The valley at the foot of the ridge opened into one wide stretch of moss-glow fields, their faint teal light drifting like fog above the ground.

  Rami and Naro walked side by side on the grass, it brushed against their legs with a soft hum that matched the rhythm of the wind.

  Gaon was in the middle of a Warm Cycle, the gentlest kind of weather the Tall Hills ever offered.

  The air carried a pleasant heat.

  Rami lifted her face to the breeze, her twin braids swaying like ropes of starlight. Naro glanced her way, then back to the path ahead, the short bangs above his eyes fluttering but never quite falling over them.

  Even so, Naro kept glancing around.

  Rami nudged him with her Elbow with a grin.

  "Hey, you've looked over your shoulder seven times !"

  "No I didn't," he said while glancing away from her.

  She gave a knowing smile.

  "Yes you did."

  Naro sighed, adjusting the sword strapped across his back. "It just feels too warm today."

  "You're being dramatic. This is normal Warm Cycle weather."

  Despite being sunless, Gaon's core is very warm. The tall hills, especially, are rich in geothermal veins, creating warm winds, glowing moss and pockets of near-spring temperature.

  Normally at least.

  "Yeah, normal for Kresha, maybe."

  He gave the Horizon a wary look.

  'Still too warm for my liking, however.'

  They continued walking, the warm cycle carrying the distant chime-like calls of dusk-creatures.

  A pair of glider-birds drifted overhead, their wings glowing in the amber threads. Rami watched them with quiet fascination.

  "You know, my mother used to say glider birds can sense aura shifts before anyone else. When they fly this low, something is changing in the land."

  He raised his eyebrow:

  "So what I'm hearing is that you agree that this warmth isn't normal, right ?"

  "... Maybe."

  _________________________________________________

  They reached a stream winding through the moss fields. It's whater reflects the sky like glass.

  Dark blue, star-flecked, and endless even at what should have been the day.

  Rami knelt beside it, letting her fingers hover the surface."It's warm !"

  Naro dipped his own hands in and blinked.

  "It really is."

  "Warm cycle streams are rare," she said with a grin.

  "Means plants are going to bloom." As if answering her, the moss at the stream's edge pulsed softly, sprouting tiny halo-like flowers that opened with a faint pop.

  Naro watched the blossoms spread outward in ripples.

  'How pretty.'

  "Does this happen every year ?"

  "Not years, every warm cycle." she corrected. "Years stopped making sense when the sun vanished.

  Naro fell silent, his reflection wavering in the water, his hair hung in uneven white strands, the sharp edges softened by the water's shimmer, as if even its usual defiance had gone quiet.

  'the land is changing. what says this will truly happen every warm cycles ?'

  'Will I change too ?'

  He frowned.

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  Rami sat down beside him, their shoulders lightly touching.

  "You okay ?"

  "Yeah." He hesitated. "Just thinking."

  "How Dangerous..." she teased.

  He huffed, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward.

  "I keep wondering... If the guardians ever watched moments like this,"

  He cast his gaze of longing at the stream.

  "Peaceful things. Blooming flowers. Warm water..."

  "Maybe."

  Rami leaned back in the moss. One of her braids unfurled slightly, the glow tracing the strands.

  "Or maybe they were too busy ruling their respective areas than appreciate flowers."

  Naro was quiet for a heartbeat "That's sad." He murmured.

  Her smile faded a bit as she looked up at the star-lit sky

  "No Naro, What's sad is that we'll never know."

  _________________________________________________

  When they continued on, the hills around them remained warm and gentle. The wind quieted, leaving only the soft hum of moss under their boots.

  Rami glanced sideways at him.

  "You know... I'm still surprised Hama took you in."

  Naro scratched his cheek. "Why ?"

  She lingered and then gestured to amplify her words."Because he's, well you know.... Hama. Guardian of Zyr ! The Alabaster Knight ! One of the Big Fives !"

  He shrugged. "Well... I was a baby orphan that arrived at his doorstep and he decided to raise me."

  Rami's eyes widened "Oh, right..."

  He paused then smirked :"he also needed a kid to carry all his heavy stuff. "

  Rami chuckled at that

  "And let me guess.... You kept dropping them ?"

  "... Occasionally..."

  She laughed with a smile that made his heart have a momentary stop.

  "I'm not surprised- at. All."

  Naro huffed and decided to tease her back:

  "And you ?" Naro asked. "Did Spike really teach your mother divination ?"

  "Yep ! The Scorpion Of Death and divination himself !" She said with her chin raised.

  "Doesn't that make you... Next in line to become an oracle ?" He teased, knowing she despised that profession.

  Rami gave him a light shove with a barely hidden irritation on her face."Absolutely not."

  He shrugged "Well, you're good at reading people so I don't know what's so wrong..."

  She gave him a teasing smile. "Well Naro... The reason you think so is because you are very, and I mean VERY easy to read."

  "I'm not."

  "You are !" She insisted, smirking "Especially when you try to hide that blush of yours..."

  Naro closed his mouth, red dusting the tops of his cheeks. His bangs fluttered like they were embarrassed for him.

  He looked away very quickly.

  _________________________________________________

  The Warm cycle lingered through what once would have been late afternoon. They stopped beneath a natural stone arch where glowing vines hung in long strands. The light was soft, the air comfortable.

  All conditions were met for a peaceful rest.

  Naro set down his pack

  "I'll start the fire"

  Rami glanced at him

  "You want help ?"

  He lingered and hesitatingly said: "Sure, but I'd prefer if you rested instead... We walked a long way after all."

  She shrugged:"I'm bored, so I might as well help out a bit."

  'how thoughtful of her...'

  He smiled."Sure then."

  As Rami worked with him, she watched his careful and practiced movements. The schools of Zyr really were strict... Even when he's just arranging stones, he did it like he was preparing for battle.

  After they were done, she sat beside him on the moss.

  "You know... If every Warm Cycle days were like this, Gaon wouldn't feel so broken."

  Naro didn't look at her when he spoke.

  "It isn't broken."

  She gave him a doubtful look"It kind of is though ?"

  "No.""Gaon is not broken."

  He looked at The Scar of the sky where the sun once was.

  "It's wounded, there's a difference."

  Rami blinked at him.

  'Ah... Here I go saying corny things to her again....'

  He added, almost shyly, "wounds can heal."

  She stared at him for a heartbeat, then gave him a soft smile. A real one that didn't weigh her down.

  "Yeah" she breathed. "They can, can't they ?"

  They ate dried fruit, warm stream-water tea, and lay beneath the vines. The glow above painted gentle colors across their white hair.

  "Naro ?" She whispered.

  "Mm ?"

  Her eyes were set on the stars illuminating the evernight"This part of the journey... I like it"

  "... Me too."

  Their hands interlocked

  Gaon hummed softly around them, peaceful in the warm breath of the Tall Hills.