[SpringsSong]

Finally, finally, Ryen was back home.

Well... as close to home as he was going to be for now.  His mother was busy tending to his two nephews, Firner and Weirfir; Wyra was... gone, as it always seemed now, since she became a Panzer, and the rest of his family... well, now, that was another matter entirely.  It felt like it had been so long since he came back from the war, even though he had traded places with a Goldclaw.  It had been forever since he had been out of the Arena.

"You need to get out, Dad." His daughter, Lasha, had said.  "It's not healthy for someone to be indoors this much... unless you're that Fallen Luhna and can't go out of doors."

And so, Ryen had [unwillingly] taken his daughter's advice.  A friend of his, Raun, had told him about a hot spring in Nori; Ryen figured that would not be a bad place to go.  He thought to himself, You never know... I might meet up with some old friends here. He however quickly dismissed this thought.  "Who on Evelon--aside from Firehail and Eriea--would remember me still?" he asked aloud.

[42.3]

[Thunder]

Firehail and Paryth

"It's so hot here..." Firehail said wearily, her tongue hanging out of her beak. The Matches was so tiny compared to her Hollowheart companion, who had allowed her to sit on top of his head. Paryth didn't mind the heat; his stone hide didn't allow him to feel much. He flapped his wings slowly, cruising smoothly in the sky. There was what seemed to be a hot spring below. Curious, Paryth began to spiral downwards, making sure Firehail did not fall off.

They were just adventuring around, having not much else to do. The Hollowheart alight some distance from the spring, and Paryth began to walk. Firehail peered out from over his head, and she saw a black and green dot in the distance.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I'm not sure..." came Paryth's reply. He started to head for the thing that Firehail saw.

[SpringsSong]

Ryen had seen the Hollowheart overhead; Hollowhearts were kind of hard to miss anywhere when they were flying.  Who...? he wondered curiously, blinking as he turned from the spring to look at the Hollowheart.  There appeared to be something on top of the Temple Hollowheart's head... but what?

Hm, I wonder who that could be... I know it cannot be Ashok; he left the Arena some time ago.  And, if it were Ashok, Aiedail would be with him. Ryen thought to himself.  After a moment, however, he turned back to the spring and sighed.  Why do I keep thinking that someone I know will come out here and see me?  It's been ages... they all probably think I've fallen off of the face of Evelon. He thought.

[42.4]

[Thunder]

As they neared, Firehail thought she could make out ears and two tails. A Kuhna? she thought. Something in the back of her mind lit, but she didn't know what. Paryth plodded closer, the heat from the hot spring increasing. Firehail desperately tried to remember what it was that was nagging her mind, but she couldn't come up with anything. The heat was making her brain tired; a Glacial pet didn't do too well in such a hot environment.

But through the haze of her thoughts, she thought she recognized once Paryth had gotten close enough for a clear look. Intrigued, she hopped off the Hollowheart's head and flew down to the Kuhna. Paryth sat himself by the spring, watching the Matches. Firehail landed in front of the Kuhna, her eyes widening.

"R-ryen?" she said timidly.

[SpringsSong]

...could it be...?

Ryen blinked as the Matches landed in front of him.  Almost instantly, something started nagging at the back of his mind.  Matches... a Glacial Matches... female... um... Roraldi!  That's right, it was in Roraldi... yes, the run-in with the rabid Tali that attacked Ereia... he thought, and then, he spoke.

"I am Ryen." He said finally.  "You, ah... wouldn't happen to be a friend of Firehail's, would you?  Or... are you Firehail?" he asked.  "And, er... if you aren't Firehail, forgive me; that would be the only reason you would remember my name, though.  I've never met any other Matches before."

[43.0]

[Thunder]

Firehail looked into the Kuhna's eyes. They seemed like Ryen's...she had heard that you could tell a lot about someone from one's eyes. She wasn't sure though...

But then the Kuhna spoke.

"I am Ryen...You, ah... wouldn't happen to be a friend of Firehail's, would you? Or... are you Firehail?"

Her heart soared with those words. "Y-yes!" she chirped happily, hopping up and down. "I am Firehail! I- I remember you, Ryen!" She beamed widely and flew a few circles around his head before finally alighting on his back. "Wow...I never thought I'd see you again!" Paryth plodded over, curious as to what was going on.

"Do you know him?" the Hollowheart asked. Firehail nodded, then turned back to the Disease Kuhna.

"Ryen, this is Paryth." She pointed her beak at the Hollowheart, who bowed his head in greetings.

[SpringsSong]

Ryen smiled brightly as he said, "I remember you as well, Firehail.  It's been ages since we last saw each other, yes... some things have changed." He gave a slight chuckle as he said, "I trust you also remember Ereia, the Preluhna, and the rabid Tali attack from Roraldi?", but after he said this, he shook his head.

"No matter now.  I'm just glad to see a familiar face again." Ryen said, turning to Paryth.  He lowered his head slightly in greeting as he said, "T'is an honor to meet you, Paryth.  I am Ryen, sometimes better known as one of the Imperial Speakers from the war."

