yeah…"

Focusing back on the board, Seliph put a finger on a piece and said, "Do you want us to be with you when you ask?"

Jaron's eyes widened. "Sure, that'd help a lot."

Chuckling at the enthusiasm, Seliph picked up the piece and looked at the two squares the piece could go. "Done deal then. Now, let's see…Let's try this mov-"

Suddenly, their room door slammed open with a harsh thud.

"Dyah!" The piece slipped from Seliph's hands, making him swipe at it till he managed to catch it. "What the? Ciecro! Don't scare me like that!" He leered at Ciecro, but his expression change once he noticed his brother looked worried. "What's wrong?"

As Seliph stood up, Ciecro jogged over. "Dat, Chesnaugh' guy's back."

"What? The ranger from a few days ago?"

"Oh, I remember him," Jaron got up too. "Where's he now?"

"Out talkin' wit' mom an' dad." Ciecro leaned over to say, "I need tah talk to yah."

"Uhm…okay." Before Seliph was even standing up, Ciecro seized him by the arm and proceeded to drag him towards the door.

"Huh? Where are you two-"

"I need tah talk tah Seliph fo' a sec," Ciecro answered, not bothering to turn his head.

"But our game-"

"It won't be long, right, Ciecro?" Seliph asked.

Ciecro didn't answer but finished dragging him out of the room and saying to Jaron, "Jus' hold up till we done." Before Jaron could say anything, Ciecro shut the door and briskly walked past a confused Seliph. Once they were in the front room of the house, Ciecro went to the window and peered out.

Seliph crossed his arms and finally spoke up. "What's this about?"

Ciecro back from the window and pointed to it.

"Huh?"

"Jus' look." Ciecro requested, his tone sounding anxious, hasty, and perhaps a little excited.

Sighing to himself, Seliph walked to the window and peered through. Just like Ciecro said, the Chesnaught was talking with their parents, though Tetheron was present as well. Huh? Squinting a little, he pushed up closer to the glass as something between the group of adults caught his eye. It wasn't easy to make out due to it being dusk, but it looked like something purple that was big enough to top right above the Chesnaught's kneecaps.

"Why do yah tink he's back 'ere?" Ciecro inquired with a serious scowl.

Seliph removed his face from the window, and pressed a fist to his chin. "I don't know…but I'm going to find out."

Ciecro nodded, "Yeh, let's go."

"No."

Ciecro stopped just short of the door, surprised. "Huh?"

Seliph walked over and put his hand on the door. "I'll check on what's going on. You stay with Jaron."

"Wha'? Why? I wanna see too." Ciecro protested but stopped at Seliph giving him a serious look. With a reluctant scowl, he lowered his head and looked to the side as he mulled for a second. "A'igh'…jus' don' take too long." He started to head back, but stopped for a second and glanced back. "Make sure tah tell me whatcha find out."

Seliph nodded with a smile. "I will. Thanks, Ciecro."

Ciecro nodded, his scowl shifting a little softer, and left the room.

Seliph closed his eyes and smiled for a second, before turning to face the door with a determined glare. He took a deep breath, before twisting the knob and opening the door.