Was he proud that he had fought against the Purists, despite his will to fight with the Purines?  Slightly.  He loved Taliña like a sister, and Tali had chosen to fight with the Imperials, so Ryen also had to go along with that idea.

[43.1]

[Thunder]

Ereia...yes, Firehail seemed to recall a Preluhna in Roraldi, but she couldn't remember much about her. "I sorta remember Ereia," Firehail answered, straining her memories. But she was unsuccessful. Sighing, the Matches decided to stop trying so hard to remember; things would probably come back to her as she and Ryen spoke.

Upon mention of the Imperial Speakers, Paryth tensed up a bit. He still remembered the war clearly, especially the battle where he killed that Tundragoon. But he let himself relax. The war was over, the division between friend and foe was gone. "I was a Purine," Paryth said. "But war is most unfortunate...you seem like a good person, and I would not like to fight against you."

[SpringsSong]

Ryen sighed as he said, "I would have liked nothing more than to have been a Purine supporter in the war; that was what my original faction had been.  However, my two companions--a Lucain by the name of Taliña and a Trikuhna by the name of Ashilata--decided that we should pledge our support to the Imperials.  I did not remain in the war too horridly long." He shook his head as he said, "Even though he sacrificed himself so that I might be spared, I can never forgive myself for taking Marble's life.  Even if Ithina gave it back to him."

Turning to Firehail again, Ryen gave a lopsided smile.  "It's okay, I only sort of remember her as well.  I have not seen her since our adventure of sorts in Roraldi.  But enough of the past, I suppose," Ryen said, "how have you been since then?"

[43.2]

[Thunder]

Paryth blinked. Marble? Wasn't that the Berry Kuhna they had trained with, along with Senervel and Sandford? "Marble..." he murmured, gazing down at Ryen. "I know him. He's a good soul..." The Hollowheart stared off into the distance. "It is good that he's back, then. Ithina...she revived us too, when we had been killed." He shook his head sadly. "At least we are all together again now..." Firehail shivered at the talk of war. She had been so frightened when she heard of the conflicts.

"U-um," she stammered, trying to get her mind off the thought of bloodshed. "I've been fine...I didn't get a chance to go outside for a while though. I'm glad I was able to today, but it's so hot here!" She fanned herself with her wing.

[SpringsSong]

Ryen nodded slowly as he said, "So there were more casualties than I had originally though... my companion, Taliña, had died as well--but Lady Sa'ouna revived her." Ryen shuddered at the thought of living without Tali.  "I know that I have two blood sisters and a brother, but Taliña is more of a sister to me than they are.  I was devastated to find out that she had been killed."

Turning again to Firehail, he gave a slight chuckle.  "I've gotten used to the heat, I guess you could say.  After all, my human decided that we were going to live here." He shook his head as he added, "She fancies that she's that nine-tailed fox Pokemon, I think... a natural fire-type."

[43.3]

[Thunder]

Paryth remembered the look on the Tundragoon's face when he killed him. He could not remember its name, but the memory was engraved in his heart forever. "War is a terrible thing..." he sighed. So much bloodshed and comflict, so many families torn apart... "I am glad that Talina is alive, then. She sounds like a good person..." He shook his head. "Perhaps we should move away from the subject of war..." Firehail nodded in agreement; the thought of battle frightened her to no end.

"What's a Pokemon?" she asked Ryen, attempting to change the topic. "It sounds like a Fellox to me."

[SpringsSong]

Ryen thought for a moment, and then, he said, "It is similar to a Fellox, yes--just remove the mask and add another seven tails so that it has nine, and you've got a Ninetales." He chuckled slightly as he tried to imagine a nine-tailed Fellox without a mask.  Why did Felloxes have those masks, anyways?  He shook his head after a moment; "I can't get past the 'without a mask' part of that.  I've never seen what a Fellox looks like without a mask..."

[43.4]

[Thunder]

Now that Ryen mentioned it...yes, neither Paryth nor Firehail had ever seen a Fellox without a mask. And the Felloxes that lived in their pen were really distant, so they hardly even saw a Fellox around.

"There's a lot of strange pets out there," Firehail chirped. "Like the Wockees...they wear masks too." The tiny bird pet shuddered. "Why are there so many pets with masks on them...? It's kinda scary..." A small, gray feather fell to the ground as she trembled, imagining what could be behind those masks... Paryth reached down with his muzzle and gently touched Firehail's head.

"Peace, Firehail," he murmured. "Masks are not always used to hide a frightening face..." Firehail calmed down a little.

[SpringsSong]

"Maybe that's just how they are?" Ryen said in a questioning voice.  "And maybe it depends on their nature: I live with six Felloxes, three of them are quite nice, but the other three are quite evil.  I can't help but wonder if maybe the mask is used to hide their true nature?  I mean, you cannot tell when they are smiling or when they are plotting, unless you can sense emotions."

He shrugged here as he looked up at Paryth.  "So have you two known each other very long?" he asked.

[44.0]